Jaguar Explorer Online V3 I1
From: Fred Horvat (aa778@cleveland.Freenet.Edu)
Date: 06/15/99-02:44:19 PM Z
From: aa778@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Fred Horvat)
Subject: Jaguar Explorer Online V3 I1
Date: Tue Jun 15 14:44:19 1999
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
:: Volume 3, Issue 1 JAGUAR EXPLORER ONLINE June 3, 1999 ::
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
:: ::
:: JAGUAR ............. News, Reviews, & Solutions ............. JAGUAR ::
:: EXPLORER ........... For the Online Jaguar .......... EXPLORER ::
:: ONLINE ................ Community ............... ONLINE ::
:: ::
:: Published and Copyright (c) 1999 by White Space Publishers ::
:: All Rights Reserved ::
:: """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" ::
:: Publisher Emeritus Plus .................... Michael Lindsay ::
:: Publisher Emeritus .............................. Travis Guy ::
:: Editor/Publisher ............................ Clay Halliwell ::
:: Lynx Editor .................................... Carl Forhan ::
:: JEO Mailing List Maintainer .................. Joachim Vance ::
:: Genie Uploader .............................. Clay Halliwell ::
:: CompuServe Uploader ......................... Richard Turner ::
:: America Online Uploader ....................... Lonnie Smith ::
:: FidoNet Uploader ................................ Troy Cheek ::
:: ::
:: Contributors: ::
:: (voluntary and otherwise) ::
:: """"""""""""""""""""""""" ::
:: Carl Forhan, Doug Engel, Mark Santora, ::
:: Stephanie Wukovitz, Jeff Minter ::
:: ::
:: Telecommunicated to you via: ::
:: """""""""""""""""""""""""""" ::
:: GEnie: ST/JAGUAR RT Library 15 ::
:: AOL: VIDEO GAMES FORUM Hints, Tips and Tricks II Library ::
:: CompuServe: ATARIGAMING and VIDGAME Forums ::
:: FidoNet: ATARI_ST and VID_GAME Echoes ::
:: ::
:: World Wide Web: http://www.atarihq.com/jeo/ ::
:: ::
:: E-Mail Request address: JEO-request@maximized.com ::
:: ::
:: To subscribe to JEO, send e-mail to the request address, ::
:: with the following line (no subject): ::
:: ::
:: subscribe JEO ::
:: ::
:: Your request will be automatically processed and your e-mail ::
:: address will be subscribed to the list. To unsubscribe from ::
:: the JEO list, send the following: ::
:: ::
:: unsubscribe JEO ::
:: ::
:: to the same request address, making sure you send it from ::
:: the same address you subscribed from. ::
:: ::
:: Subscription problems requiring human assistance can be sent ::
:: to JEO-help@maximized.com. Thanks to Maximized Software for ::
:: hosting the JEO list. ::
:: ::
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Table of Contents
* From the Editor ...................................... Methuselah Awakes.
* 1998 End of Year Survey Results ....................... The Votes Are In.
* JEO Trivia Challenge V: The Questions ................ Strain Your Brain.
* Jaguar Tackboard .................. Newsletters, Message Boards, Mailing
Lists, FAQs, Codes, Development
List, Mail Order Directory.
* CyberChatter .......................................... Overheard Online.
* BattleSphere News ..................................... 4Play Marches On.
* Protector Update ......................................... Real Soon Now.
* Llatest from Llamaland ........................................ Yak yaks.
* State of the Lynx .............................. The Little Cat Purrs On.
* Review: Jaguar System Test Cartridge .......................... Say What?
* The Trials and Joys of a Flash ROM Cart .............. The More You Know.
* JEO Trivia Challenge V: The Answers ............................... D'Oh!
* Shutdown ............................ Around the world and up your block.
--==--==--==--==--
|| From the Editor
|| By: Clay Halliwell
\__// clay.h@att.net
------------------------------------------------------------------
I'm so ashamed of myself.
Six months. Six months since the last issue of JEO. What's been going on in
Jaguar land in these last five months? Precious little, which is why it's
taken so long for this issue to see the light of day. So, let's run down
the list of announcements...
The big one-- As of mid-May, Hasbro has officially declared the Jaguar an
"open" platform. This means people can hack and reverse-engineer and
encrypt to their hearts content, and Hasbro won't lift a finger to stop
them! The immediate result of this will of course be the real-soon-now
release of BattleSphere. After that, probably Protector, and whatever other
games the hacker fanbase has been working on. Something I'd really like to
see though, is for someone to rip the VLM code out of the JagCD's BIOS and
put it in a cart with built-in audio jacks. Finally, people would be able
to just jack the VLM directly to their stereo!
I'd like to apologize to JEO mailing list maintainer Joachim Vance for
killing him last issue. Just a minor communication breakdown on our part.
Sorry Joachim!
Much thanks to Robert Goffena for providing copies of AEO News Bulletins #6
and #7, and AEOs 3.13 and 3.14. The AEO/JEO archive is still missing AEO 1.12,
AEO 2.2, and AEO News Bulletins #2, #3, and #5.
Iron Soldier 3 was spotted at E3... for the Playstation! Well, thank heavens
for Bleem! (a new Playstation emulator for PCs).
The JTS domain (www.jtscorp.com) has finally vanished. Whereabouts of the
remains of JTS Corp. are currently unknown.
Thanks to Wes Powell for scoping out this one. MP3.com is now selling a semi-
official Battlemorph soundtrack-- "Morph", composed by Will Davis. Check it
out at <http://www.mp3.com/artists/11/will_davis.html>.
Speaking of CDs, the long-awaited CD release of Buckner and Garcia's Pac-Man
Fever is slated for a June 1st release. Drop by the official Buckner and
Garcia web site <http://www.bucknergarcia.com> and order a copy!
Clay Halliwell (that's me), editor of Jaguar Explorer Online, has a new
primary email address. From now on, please address all correspondence to:
clay.h@att.net. Thank you.
I finally got around to adding the Myst Demo CD to the Software Release
list. Should have done that a long time ago, I suppose.
The ZIPped edition of this month's JEO includes the following images: Some
guy at E3 with an Atari Jaguar tattoo on his arm (photo by Steph Wukovitz),
Steph and Scott's reaction to the big news from Hasbro, the Jaguar System
Test cartridge, and a Dilbert cartoon I retouched in a fit of pique at
Hasbro.
Not appearing in this issue, but well worth browsing to, are a couple of
surprise appearances by the Jag in the Sabrina Online webtoon (by Eric
Schwartz, of Amy the Squirrel fame). They're at <http://www.compsoc.net/
ericschwartz/sabrina/strips13.html> and <http://www.compsoc.net/
ericschwartz/sabrina/strips14.html>. You can view the complete archive of
Sabrina Online at <http://www.compsoc.net/ericschwartz/sabrina/>.
Oh yeah, almost forgot the obligatory Star Wars: The Phantom Menace
comment-- IMHO, Lucas destroyed a perfectly kick-ass Jedi movie by mixing
it with a puerile, condescending, slapstick kiddie movie. Death to Jar-Jar.
See you all at JagFest '99 this month!
--==--==--==--==--
|| 1998 End of Year Survey Results
|| By: Clay Halliwell
\__// clay.h@att.net
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Remember the 1998 End of Year Survey that ALL OF YOU (ahem) participated in
last December? Well, the votes have been tallied and the numbers crunched,
and here's how they came out...
There were 48 respondents, including myself. For the sake of future issues,
let's assume the actual readership is a shade higher than that. And of
those respondents:
1. What is your age?
Average: 27
Eldest: 47
Youngest: 15
2. What is your gender?
Male: 100%
Female: 0%
(really, should we even bother being surprised?)
3. Do you still play your Jaguar?
Yes: 96%
No: 4%
4. Is the Jaguar your primary game console?
Yes: 50%
No: 50%
5. Do you own the Jaguar CD attachment?
Yes: 83%
No: 17%
6. How many Jag cartridges do you own (approximately is okay)?
Average: 27 cartridges
7. How many Jag CDs do you own (soundtracks don't count)?
Average (of those who own JagCDs): 8 CDs.
8. How many of the post-Atari Telegames releases have you bought?
Average: 2.4 games
9. What is the most you would be willing to pay for a new Jaguar
game (in US dollars; round to nearest 10)?
Average: $63
Highest: $100
Lowest: $10 (I don't think this kid understood the question...)
10. Would you be willing to modify your Jaguar in some way (or
have it modified) to play new, user-written games?
Yes: 88%
No: 12%
(Assuming a half-point for those who gave a "Maybe" response)
11. What are your absolute favorite Jaguar games (three max)?
The big 3X3 (T2K, AVP, IS2) won out again on this one.
Tempest 2000 - 27%
Alien vs Predator - 17%
Iron Soldier 2 - 10%
Battlemorph - 9%
Rayman - 6%
Iron Soldier 1 - 6%
Doom - 4%
D2K - 4%
NBA Jam, BattleSphere, Super BurnOut, Pinball Fantasies,
Wolfenstein 3D, HoverStrike: CD, Syndicate, Highlander,
Towers II, Primal Rage, VLM, Club Drive, Fight For Life,
Raiden, Pitfall, Vid Grid, Ultra Vortek, Trevor McFur - <=2%
12. How long have you owned your Jaguar?
Average: 4 years
13. Were you an Atari enthusiast before getting your Jag?
Yes: 77%
No: 23%
14. What JEO sections do you like most?
Pretty much every section was mentioned... even "From the Editor"! But
the big winner with over half of the respondents was the interviews. This
makes me kind of embarrassed that this issue is interview-free. Oops.
15. What JEO sections do you like least?
Surprisingly, Yak took the most hits here. Yeah, I realize Yak isn't
strongly Jag-relevant anymore, but as the boanthrope who brought us T2K and
VLM, I feel his activities still bear watching. After all, T3K on the Nuon
is just around the (antialiased) corner...
A couple of you commented on the amount of reprinted material in JEO.
This is regrettable, but there's precious little news in Jagland these
days. If I limited JEO to all-original material, it would be a meager read
indeed.
Someone made this odd comment, "The FAQ - it can be found elsewhere."
Well, uh... consider your wish granted. JEO will no longer contain the FAQ.
Oh yeah, and a few suck-ups mentioned "Shutdown" as their least-
favorite section. You know who you are. ;-)
16. What would you like to see JEO do to be even better?
Responses here were mostly along the lines of "more of what I like"
(interviews, reviews, etc...) There were a few that stood out though--
"Hm,.. readers letters, maybe."
Good idea! Anyone out there want to write JEO a letter?
"Maybe organize? Its hard to go through everything because its so big."
How could JEO be more organized than it already is? I guess I could put
all the words in alphabetical order...
"Maybe it could be individually emailed to people that request it?"
Cough. Ummm, check the top section of every issue of JEO, dude.
17. What ONE game on any other platform (PC or console) would you
like to see ported to the Jag? Try to pick something the Jag
could do well.
This question proved that some people really can't follow simple
directions. There were multiple suggestions, genre suggestions ("A GOOD
CASINO SIMULATION", et al), games the Jag could never do (Quake), and games
that don't even exist (Venture 2000). Anyway, weeding all that chaff out,
here's the complete suggestion list. Note that Descent was the only game
mentioned more than once!
Final Fantasy V, Bomberman (using the TeamTap), Mortal Kombat 3, Star
Wars: The Arcade Game (the Atari one), Doom II (w/corrected networking code),
Hover Bovver, KLAX, Super Mario All-Stars, Street Fighter Zero 2 Alpha, R-
Type, Warcraft 2, GoldenEye, Tetris, Castlevania, Duke Nuk'em 3D, Neo Geo's
'Ghost Pilots', BattleSphere, Descent, Spy Hunter, Xevious, Astal, Jumpman,
Dune 2, Command & Conquer, Tekken 3, Elite 2, Escape Velocity, International
Superstar Soccer Pro, Street Fighter 3.
Thanks to everyone who participated in the survey!
--==--==--==--==--
|| JEO Trivia Challenge V: The Questions
|| By: Clay Halliwell
\__// clay.h@att.net
-----------------------------------------------------------------
The theme this month is "firsts". Ever get tired of hearing how
"innovative" the latest gizmo from Sony or Nintendo is? Are you sick of
dealing with a generation of gamers who don't know what "PONG" is? Well,
whip this little survey on them... it just might give them some respect for
history.
1. What was the first console cartridge-based system?
2. What was the first handheld cartridge-based system?
3. What was the first color handheld cartridge-based system?
4. What was the first tabletop cartridge-based system?
5. What was the first tabletop cartridge-based system to use a column
of red LEDs and a spinning mirror to generate its display?
6. What was the first console game with digital speech?
7. What was the first console game to do real-time anti-aliasing?
8. What was the first console system with analog joysticks?
9. What was the first console system with 4 controller ports?
10. What was the first system to generate a true interlaced display?
11. What was the first console system with a 64-bit memory bus?
BONUS QUESTION: Which system had a larger color palette-- the Atari 2600 or
the Nintendo Entertainment System?
--==--==--==--==--
|| Jaguar Tackboard
|| Confirmed information about Atari's Jaguar
\__// Compiled from online and official sources
-----------------------------------------------------------------
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
//// Jaguar Message Boards
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Anyone with web browsing capability can join in on the discussions on
several web-based Jaguar message boards out there on the net. Note that,
due to the rapid message turnover and instant-update nature of these
boards, they have a tendency to burn through topics in a matter of days
instead of weeks (or hours instead of days).
Just point your browser to:
Jaguar Interactive II (hosted by Atari Gaming Headquarters)
<http://www.atarihq.com/interactive/>
Atari Times Boardroom (hosted by The Atari Times)
<http://venus.beseen.com/boardroom/c/17653/Date>
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
//// Jaguar Chat
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Anyone with web browsing capability who wants to chat in real-time with
their fellow Jaguar enthusiasts, but has no access to IRC, should take
advantage of this Jag chat page:
JFPN's Jaguar Chat
<http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Heights/5916/chat.html>
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
//// Jaguar FAQ
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Robert Jung <rjung@netcom.com> maintains the Jaguar FAQ (Frequently Asked
Questions) file, a continually updated list of Jaguar specs and facts. The
Jaguar FAQ is posted to rec.games.video.atari on Usenet around the first of
every month, and can also be found at <http://www.digiserve.com/eescape/
atari/FAQ_-_Jaguar>.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
//// Jaguar Cheats and Codes
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Clay "No Handle" Halliwell <clay.h@att.net> maintains the Atari Jaguar Game
Cheats and Codes FAQ. It's available by e-mail request or from Atari Gaming
Headquarters <http://www.atarihq.com/jaglynx/jag/jagcheat.txt>.
Lonnie "The Mage" Smith <themage1@aol.com> maintains the Concise Compendium
of Frequently Asked Codes, Moves, and Cheats (FACMAC). It's available via
FTP from <users.aol.com:/TheMage1/jaguar>, or from <http://users.aol.com/
TheMage1/jaguar/jagcodes.txt>.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
//// JEO Development List
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
The following list of game titles has been confirmed to the best of JEO's
ability as of publication. Entries in the "S"tatus column reflect any
"u"pdates, "n"ew titles, or "?"uestionable listings since the last JEO
list. Entries in the "M"edia column reflect whether the title is "C"D-ROM
or "J"aguar Server/BJL (blank entries indicate cartridge software). "NEW"
indicates titles released since the last issue of JEO.
ETA dates are dates that have been provided by the developer or publisher.
//// Titles in Development or Limbo
S M Title ETA Developer Publisher
" " """"" """ """"""""" """""""""
n C Age of Darkness 2000 OMC Games OMC Games
u C Assassin, The 1Q/00 OMC Games OMC Games
BattleSphere 1999 4Play 4Play
J Bong+ 1999 ? Just Claws Software
? Deathwatch ? Data Design
J Gorf 2000 ? Krunch Korporation
u Hyper Force 1999 Visual Impact Songbird
J Jagmania (PacMania clone) ? Matthias Domin
J Jagmarble (Marble Madness clone) ? Matthias Domin
J JagTris (Tetris clone) ? Bastian Schick
J *NEXT* ? Force Design
J Painter ? Sinister
Protector 1999 Songbird/Bethesda Songbird
u Skyhammer 1999 Rebellion Songbird
n Soccer Kid 1999 Krisalis Songbird
? C Soulstar ? Core Design Ltd.
? Space War 2000 ? Atari
//// Current Software Releases
M Title Rated Developer Publisher
" """"" """"" """"""""" """""""""
AirCars 5 MidNite ICD
Alien vs. Predator 9 Rebellion Atari
Atari Karts 6 Miracle Design Atari
Attack of the Mutant Penguins 6 Sunrise Games Ltd. Atari
C Baldies 6 Creative Edge Atari
C Battlemorph 10 Attention to Detail Atari
C Blue Lightning 6 Attention to Detail Atari
C BrainDead 13 5 ReadySoft ReadySoft
Breakout 2000 7 MP Games Telegames
Brutal Sports Football 6 Millennium/Teque Telegames
Bubsy 5 Imagitec Design Atari
Cannon Fodder 8 Virgin Interactive C-West
Checkered Flag 4 Rebellion Atari
Club Drive 5 Atari Atari
Crescent Galaxy 3 Atari Atari
Cybermorph 7 Attention to Detail Atari
Defender 2000 8 Llamasoft Atari
Doom 8 id Software Atari
Double Dragon V 4 Williams Enter. Williams
C Dragon's Lair 5 ReadySoft ReadySoft
Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story 6 Virgin Interactive Atari
Evolution: Dino Dudes 6 Imagitec Design Atari
Fever Pitch Soccer 6 U.S. Gold Atari
Fight For Life 6 Atari Atari
Flashback 7 Tiertex Ltd. U.S. Gold
Flip Out! 6 Gorilla Systems Atari
C Highlander I 8 Lore Design Ltd. Atari
Hover Strike 5 Atari Atari
C Hover Strike: Unconquered Lands 7 Atari Atari
Iron Soldier 9 Eclipse Atari
C Iron Soldier 2 CD 10 Eclipse Telegames
Iron Soldier 2 10 Eclipse Telegames
I-War 4 Imagitec Design Atari
Kasumi Ninja 5 Hand Made Software Atari
Missile Command 3D 8 Virtuality Atari
C Myst 9 Atari Atari
C Myst Demo 5 Atari Atari
NBA Jam: Tournament Edition 9 High Voltage Atari
Pinball Fantasies 6 Spider Soft C-West
Pitfall: The Mayan Adventure 8 Imagitec Design Atari
Power Drive Rally 7 Rage Software TWI
C Primal Rage 7 Probe TWI
Raiden 6 Imagitec Design Atari
Rayman 10 UBI Soft UBI Soft
Ruiner 6 High Voltage Atari
Sensible Soccer 6 Williams Brothers Telegames
C Space Ace 3 ReadySoft ReadySoft
Super Burnout 7 Shen Atari
Supercross 3D 5 Tiertex Ltd. Atari
Syndicate 7 Bullfrog Ocean
System Test Cartridge 6 Atari Atari
Tempest 2000 10 Llamasoft Atari
Theme Park 6 Bullfrog Ocean
Towers II 7 JV Enterprises Telegames
Troy Aikman NFL Football 6 Telegames Williams
Ultra Vortek 8 Beyond Games Atari
Val d'Isere Skiing & Snowboarding 7 Virtual Studio Atari
C Vid Grid 6 High Voltage Atari
C VLM 9 Llamasoft Atari
White Men Can't Jump 6 High Voltage Atari
Wolfenstein 3D 7 id Software Atari
C World Tour Racing 6 Teque London Ltd. Telegames
Worms 9 Team 17 Telegames
Zero 5 7 Caspian Software Telegames
Zool 2 7 Gremlin Graphics Atari
Zoop 6 Viacom Atari
Total Carts 52
Total CDs 15 (counting VLM)
Total Combined 67
Pts Stars JEO Ratings
""" """"" """""""""""
10 ***** THE ULTIMATE - Flawless, beautiful, deviously addictive.
9 ****+ EXCELLENT - Something to throw in the face of N64-heads.
8 **** SMEGGIN' GREAT - Something to kick on the shoes of N64-heads.
7 ***+ DARN GOOD - Plays as good as it looks.
6 *** DECENT - Plays better than it looks (or vice versa).
5 **+ TIME KILLER - If there's nothing else to do, you play this.
4 ** INEPT - The programmer's first Jag game?
3 *+ INCOMPETENT - The programmer's first game ever?
2 * UNPUBLISHABLE - Heaven help us!
1 + INCONCEIVABLE BAD - ...but someone conceived it. Too bad.
0 - EXECRABLE - This is an April Fool's joke, right?
//// Current Hardware/Firmware Releases
Item Manufacturer
""""" """"""""""""
Jaguar 64 Atari
Jaguar 64 CD-ROM Drive Atari
3-button PowerPad Atari
6-button ProController Atari
Team Tap Atari
Jag-Link Atari
Memory Track Atari
Jaguar System Test Cartridge Atari
Composite Cable Atari
S-Video Cable Atari
Stereo Audio Interface (proto) Atari
VoiceModem (proto) Atari/Phylon
Controller Extension Cable Best Electronics
CatBox ICD/Black Cat Design
Lap Cat/Lap Cat Pro joystick Ben Aein
Jaguar Extreme Joystick Dark Knight Games (modded Gravis Blackhawk)
Jaguar Server devkit Roine Stenberg (Istari Software)
Behind Jaggy Lines devkit Bastian Schick
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
//// JEO Mail Order Directory 1.3
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
The following list of vendors carrying Jaguar software/hardware has been
confirmed to the best of JEO's ability. Please e-mail JEO for additions/
corrections.
//// B&C ComputerVisions
Mail 1725 De La Cruz Blvd #7
Santa Clara, CA 95050-3011
Voice 408-986-9960 (Tue-Fri, 10am-6pm)
Fax 408-986-9968
Email <myatari2@juno.com>
Web <http://www.myatari.com>
//// Best Electronics
Mail 2021 The Alameda, Suite 290
San Jose, CA 95126-1127
Voice 408-243-6950
Email <bestelec@concentric.net>
Web <http://www.best-electronics-ca.com>
//// Bits of Fun
Mail PO Box 12345
San Luis Obispo, CA
Phone 800-FUN-JAGS
Email <ddavis@cwest.com>
Web <http://www.cwest.com/atari>
//// Buy-Rite Video Games
Voice 919-850-9473
Fax 919-872-7561
Email <buyrite@interpath.com>
Web <http://www.buyrite1.com>
//// Demand Systems
Voice 805-482-7900
Orders 800-593-0059
Fax 805-484-3745
805-987-1998
Email <mbrown@demand-sys.com>
Web <http://www2.demand-sys.com/demand>
//// Dentec Computer Products
Mail 465 Milner Ave #3
Scarborough, Ontario M1B 2K4 Canada
Voice 416-292-2996
Fax 416-292-4075
416-292-248
Email <jaguar@dentec.com>
Web <http://www.dentec.com/warehousesale>
//// Flashback Video Games
Mail 2284 Kresge Drive
Amherst, OH 44001
Voice 216-960-1622
Fax 216-960-1663
Email <flashback@usa.net>
Web <http://www.sunmarkinc.com/products/flashback>
//// GameMasters
Mail 14393 E. 14th Street, Suite 208
San Leandro, CA 94577
Voice 510-483-4263
Email <mchaddon@game-masters.com>
Web <http://www.game-masters.com>
//// Game Pedler
Voice 801-273-0787 (ask for Internet Sales)
Fax 801-273-1357
Email <sales@gamepedler.com>
Web <http://www.gamepedler.com>
//// Games To Go
Mail 7632 Lyndale Avenue So.
Richfield, MN 55423
Voice 612-798-5879
Fax 612-869-5925
Email <sales@gamestogo.com> (orders)
<inquiries@gamestogo.com> (info)
Web <http://www.gamestogo.com>
//// Hardysoft
Mail 24 Lawnside Drive
Lawrenceville, NJ 08648
Orders 609-883-1083
Fax 609-538-8674
Email <hardysoft@genie.com>
<hardysoft@prodigy.com>
<hardysoft@compuserve.com>
Web <http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/hardysoft>
//// Multimedia 1.0
Mail 18 Saint Mark's Place
New York City, NY 10003
Voice 212-539-1039
Fax 212-539-1645
Email <sales@multimedia1.com>
Web <http://www.multimedia1.com>
//// O'Shea, Ltd.
Mail 330 West 47th Street #203
Kansas City, MO 64112
Voice 816-531-1177
Fax 816-531-6569
Email <billh@oshealtd.com>
Web <http://www.oshealtd.com>
//// STeve's Computer Technologies
Mail 405 Main Street
Woodland, CA 95695
Voice 916-661-3328
Fax 916-661-1201
Email <steves@woodland.net>
Web <http://woodland.net/steves/>
//// Telegames
Mail P.O. Box 901
Lancaster, Texas 75146
Voice 972-228-0690
Orders 972-224-7200
Fax 972-228-0693
Email <sales@telegames.com>
Web <http://www.telegames.com>
//// United Game Source
Mail 232 East Eau Gallie Blvd
Indian Harbour Beach, FL 32937
Orders 800-564-1458
Fax 407-777-3940
Email <unitedgame@aol.com>
Web <http://www.unitedgame.com>
//// Video Game Advantage
Mail 6861 Anthony Lane
Parma Heights, OH 44130
Orders 216-843-8815 (24-hr answering machine)
Email <vga2000@ix.netcom.com>
<vga2000@io.com>
<dw901@cleveland.freenet.edu>
Web <http://www.io.com/~vga2000>
//// Video Game Liquidators
Mail 4058 Tujunga Ave, #B
Studio City, CA 91604
Orders 818-505-1666 (9am-5pm PST)
888-944-4263 (toll free)
Fax 818-505-1686
Email <vglq@vglq.com>
Web <http://www.vglq.com>
//// The Video Games Source
Mail Salzbruecker Str. 36
21335 Lueneburg - Germany
Orders +(49) 4131-406278
Fax +(49) 4131-406278
Email <sales@atarihq.de>
Web <http://www.atarihq.de>
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
//// Announcements and Press Releases
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
//// Index
14 May 99 - Hasbro Frees Jaguar!
26 Feb 99 - CELEBRATE ATARI AT JAGFEST '99
19 Mar 99 - JAGFEST DETAILS NOW AVAILABLE
30 Mar 99 - FREE GAMES AT JAGFEST '99
01 May 99 - JAGFEST EVENT PULLING TOGETHER
19 Mar 99 - SONGBIRD PRODUCTIONS FORMED TO SUSTAIN ATARI CONSOLES
02 Apr 99 - SONGBIRD PRODUCTIONS ANNOUNCES SFX FOR THE ATARI LYNX
01 Jun 99 - SONGBIRD PRODUCTIONS ANNOUNCES UPCOMING ATARI RELEASES
20 May 99 - OMC ANNOUNCES TWO NEW RPGs
19 Feb 99 - New Atari E-Zine
13 May 99 - Latest Goings-On At Hasbro
//// Hasbro Frees Jaguar!
Beverly, MA (May 14,1999) - Leading entertainment software publisher Hasbro
Interactive announced today it has released all rights that it may have to
the vintage Atari hardware platform, the Jaguar.
Hasbro Interactive acquired rights to many Atari properties, including the
legendary Centipede, Missile Command, and Pong games, in a March 1998
acquisition from JTS Corporation.
This announcement will allow software developers to create and publish
software for the Jaguar system without having to obtain a licensing
agreement with Hasbro Interactive for such platform development. Hasbro
Interactive cautioned, however, that the developers should not use the
Atari trademark or logo in connection with their games or present the games
as authorized or approved by Hasbro Interactive.
"Hasbro Interactive is strictly focused on developing and publishing
entertainment software for the PC and the next generation game consoles,"
said Richard Cleveland, Head of Marketing for Hasbro Interactive's Atari
Business Unit. "We realize there is a passionate audience of diehard Atari
fans who want to keep the Jaguar system alive, and we don't want to prevent
them from doing that. We will not interfere with the efforts of software
developers to create software for the Jaguar system."
//// JagFest '99 Announcement
I'm pleased to announce JagFest '99. The _tentative_ date and location is
June 18 in Rochester, MN. I know June doesn't work for everybody, but it's
the best time for me this summer and also keeps the event from conflicting
in any way with CGE '99. Still, I'm open to changing it if it would
dramatically improve attendance.
Details are on the below web page. Look for <http://jagfest.atari.org> to
be the new link within the next two days.
<http://homepage2.rconnect.com/forhan/jagfest.html>
Let's get the word out! I'd like to see as many links, newsgroup posts,
email newsletters, 'zines, etc. carry some reference to JagFest '99, so we
can make this the biggest event yet. I wouldn't mind opening it up to Atari
computer support as well, if I can get some ST groups to come in to the
show. A bigger emphasis on other Atari systems from the past would be
welcome as well.
Feedback is appreciated, and please be sure to send me an 'Attendee' email
if you plan on attending.
Thanks,
Carl Forhan
<forhan@millcomm.com>
Songbird Productions
//// CELEBRATE ATARI AT JAGFEST '99
February 26, 1999
ROCHESTER, MN -- Carl Forhan, well-known hobby developer for the Atari Lynx
and Jaguar, has agreed to host this year's JagFest event in Rochester, MN,
on June 18, 1999. This third annual event will broaden its focus to
encompass all Atari systems, from the classic 2600 VCS to the ST line of
computers to the Jaguar and everything in between.
"The theme for this year's show is 'Celebrate Atari', and that's exactly
what we're going to do," commented Carl Forhan. "I encourage every Atari
fan to bring their collection for the 'Rare & Unreleased' exhibit or
possibly to trade and sell to other collectors. I know I'll have my 150+
piece collection for the VCS and 7800 present, as well as a number of one-
of-a-kind items for the Jaguar and Lynx."
The event will include an exhibit of rare Atari items, tournaments on
consoles ranging from 2600 Warlords to Jaguar BattleSphere, prizes for
tournament winners and attendees, demos of unreleased games, a trading area
for collectors, and opportunities to purchase recent releases for all Atari
platforms.
Details are still being worked out, but the projected cost for the event is
$10-12 per person. An additional fee may apply to reserve a table for the
express purpose of sales.
Be sure to visit the official JagFest '99 website at
<http://jagfest.atari.org>. Carl Forhan may be reached via email at
<forhan@millcomm.com>.
Copyright 1999, Songbird Productions. This message may be reprinted in its
entirety.
//// JAGFEST DETAILS NOW AVAILABLE
March 19, 1999
For Immediate Release:
ROCHESTER, MN -- Songbird Productions is proud to be the official sponsor
of this year's JagFest. This third annual event will be held in Rochester,
MN, on June 18, 1999. The theme for this year's event is "Celebrate Atari",
and Songbird Productions welcomes the opportunity to expand the event to
cover all Atari consoles -- from the classic VCS (2600) to the Lynx to the
Jaguar.
Enthusiasts are encouraged to bring their own collections for display or
trade. Special accommodations must be made with Songbird Productions for
those wishing to reserve a table, TV, or sell any merchandise.
Details are as follows:
Where: Holiday Inn South
1630 South Broadway
Rochester, MN 55904
(507)288-1844
When: June 18, 1999
Set up from 7-10am
General public from 10am-10pm
Cost: Adult: $10 in advance, $12 at the door
Ages 6-12: $3
Ages 5 & under: FREE
----- Hotel information -----------------------------------
The Holiday Inn South has a limited selection of rooms available at a
special JagFest price of $79 per night. You must call the hotel directly at
(507)288-1844 to receive this special pricing, and notify the
representative of the discount code 'JAG'. These rooms must be reserved
before May 27, 1999, to guarantee availability.
Other hotels are also available within walking distance of the Holiday Inn
South. These hotels include:
Quality Inn and Suites
1620 1st Ave SE
Rochester, MN 55904
(507)282-8091
Comfort Inn
1625 S. Broadway
Rochester, MN 55904
(507)281-2211
Econo Lodge South
1850 S. Broadway
Rochester, MN 55904
(507)282-9905
----- Tickets ---------------------------------------------
Tickets may now be reserved directly with Songbird Productions. Send an
email to <songbird@atari.org> for details.
Tickets or wristbands will be issued, allowing attendees to come and go all
day long as needed. All children 12 & under must be accompanied by an adult
at all times.
----- General Information ---------------------------------
Be sure to visit the JagFest '99 web site for the latest information:
<http://jagfest.atari.org>
For those who may wish to remain in Rochester over the weekend, more
activities are currently slated:
Saturday, June 19 - Take a trip to one of the largest shopping centers in
the world: the Mall of America. Try your hand at the NASCAR networked
racing simulator, visit the arcade, play a round of laser tag at Starbase
Omega, shop at the Starlog retail store or Electronics Boutique, or even
try a roller coaster at Camp Snoopy. Plus, don't forget to visit specialty
video game stores Games to Go and Raven Video Games. Directions will be
provided.
Sunday, June 20 - Before you head back home, join Carl Forhan for church at
New Life Worship Center <http://www.newlifewc.org>. NLWC is a contemporary
Christian church dedicated to the singular purpose of bringing glory to the
Lord and spreading the good news of the gospel. Carl energetically leads
the music team with his vocals and keyboard skills. Other instruments
include bass guitar, drums, piano, and back up vocals. This is one church
service you won't want to miss! Directions will be provided.
Other areas of interest in Rochester include the Mayo Clinic, IBM, Apache
Mall (with arcade), Skyline Raceway and Waterslide, Cyber Cue pool hall,
and more.
To keep up to date with the latest news at Songbird Productions, be sure to
visit the company web site at <http://songbird.atari.org>, or send an email
to <songbird@atari.org>.
Copyright 1999 Songbird Productions. All rights reserved. This article may
be reprinted in its entirety.
//// FREE GAMES AT JAGFEST '99
March 30, 1999
For Immediate Release:
ROCHESTER, MN -- Attend JagFest '99. Get a free game. It's that simple. At
least, that's the message coming from Carl Forhan of Songbird Productions,
the organizer and promoter of the event.
Each paid adult admission to JagFest '99 will include a coupon for up to $3
off a single item purchase from the Songbird Productions table. A variety
of factory-new 2600 and 7800 games will be available for under $3, as well
as a number of current and new games for the Jaguar and Lynx and other
Atari merchandise at normal retail prices. Simply present your coupon at
the Songbird Productions table, and you can walk away with a free 2600 or
7800 game, or use the coupon to get a discount off of other merchandise. *
Sponsors are also being lined up for JagFest '99, to be held at the Holiday
Inn South in Rochester, MN, on June 18, 1999. Songbird Productions, Go
Atari, Hozer Video Games, Jerry G. Classic Gold Video Games, and Atari
Video Club have all agreed to sponsor JagFest.
More sponsors are being contacted at this time, and it is hoped that
several companies and game shops will be in attendance at JagFest '99.
* - One coupon per item, up to $3 off the retail price. No refunds if the
entire face value of the coupon is not used. Coupon valid only on June 18,
1999, and while supplies of merchandise last at the Songbird Productions
table. Coupon may not be combined with any other offer. You must purchase
an adult admission to JagFest '99 to receive this coupon.
----- General Information ---------------------------------
Be sure to visit the JagFest '99 web site for the latest information:
<http://jagfest.atari.org>
For those who may wish to remain in Rochester over the weekend, more
activities are currently slated:
Saturday, June 19 - Take a trip to one of the largest shopping centers in
the world: the Mall of America. Try your hand at the NASCAR networked
racing simulator, visit the arcade, play a round of laser tag at Starbase
Omega, shop at the Starlog retail store or Electronics Boutique, or even
try a roller coaster at Camp Snoopy. Plus, don't forget to visit specialty
video game stores Games to Go and Raven Video Games. Directions will be
provided.
Sunday, June 20 - Before you head back home, join Carl Forhan for church at
New Life Worship Center <http://www.newlifewc.org>. NLWC is a contemporary
Christian church dedicated to the singular purpose of bringing glory to the
Lord and spreading the good news of the gospel. Carl energetically leads
the music team with his vocals and keyboard skills. Other instruments
include bass guitar, drums, piano, and back up vocals. This is one church
service you won't want to miss! Directions will be provided.
Other areas of interest in Rochester include the Mayo Clinic, IBM, Apache
Mall (with arcade), Skyline Raceway and Waterslide, Cyber Cue pool hall,
and more.
To keep up to date with the latest news at Songbird Productions, be sure to
visit the company web site at http://songbird.atari.org, or send an email
to <songbird@atari.org>.
Copyright 1999 Songbird Productions. All rights reserved. This article may
be reprinted in its entirety.
//// JAGFEST EVENT PULLING TOGETHER
June 1, 1999
For Immediate Release:
ROCHESTER, MN -- More and more, JagFest '99 is looking like the place to be
for dedicated Atari gamers, particularly those located near the Midwestern
location in Rochester, MN.
Carl Forhan of Songbird Productions, the host for this year's event, recently
spoke about the vast array of support he has received for JagFest '99. "Atari
fans and vendors alike are providing phenomenal levels of support for this
year's JagFest," said Carl. "Fans will be bringing their equipment for display
and entertainment. We're going to hold some tournaments, from the 2600 to the
Jaguar, and have a number of prizes to give away including shrink-wrapped
games, Jaguar lapel pins, controllers, and more. BattleSphere and Protector
will be available for play. And you won't believe some of the rare and
unreleased items lined up for the exhibit -- we'll have the Jaguar Voice
Modem, a 7800 Klax prototype, Jaguar rotary controllers, and many more items."
Sponsors have likewise provided strong support. At press time, Carl Forhan has
confirmed that Songbird Productions, Raven Video Games, and Zentanyx
Multimedia will be present with a strong supply of merchandise for many
platforms, especially Atari systems. Other sponsors have graciously donated
Atari merchandise to be sold or awarded as prizes at JagFest '99.
"This is definitely going to be the biggest JagFest yet, and I'm confident
that Atari fans will thoroughly enjoy JagFest '99.
Be sure to visit the JagFest '99 web site for the latest information:
http://jagfest.atari.org
To keep up to date with the latest news at Songbird Productions, be sure to
visit the company web site at http://songbird.atari.org, or send an email to
songbird@atari.org.
Copyright 1999 Songbird Productions. All rights reserved. This article may be
reprinted in its entirety.
//// SONGBIRD PRODUCTIONS FORMED TO SUSTAIN ATARI CONSOLES
March 19, 1999
For Immediate Release:
ROCHESTER, MN - Carl Forhan, well-known hobby developer for Atari consoles,
is pleased to announce the formation of Songbird Productions to sustain
Atari consoles into the new millennium. The emphasis of Songbird
Productions will be to both publish games Carl has personally developed as
well as become a resource for other hobby developers looking to publish a
game for any Atari console, from the 2600 to the Jaguar.
"I've been doing hobby development on the Lynx and Jaguar for a long time,"
stated Carl. "Now I'm at the stage where it makes sense to form Songbird
Productions. Atari fans everywhere will be pleased with the level of
support I plan to provide for Atari consoles over the next year to two
years. I have a couple of surprises up my sleeve that will be revealed in
the coming months."
Current projects at Songbird Productions include SFX and Ponx for the Lynx,
and Protector for the Jaguar. Several specific, new projects are also being
evaluated at this time.
To keep up to date with the latest news at Songbird Productions, be sure to
visit the company web site at <http://songbird.atari.org>, or send an email
to <songbird@atari.org>.
Copyright 1999 Songbird Productions. All rights reserved. This article may
be reprinted in its entirety.
//// SONGBIRD PRODUCTIONS ANNOUNCES SFX FOR THE ATARI LYNX
April 2, 1999
For Immediate Release:
ROCHESTER, MN -- Songbird Productions is pleased to announce the
availability of SFX for the Atari Lynx. SFX is an exciting, new audio tool
for the Lynx. Perfect for the hobbyist developer or curious tinkerer, SFX
allows the user almost full control over the four audio channels available
on the Lynx.
"I am very grateful for the Lynx fans who stuck with me on their pre-orders
for SFX last fall," commented Carl Forhan, owner of Songbird Productions
and the developer of SFX. "I had no idea that the project would initially
be plagued by so many delays, but it's all finally coming together. And now
that the kinks are worked out on producing new cartridges, Lynx fans can
expect at least two more releases in 1999 from Songbird Productions."
The target ship date for SFX is April 16, 1999, and the retail price is
$34.95. If you are interested in ordering SFX, please visit the Songbird
Productions web page at <http://songbird.atari.org>. Dealer inquiries
welcome.
To keep up to date with the latest news at Songbird Productions, be sure to
visit the company web site at http://songbird.atari.org, or send an email
to <songbird@atari.org>.
Copyright 1999 Songbird Productions. All rights reserved. This article may
be reprinted in its entirety.
////SONGBIRD PRODUCTIONS ANNOUNCES UPCOMING ATARI RELEASES
June 1, 1999
For immediate release:
ROCHESTER, MN -- Songbird Productions is pleased to announce renewed support
for Atari gaming consoles in the form of new releases for the Jaguar and Lynx.
Topping off the list is Ponx for the Atari Lynx. Ponx brings the ball-and-
paddle classic that started it all to the Lynx. But this isn't your ordinary
game. Ponx features a number of options, such as multiple balls, a Lynx
controlled opponent with selectable AI, and more. Plus, in a throwback to
classic handheld gaming, play against a friend on the same Lynx unit (no
ComLynx cable or second Ponx cartridge necessary!).
The target release date for Ponx is June 18, 1999, and the retail price is
$39.95. If you are interested in ordering Ponx, please visit the Songbird
Productions web page at http://songbird.atari.org. Dealer inquiries welcome.
Songbird Productions continues to make significant progress on Protector, a
fast-paced 2D bi-directional shooter for the Jaguar. Anticipated release date
is later in 1999.
In addition, Songbird Productions has licensed a number of unreleased games
from former Jaguar developers. The games licensed are: Soccer Kid from
Krisalis Software Ltd., Hyper Force from Visual Impact, and Skyhammer from
Rebellion.
"Jaguar and Lynx fans have remained highly supportive of Atari game consoles,"
said Carl Forhan, owner of Songbird Productions. "I can't tell you how excited
I am to have licensed these games from their respective companies and know
that I will get them into gamers' hands in the coming months. This is a great
opportunity for Songbird Productions to help sustain the Jaguar and Lynx into
the next millennium."
At press time, no release dates had been set for any of the Jaguar products.
All inquiries on these products should be directed to Songbird Productions
only.
To keep up to date with the latest news at Songbird Productions, be sure to
visit the company web site at http://songbird.atari.org, or send an email to
songbird@atari.org.
Copyright 1999 Songbird Productions. All rights reserved. This article may be
reprinted in its entirety.
//// OMC ANNOUNCES TWO NEW RPGs
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
OMC GAMES DIVISION ANNOUNCES TWO NEW RPGs, "THE ASSASSIN" AND "AGE OF
DARKNESS", FOR THE JAGUAR GAME CONSOLE
May 20, 1999 -- (Austin, TX) -- In what could be considered a bold move, OMC
Games Division has officially announced two RPGs which will make their debut
on the Jaguar game console, but has stated that there will definitely be an
Atari 8-bit version of "The Assassin" as well as possible conversion onto a
current mainstream console.
James Garvin, owner of OMC Games, states that the recent announcement by
Hasbro Interactive during this years E3 in which it was stated that they have
released all rights they may have concerning the Atari Jaguar, has removed all
barriers that had confined developers in the past. He goes on to state,
"Hasbro's announcement couldn't have come at a better time as it seemed like
the Jaguar Community was on the verge of collapse. And though the Jaguar will
never again be mainstream, I feel good to know that one more segment of the
gaming industry is at peace. These guys fought hard to keep the Jaguar alive
these past few years and it's my pleasure to give something back. Now the
encryption issue is settled we can make good on our promise to get these games
out."
Both RPGs will feature 2D graphics which will rival other games currently on
the market. Though impressive visuals will be secondary to their compelling
stories and action oriented gameplay. "I think we're going to make a statement
that Square and Enix aren't the only companies out there who can make great
RPGs. We're making these games with the serious RPG gamer in mind. We have
nothing to lose so we're pulling out all stops, and we don't need 'state of
the art' hardware to do it," comments James Garvin.
The first to be released is "The Assassin", a sci-fi/fantasy detective story
set in the futuristic-cyberpunk world of 2147. You take the role of Chicago
detective Michael Steele, who sets out to solve the case of his life and find
the murderers of his little brother. Set in the world of the soon-to-be-
released paper RPG "Blood City", the player will visit major cities such as
New York, Austin, Tokyo, Nagoya, Cairo, and London. The player will be able to
gain new skills, build their reputation, go up levels, purchase well over 250
weapons, armor, and vehicles, and tackle a huge variety of subplots and cases.
"The Assassin" gets its roots from the greats of Hong Kong cinema (John Woo,
Tsui Hark, Chow Yun-Fat) so the player can expect larger than life shoot-outs
and fantastic stunts. All in real-time. This is a game RPG fans will not want
to miss.
OMC will follow "The Assassin" with "Age Of Darkness", a fantasy RPG set in
the tormented world of Tannis. As seasoned adventurer Vorlan, you have to save
the world from darkness only to find that nothing is what it seems. "Age Of
Darkness" boasts what could be considered the largest game world in RPG
history. Not only does the player explore a vast material world but also more
than 6 planes of existence including the 666 Layers of the Abyss. The player
will be able to get a job, advance levels, cast spells, and create custom
equipment.
Both titles will appear on CD-ROM for the Jaguar CD console, while a special
edition of "The Assassin" will be released for the Atari XL/XE on 5 1/4"
floppies. While these games will appear on the Jaguar format first, a
conversion is being looked at for one of the major mainstream consoles. The
release date for "The Assassin" is tentatively 1st Qtr. 2000, with "Age Of
Darkness" sometime later that year. All games will be professionally packaged,
and rated by the ESRB.
OMC Games Division is a sole proprietorship based in Austin, Texas, the
publisher of HieroGraphix Game Journal and home of superhero Max Freeman
(a.k.a. Eternal Darkness).
1999 OMC Games Div.
(http://www.omcgames.com/)
Contacts:
James Garvin
omc@io.com
Sandro Sarang
sandro@omcgames.com
//// New Atari E-Zine
For Immediate Release
Former Atari Editors to Debut New Online Magazine
[February 19, 1999, Boston] Former STReport Atari Editors Dana Jacobson and
Joe Mirando announced today that they have begun work on a new Atari online
magazine. A-ONE (Atari Online News, Etc.), which will likely debut on
Friday, March 5, will be a magazine primarily aimed to serve the Atari
community, according to Jacobson. "Our goal," said Jacobson, "is to focus
on a magazine which covers material of interest to fellow Atari users.
We'll do our best to cover all facets of the Atari experience - computing
and console gaming. But, we'll also cover topics that are of a general
interest to Atari users: general industry news items and other gaming
platforms."
"Joe and I have been using and writing about Atari computers for a long
time," says Jacobson. "Between the two of us," he added, "we've probably
written for most of the commercial Atari magazines of yesteryear such as
Current Notes, Atari Interface, ST Informer, and Atari Explorer. And we
just completed a lengthy stint with STReport, an online magazine. We have
both considered doing an Atari online magazine on our own for quite some
time now. The talks became more serious the past few weeks and many of our
STReport readers were asking. The timing was perfect."
Jacobson states that A-ONE readers will see the same coverage as they did
with STReport, but more. "Columns such as 'People Are Talking' will
continue in A-One," states Jacobson, "and the Atari news items, various
announcements and product descriptions will continue. We're also going to
continue with the computing and technology industry news section, as well
as Atari and other platform gaming news. All of that will remain
unchanged, except cosmetically."
When asked what new things A-ONE readers will be able to see in the
magazine, Jacobson reported that "we have a lot of new ideas; and we're
going to be able to resurrect some old ones! We've talked to Michael
Burkley, of Suzy B's fame. A-ONE readers will be happy to learn that
Michael has agreed to bring back his "Unabashed Atariophile" column - a
column devoted to Atari public domain, shareware, and freeware software.
We're also looking to get more involved with Atari internet news. We're
working on 'guest columns.' We'll be talking to a number of people to help
us make A-ONE the #1 Atari online magazine worldwide."
According to Jacobson, A-ONE will be a text-based magazine. However, he
stated that an HTML version hasn't been ruled out as an additional format.
"We're in the process of establishing distribution points for the
magazine," Jacobson stated. "We'll maintain our e-mail distribution lists
as well as making the magazine available on online services such as Delphi
and bulletin boards. We'll also make it available for downloading via
numerous Internet web pages. The best way to do this, and make it
accessible to all readers, is text. But we realize that some of our
readers may want to read A-ONE while on the Internet. The 'plain' text
version will be available initially, but we're also considering adding an
HTML version, with all the 'eye-candy,' for those who might want it."
To contact A-ONE regarding e-mail subscriptions or other inquiries, send e-
mail to dpj@delphi.com . For submissions and related information, send e-
mail to <jmirando@portone.com>.
//// Latest Goings-On At Hasbro
HASBRO INTERACTIVE UNVEILS 1999 ACTION GAME LINE-UP WITH REVIVED ATARI
BLASTS FROM THE PAST, THE NEXT TETRIS AND MORE
LOS ANGELES (May 13, 1999) - Hasbro Interactive's 1999 action games line-up
is all out fun with the introduction of seven new titles for the
PlayStationr game console and the PC. New this year are 3D versions of
beloved Atari classics from the 70s and 80s like Pong, Centipede, and
Missile Command; arcade favorite Q*bert; and The Next Tetris, a 3D,
multiplayer version of the popular Tetris game, and more!
"We are extremely excited to debut our extended line of classic arcade
revivals and fantastic, action-packed games at E3," said Hasbro Interactive
President Tom Dusenberry. "Our success with Frogger on both the PC and
PlayStation game console has paved the way for future success in the action
genre."
Leading the action pack this year is The Next Tetris, the newest version of
one of the most successful video games in history - Tetris. The object of
The Next Tetris is to clear the lines at the bottom of the playfield by
arranging the falling blocks to fill a horizontal line. The game introduces
brand new features like breakaway blocks, cascades and time trials, fresh
new graphics and sound, and a new multi-player ranking system that enables
opponents to compete against each other regardless of their skill level.
Get ready to rumble The Next Tetris style this June on the PlayStation game
console.
Now let's go back to the arcade...
In the beginning, there was Pong, the legendary, table-tennis-style video
game that ignited the industry. Now Pong is back for PlayStation game
console and the PC, challenging players once again to keep their reflexes
sharp as they lob the ball back and forth in pursuit of high score. Only
this time, the lush 3D graphics, all new paddles and unique features add a
whole new element of challenge to the game. Get your paddles ready in
October.
Another video game "must have" from the 70s - Hasbro Interactive is
bringing Atari classic space war game Missile Command back to life in 3D.
Just like in the original, the premise is simple: protect six cities from
incoming alien missiles. Beware, this time around the enemy fire is even
tougher to battle as you try to protect the rich 3D terrain planet from
invasion. Missiles will be launched in November.
Also this Fall - Think quirky, think colorful - that's Q*bert! Join the
bouncy, bubbling star of Hasbro Interactive's 3D version of Q*bert as he
bounds his way through cube mazes, turning all squares the same color
before his zany enemies - Ugg, Wrong-Way and Coily the Snake - foil his
plans. Q*bert will bounce onto the scene in November for the PlayStation
game console and the PC. Boing, boing...
For those die-hard Atari fans, Atari Arcade Hits is the definitive classic
Atari collection for the PC which includes authentic versions of six of the
most well-loved Atari classics: Asteroids, Centipede, Missile Command,
Tempest, Super Breakout, and Pong. On top of that, game memorabilia,
interviews with original designers, information on upcoming 3D releases,
and more will be included in the collection. Get ready to relive the arcade
this June.
Hasbro Interactive will also be adding PlayStation game console versions of
two popular PC titles from 1998 - Glover and Centipede. In Centipede, the
classic Atari arcade game of the early 80's is back, seamlessly combining
the addictive nature of the classic version with the excitement of today's
3D action-adventure. Players help hero Wally battle deadly insects in one
of two modes: Arcade (classic play) or Adventure (3D from several
perspectives - top down, third or first person views). The battle of the
bugs starts in June.
After his debut on PC and Nintendo 64 systems last fall, that lovable
Glover is bounding his way onto the PlayStation game console! Players must
navigate seven magical worlds in search of crystals that'll save the
magical world from Glover's evil twin and restore the land. Look for the
Glover in December.
Finally, through a recent agreement with Namco, Hasbro Interactive will
develop, publish and distribute interactive games based on 11 Namco
properties, including Pac-Man, the #1 video arcade game of all time. The
license agreement includes PC game rights to such arcade classics as Pac-
Man, Ms. Pac-Man and Dig Dug, and multiple hardware platform rights to
Galaga, Galaxian and Pole Position, among others. Hasbro Interactive's
first games based on the Namco properties will be available in the fall of
2000, coinciding with Pac-Man's 20th anniversary.
Hasbro Interactive, Inc. is a leading all-family interactive games
publisher, formed in 1995 to bring to life on the computer the deep library
of toy and board games of parent company, Hasbro, Inc. (ASE:HAS). Hasbro
Interactive has expanded its charter to include original and licensed games
for the PC, the PlayStation and Nintendo 64 game consoles and for multi-
player gaming over the Internet. Headquartered in Beverly, Massachusetts,
Hasbro Interactive has offices in the U.K., France, Germany, Japan and
Canada. For more information, visit the Hasbro Interactive Web site at
<http://www.hasbro-interactive.com>.
Frogger is a registered trademark of Konami Co., Ltd.(c) 1981 KONAMI. All
rights reserved.
Tetris is a registered trademark of Elorg and has been licensed to The
Tetris Company.
PlayStation and the PlayStation logos are registered trademarks of Sony
Computer Entertainment Inc.
Centipede, Pong, Missile Command, Tempest, Breakout and Asteroids are
trademarks of Atari Interactive, Inc., a Hasbro affiliate
(c) 1999 Hasbro Interactive, Inc.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
//// New Cheats and Codes
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
//// VLM External Input Mode... NOT!
Thanks to Sean Routte, Jeff "Yak" Minter has finally admitted that there is
no external input code built into the JagCD Virtual Light Machine. Here's
the e-mail:
Date: Thu, 21 Jan 1999 16:59:56 +0000
From: yak (llamaman@ix.netcom.com)
Subject: Re: Atari Jaguar VLM External Input
To: Sean Routte (routte_s@denison.edu)
There was an analog input mode, but it needed to work with special hardware
- namely, an external A to D board, which we lashed up in Atari to test the
VLM before it was finally integrated into the CDROM. The only way to get
external audio in now is to have such a board made and to use a hacked
version of the VLM code running on a development-system Jag. A mate of mine
in Bristol uses such a system, and will even make them up to order - but
since they are all hand-made, they do not come cheap!
I would have liked an external-input option in the JagVLM, but I guess it
wasn't that important to Atari so it never happened.
Cheerz...
\
(:-)
/
--==--==--==--==--
|| CyberChatter
|| Random topics about the Jaguar
\__// Compiled from online public discussion areas
-----------------------------------------------------------------
With six months of postings to pick from, this section is kind of huge this
issue! So I'm trying out a new feature, the--
//// Index of Topics
BattleSphere Tech
BattleSphere Stuff (aka, "Tilting at Hasbro")
Hasbro Speaks: YES! YES! YES!
Protector Update
CatBox Calamity
Alternate Cartridges
2600 Emulation
Curt's Cool Atari Trivia
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
//// BattleSphere Tech
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Jaguar Interactive II
Re: Battlesphere
Posted by Mark Stingray Santora (pool049-max3.ds17-ca-
us.dialup.earthlink.net) on January 20, 1999 at 16:15:30:
In Reply to: Battlesphere posted by chillski on January 20, 1999 at
06:56:51:
>I would just like to know as far as graphics, is the jaguar
>using its full potential, is it doing the best it can do.
>The game looks awesome just curious. Also I see that encryption has
>been approved by Hasbro so what's the hold up, does anyone know.
According to Scott, BattleSphere uses about 70-80% of the Jag's potential.
If he were to go back and rewrite the engine knowing what he knows now, the
ships would have a lot more polygons and the frame rate would be rock
steady at 30fps. But that's a complete rewrite and 4Play's moved onto other
things.
-Mark "stingray" Santora
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Re: Battle Sphere vs. Star Raiders
Author: varelse <varelse@best.com>
Date: 1999/05/06
Forum: alt.atari-jaguar.discussion
In article <372e784a.33124960@news.earthlink.net>, krishna@cyberjunkie.com
wrote:
>
> I haven't put in any time on the Alone Vs. The Empire mode,
> only multiplayer. Multiplayer mode has no starbases, so it's
> a different kind of game from Star Raiders. Also, Battlesphere
> has no aft view, which was a big part of the charm of SR.
We're guilty of the latter charge, innocent of the former. Any future
edition of the game will have a rear-view mirror option for one of the
screens. The polygon bandwidth just wasn't there for it on the Jaguar.
As others have pointed out, both Gauntlet and BattleSphere mode have
starbases. Both of these are multiplayer modes.
> It does have variable speed, like SR, and the photon torpedo
> sounds are sampled from SR.
>
> Also, the multiplayer is all in one sector, so to speak, so
> there is no hyperspace. There is also no resource management
> in combat mode (can't speak for Alone vs. Empire). You have
> shields but your energy keeps regenerating. There is no
> cumulative damage to subsystems as in Star Raiders.
There is resource management in every mode since there is no way to
replenish weapon stocks without getting fragged in Free For All. The other
modes all have starbases or other modes of replenishment.
> So the gameplay is very different. It had to be that way to
> work best for multiplayer. Just think if everyone had the
> freedom to hyperspace to a starbase. There needs to be a
> closed "sphere" to keep the ships fighting each other. A single
> player mode works better with the resource management and
> sector hopping strategy as Star Raiders does it.
I would have >LOVED< to do AAtE networked. It was a question of network
bandwidth on the jaguar that prevented it. Our vision was ultimately to
create a persistent galaxy on a BattleSphere server (back in the days when
we thought the modem would work) where people could push the battle lines
back and forth much like in an Air Warrior campaign. Ah well, I'd settle
now just to ship the thing.
Where we really diverge from Star Raiders is in the presence of friendly
forces. They completely change the nature of the gameplay allowing you to
play anywhere from a chairbound general to a hands-on kamikaze who needs a
little help now and then. Anyone who has tried this has really dug it.
Time will tell.
Scott
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
//// BattleSphere Stuff (aka, "Tilting at Hasbro")
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Jaguar Interactive II
Re: BS updates
Posted by Scott Le Grand (dynamic38.pm01.santa-cruz.best.com) on January
12, 1999 at 00:57:09:
In Reply to: BS updates posted by Ice Man on January 12, 1999 at 00:36:54:
>Hi,
>
>I haven't seen any BS updates for a long time now, I think it's
>time for one now, even if it only is a short one.
>
>Ave
>Ice Man
OK, here it is:
BattleSphere is STILL cool.
Hasbro STILL sucks.
The End
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Jaguar Interactive II
The last, best hope for BattleSphere...
Posted by Doug Engel (mid-qbu-nqf-vty59.as.wcom.net) on February 15, 1999
at 15:32:33:
In Reply to: ROM size. posted by The Fallen Angel on February 15, 1999 at
15:17:19:
I think most of you are forgetting what was said by our resident Grumpy Old
Coder about the delay in BattleSphere... there is something going on at
Hasbro which we are not yet at liberty to discuss, which is impeding our
progress. At this point, we have the ability to get the cart encrypted, but
no permission to do so. If we encrypt and sell it, we stand to get sued
(along with anyone who has helped in the encryption process).
I think perhaps it might be amusing for a large crowd of people to start -
>politely<- inquiring to Hasbro about the status of the upcoming
"BattleSphere(tm)". No mention of Atari, and no mention of the Jaguar. Just
ask about the status of "BattleSphere(tm)". This will probably circumvent
the auto-Jaguar-Brushoff-Replybot from sending that annoying form letter.
To answer BattleSphere inquiries, a HUMAN would have to read the letter and
actually try and find out the status of the game. This might draw more
people into the loop who can override the decision of the roadblocks.
Maybe people could innocently ask the magazines what the status of
"BattleSphere" is too.
If anything, the Hasbro people will reply with a dumbfounded "What's
BattleSphere?" question and someone can explain that 4Play had a contract
with Atari to encrypt the game and that now that the game was done the
public wants to know what Hasbro is doing to fulfill their contractual
obligations.
Let them stick that in their craw for a while!
Thunderbird
4Play
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Jaguar Interactive II
Re: Re: The last, best hope for BattleSphere...
Posted by Thunderbird (mid-qbu-nqf-vty59.as.wcom.net) on February 15, 1999
at 15:57:47:
In Reply to: Re: The last, best hope for BattleSphere... posted by Marshall
W. Carter on February 15, 1999 at 15:53:43:
>My question is, what is Hasbro hoping to gain from this?
>It just doesn't make any sense...
It does when you have all the facts. They DO have something to gain. It's
something very small (miniscule, in fact) but in the minds of the
roadblocks it is a big thing... they are worried about the CYA syndrome!
Thunderbird
4Play
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Jaguar Interactive II
Re: Re: Re: Re: The last, best hope for BattleSphere...
Posted by Scott Le Grand (dynamic15.pm01.santa-cruz.best.com) on February
15, 1999 at 22:42:57:
In Reply to: Re: Re: Re: The last, best hope for BattleSphere... posted by
the UA on February 15, 1999 at 17:11:51:
Basically, if it's reasonably polite, go for it. We are utterly incapable
of getting these guys to even consider allowing it out the door.
Yes, we had clearance as of October, 1998. That clearance was given to us
by someone without the power to grant such clearance. It was quickly
rescinded and until recently we didn't know exactly what the ulterior
motive in doing so was. Of course, Hasbro didn't bother to tell us it had
been rescinded and it was only a month and a half later when polite
inquiries as to why nothing had come of said clearance resulted in them
telling the then latest story of the week that we found out.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Jaguar Interactive II
Hasbro's response
Posted by Sauron (ausinetproxy01.us.dell.com) on February 16, 1999 at
11:38:40:
Just got this response from Hasbro after asking them when we will all get
to see Battlesphere. May not mean much right now, but just wanted to share
it with y'all...
--
From: HIW Support
To: 'Tim Wilson'
Subject: RE: Battlesphere for Atari Jaguar
Date: Tue, 16 Feb 1999 14:15:36 -0500
Thanks for your feedback. We have no plans at present to develop the title
you mention. Any new products would be announced at
www.hasbrointeractive.com
Thanks for your interest in Hasbro Interactive!
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Re: Battlesphere Update Anyone?
Author: James R. Leek <jrleek@ecst.csuchico.edu>
Date: 1999/02/21
Forum: rec.games.video.atari
>>Actually, even though the heart is there, during any time of
>>campaign, you're better off sending snail mail. See, any idiot
>>can send an email in an instant, but it takes effort to write a letter.
>>Companies know this. An email is 500 times more likely to not be read
>>than a piece of paper in someone's hands.
This is true, unfortunately, we really haven't gotten a good address yet.
What I do have is the same director of public relations:
USA
Dana Henry
Director, Public Relations
H A S B R O I N T E R A C T I V E
50 Dunham Road
Beverly, Massachusetts 01915-1844
Tel: 978-921-3759
Fax: 978-921-3735
Go ahead and try there as well.
Thanks,
--
Jim Leek
jrleek@ecst.csuchico.edu
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Re: Battlesphere Update Anyone?
Author: James R. Leek <jrleek@ecst.csuchico.edu>
Date: 1999/02/21
Forum: rec.games.video.atari
>This is true, unfortunately, we really haven't gotten a good address yet.
Ok, I lied. ^_^ This came in just after I wrote that last post on Jaguar
Interactive II (www.atarihq.com/interactive)
Posted by Robert Reichel
Richard Cleveland
rcleveland@hasbro.com
50 Dunham Road
Beverly, MA 01915-1844
John Sutyak
jsutyak@hasbro.com (I THINK this is what it is)
50 Dunham Road
Beverly, MA 01915-1844
Sutyak is a higher-up official than Cleveland (in fact he's one of the very
top guys at Hasbro Interactive).
Remember that Hasbro only needs to APPROVE encryption, they don't need to
encrypt it themselves.
Good luck to all!
There you have it, more fresh meat! Thanks again.
--
Jim Leek
jrleek@ecst.csuchico.edu
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Re: Battlesphere Update Anyone?
Author: Scott LeGrand <varelse@best.com>
Date: 1999/03/09
Forum: rec.games.video.atari
In article <7c26n7$eat$1@nnrp1.dejanews.com>, <apfenic1@my-dejanews.com>
wrote:
>What precisely is the issue with Hasbro?
Hasbro will not allow the encryption to occur.
>They bought a defunct employee-less Atari organization solely for
>rights to old trademarks. To expect Hasbro to assist in the
>encryption, manufacture, and distribution of Jaguar cartridges is
>wholly ludicrous. Hasbro has neither the technical knowledge nor
>the former management organization with which to support such
>processes.
We don't expect any help from them whatsoever. We just wish they would
agree to not drop pianos on us if we do this. Hasbro refuses to do so.
Therefore, we (and not Hasbro) cannot produce BattleSphere. The end. We've
even offered to donate all the profits to the charity of their choice. It
has done no good.
>If 4-Play wants to release Battlesphere, they are going to have to
>do the encryption themselves and contract somebody to manufacture
>the cartridges. Had Battlesphere development not dragged on for the
>better part of a decade, they would have had the support of the now
>defunct Atari.
We've got the key, we've got the encryption software, we've got the cart
cases, and we've got the assembly line to put the carts together. We've
been set up to do this for the past 8 months and the last remaining
component fell into place 5 months ago with the location of the encryption
software and key. All we needed was one line email to the right person and
it would have all happened, but nooooo.....
Now if you can explain to me why a big company like Hasbro isn't even
willing to let us donate our profits on this venture to charity then
perhaps I'll understand the world better. Until then, I remain mystified
at how something so simple can be made so difficult by a big corporation.
Scott Le Grand
Lead Coder
The Once and Future BattleSphere
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Re: need help submitting to publisher
Author: Scott LeGrand <varelse@best.com>
Date: 1999/03/10
Forum: comp.games.development.industry
In article <36E6CE4D.715390A4@junglevision.com>, Cathryn Mataga
<cathryn@junglevision.com> wrote:
>Yeah, I agree. Paranoia about how 'they're going to steal my
>brilliant ideas' is a dead giveaway that you don't have a clue. Or
>maybe that your goal is really to sue them down the line when the
>come up with a game with any similarity. "Hey, I gotta' great idea.
>It's just like Ultima Online, except it's 3D!" Believe me, everyone
>comes up with the same idea at the same time. I think we're all
>watching the same TV shows or something.
And then of course there's the exception that proves the rule. In 1996, we
commenced our attempts to pitch _BattleSphere_ as a PSX or PC project to
just about everyone in the Los Angeles and Silicon Valley area. Nothing
came of it except for a company about 1 mile from our home stealing the
concept and name and trying to come to market with their version before we
did. The good news is that despite having tons of money, they blew it, and
their company died in 1998 without shipping the thing. The bad news (and
the proof of this story) is that their corpse still owns the domain
battlesphere.com. The saddest part is that we'd have done the thing for a
song at that point if they'd just come to us. I never will understand the
corporate mentality methinks. These days, Hasbro will not let us ship our
completed product even through we've offered to donate all the profits to
charity which while small are still somewhere between $10 and $50K. And
why is this? Because it would cost them too much money to verify the truth
or falsehood of our claims of a legitimate development contract with the
former Atari Corporation (or so they say).
>I don't think it would be such a huge mistake not to blow cash
>on a lawyer until you were talking seriously about actually doing
>the work, or delivering the game.
I'd bring the lawyer in the minute there's a chance of real money. Large
corporations don't like to even acknowledge the little guy unless there's
the chance of litigation if they foul up. It'd be less than $1,000
investment if you use your lawyer only when you really need 'em and well
worth it if you're serious about getting into this. Do your negotiations
in his absence but always let him look over your work.
My latest horror story involves a guy a who is representing himself as a
developer to a larger publisher and as a publisher to the actual developer.
I won't name names, but watch yourself, things can get pretty rough for the
little guy.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
The Other BattleSphere
Author: Scott Le Grand <varelse@best.com>
Date: 1998/09/19
Forum: rec.games.video.atari
Well, it looks like I can finally comment on one of the STRANGEST chapters
of the BattleSphere saga. I'm not sure I'll ever know exactly what was
what, but one fine day I stumbled across >The Other BattleSphere<. No, not
the never released space combat game from Virtuality, but an entire
parallel effort by a company called Viridis to make a networking space
battle game for the PC called BattleSphere. The funniest thing is that
these guys were mere blocks from my apartment in West LA (possibly pointing
antennae at us?).
So how'd I find out about this? Simple, do a DNS search on
battlesphere.com and look at who owns it. I was just about to register
this domain in late 1996 when BLAM. Then, when I found their web site at
www.viridis.com, the game description, the graphics and title screen, and
the concept were almost dead-on to what we were self-promoting back at SCES
1994. This was creepy, this was eerie, and it was the crowning insult to
our inability to find funding for a PC edition.
Needless to say, we weren't amused. Upon perusing the web site further,
they had a second game in development called _Killing Spree_ which sounded
an awful lot like a game design called "Goin' Postal" that I described as
joke in an interview with _Intelligent Gamer Fusion_ magazine back in early
1996.
Now I have nothing against someone making that game. Sheesh, "Postal" was
a big hit and Jer Horwitz and I used to talk a lot about the game "Cat
Fight" on IRC in early 1994, and we were both amused when someone actually
went and made the thing, but this was just too odd, BattleSphere was our
baby, and I was ready to go postal myself.
And like I said, at a time when no one will fund any of us in 4Play for
even a measly 100K project, the implication that the suits will even fund
one of our own games if only we have nothing to do with its development was
enough to make me believe in crashed saucers in New Mexico, government mind
control experiments gone mad, and the therapeutic use of shark cartilage.
This industry sucks and I need more aluminum foil!
So where was I? Well, Tom Harker called these guys up pronto, got run
around a bit by their lawyer, and then suddenly the game was called _Sphere
Warriors_ (but set in the BATTLESPHERE, GOSH!), but of course if one still
had the links to the original directories, all the original material was
there, bitmaps, screenshots, textures, purple prose HTML, and all. I saved
all this in case it ever became relevant.
It didn't.
Because what do you know, the company appears to be no more. Gee, wonder
what happened? Did some pack of overzealous overfunded developers run out
of money again? Am I gloating? Yep. We may be but a videogame footnote,
but we finished what we started and our reviews kick ass.
So, I'd really love to know the inside story about these guys. Were they
really stealing 4Play game concepts when they could have just hired us or
was it all just some cosmic coincidence? They never seemed to release a
single title, yet they _had_ (heh heh) such a wonderfully elaborate web
site with ambitious plans to show off their game lineup at E3 '97. My
personal suspicion is that either they figured they could take the
BattleSphere name and run with it since we had seemingly dropped off the
face of the earth along with Atari in early 1996 or they were related in
some way to some of our 1996 BattleSphere pitches, but who knows for sure?
This industry sucks and I'll settle for some Saran Wrap if you're all out
of foil.
So there you go. I've just spilled the beans on the most surreal event in
the evolution of the 'Sphere. Don't believe me? Go do an AltaVista search
crossing Viridis with Battlesphere. Enjoy. The world is a strange place
and the industry still sucks, but maybe we'll get our hands on the
Battlesphere domain some day.
Scott
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Re: Battlesphere Update Anyone?
Author: Scott LeGrand <varelse@best.com>
Date: 1999/03/14
Forum: rec.games.video.atari
In article <36EB475F.5723@volcano.net>,
The Maverick <themaverick@volcano.net> wrote:
>Steve Jacobs wrote:
>>
>> It's not our place to make the decision. 4Play is the group that risks
>> getting sued by Hasbro, so 4Play is (and rightly so) the group that gets
>> to decide whether or not to take the risk.
>
>Then I'll put up $1 to buy the rights to Battlesphere and I'll take the
>risk of releasing it... ;-)
Well, we'd probably actually would have been ballsy enough to release
BattleSphere if we could have gotten it encrypted without Hasbro's
approval. But the encryption key lies in the possession of someone who
flat out will not encrypt the game unless he hears Hasbro will allow it to
occur from their very own mouths. I personally don't blame him and after
talking with several lawyers, I've decided that had we gone renegade it
would have had serious potential consequences down the road if we ever hit
it big.
So there it stands. To all who wish to sue us, blame us for the Y2K
problem, or curse our existence, I only ask if you've written a snail mail
letter to Hasbro requesting they allow the release of BattleSphere. If not,
then go away, you're part of the problem. If you have, then at least
you've paid your 33 cents for a ticket to gripe about it.
Scott Le Grand
Lead Coder
BattleSphere
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Message from Hasbro/ re: Battlesphere
Author: John Hardie <jhardie@pipeline.com>
Date: 1999/03/10
Forum: rec.games.video.atari
Hello everyone,
I got a call from Mark Goodreau at Hasbro today and he asked me to pass
along the following info.
Let me just say that I know Mark to be a straight shooter, NOT a B.S.
artist. He's been instrumental in working with us on Classic Gaming Expo
'99 and if he tells you he's doing something, you can rest assured he is.
He is absolutely a man of his word.
Mark assures me that he is working with the legal team at Hasbro to come up
with a solution for the Battlesphere problem. Some of the business concerns
that they have are that people will think that they are involved in some
way with Battlesphere and/or any future projects (ie. Protector, etc.).
This could lead to people calling them for service as well as people
looking at them if the product is defective somehow. He states that they
are doing everything they can to work it out and that this is of importance
to them; not something to look into when they have time, etc.
He also states that they have received numerous letters and emails about
the subject. He asks if we can stop the emails and letters for the time
being as they are serving no purpose other than to distract them from their
work which includes working on the Battlesphere problem.
While he can make no 100% guarantee that a solution can be reached, he
feels confident that something can be worked out and told me that they are
working diligently on it.
My personal feeling is that we should give them the time to work on it
(within reason). We've waited 4 years, what's another month or two?
I'll post any updates that Mr. Goodreau gives me.
John Hardie
jhardie@pipeline.com
Atari Gaming Headquarters
www.atarihq.com
Don't miss Classic Gaming Expo '99
www.cgexpo.com
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Jaguar Interactive II
Hasbro Lies Again Update
Posted by Hasbro is your Friend? BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA (dynamic59.pm01.santa-
cruz.best.com) on March 17, 1999 at 01:11:32:
Well, the latest is that David Etheridge, the guy who supposedly was
handling the submission of BattleSphere to Hasbro as a title for
consideration as a PC or Dreamcast title told us last week (well his
secretary did actually) that he wouldn't be able to meet with us at GDC
because he wasn't attending.
Guess what?
More lies from Hasbro. He's there alright. Got that straight from one of
their new and not yet assimilated into anal arrogance employees.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Jaguar Interactive II
Re: To Thunderbird, any thoughts on BS for Nuon?
Posted by Thunderbird (mid-qbu-nqy-vty8.as.wcom.net) on March 18, 1999 at
14:29:50:
In Reply to: To Thunderbird, any thoughts on BS for Nuon? posted by Marco
on March 18, 1999 at 06:26:39:
>I know you guys have mentioned PC development, and I think that's
>a smart move. What about taking a look at the Nuon dev kit, how much
>is it anyway?
That doesn't matter if nobody wants to fund development on ANY platform.
Writing games for free -really- was a -big- mistake!
Thunderbird
4Play
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Jaguar Interactive II
BattleSphere for NUON is BattleSphere
Posted by Thunderbird (mid-qbu-nqn-vty63.as.wcom.net) on March 20, 1999 at
05:59:00:
Only a super-lamer would conclude that if 4Play made a version of
BattleSphere for another platform that they wouldn't upgrade it to the
cutting edge of that platform's capabilities like they did with the Jaguar
version.
Is that why nobody wants to get behind 4Play and rally for funding? Because
they think the game will just be a cheap port of the Jaguar version (which
would, in fact, kick a$$ on ANY platform).
Here I was all this time thinking we were going to take what we learned
from each version and apply it and refine it and keep honing it to
perfection...
Thunderbird
4Play
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
//// Hasbro Speaks: YES! YES! YES!
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Jaguar Interactive II
Message from Hasbro!
Posted by editor@atarihq.com (bd1-pub.hofstra.edu) on May 05, 1999 at
15:31:53:
Well,
Since I'm still suffering from the effects of the Chernobyl Virus I figured
I'd post this here and let someone else cross-post it to the newsgroups.
I got a call from Mark Goodreau at Hasbro Int. today giving me the o.k. to
pass along the following information. Hasbro will be announcing in a few days
that they are declaring the Jaguar an "open" platform. What this means is that
they are giving permission to any present and FUTURE Jaguar developers to
create games for our favorite system. This also means they are giving
permission for this software to be encrypted. The full details will be made
available shortly.
Before anyone gets full of themselves and thinks that they forced Hasbro into
doing this with all their whining and nonsense talk about protests and
boycotts, let me assure you that it was their intention all along to work out
a solution such as this. Hasbro is a people company and tries to make their
customers happy whenever possible, even when it's only a small minority of
about 500 people.
I hope all the rabble-rousers that were screaming for a boycott will show
their support when this happens by buying an extra Hasbro-made product.
John Hardie
Atari Gaming Headquarters
www.atarihq.com
editor@atarihq.com
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Jaguar Interactive II
Posted by Don Thomas (208-25-57-175.stk.jps.net) on May 05, 1999 at
22:07:30:
In Reply to: Message from Hasbro! posted by John Hardie on May 05, 1999 at
15:31:53:
>I got a call from Mark Goodreau at Hasbro Int. today giving
>me the o.k. to pass along the following information. Hasbro
>will be announcing in a few days that they are declaring
>the Jaguar an "open" platform. What this means is that they
>...
This is headline news and is treated as such at ICWhen.com. I am very
impressed with everyone's perseverance. In spite of any efforts Hasbro
makes to say the decision is not based on the persistence of the Jaguar
gamers, I strongly disagree. Hasbro would have had no inclination to open
the platform up if no one indicated a desire for them to do so.
I must say that I am a pleasantly surprised, but mostly impressed and
elated. Maybe Mr. Goodreau can sign some copies of BattleSphere along with
the 4Play team to be sold at the Classic Game Expo. I'll definitely buy one
of those!
Knowing the business side of things the way I do, I truly hope Jaguar
owners who benefit from this decision make an effort to look for Hasbro
products that interest them. Send in your warranty card with your attached
regards.
One product you might consider is the PlayStation version of Centipede. I
heard a rumor that it has finally been released into production.
(Regrettably it apparently does not support a PlayStation mouse which is
required for the Nyko Trackball to work).
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Jaguar Interactive II
Re: Re: Message from Hasbro!
Posted by BattleSphere Bob (Scott Le Grand) (209-239-198-244.oak.jps.net)
on May 06, 1999 at 00:23:31:
In Reply to: Re: Message from Hasbro! posted by Silly Rabbit on May 05,
1999 at 19:20:26:
It's not a joke...
It's not in writing yet and we've all been there before, but it's for real
so far...
And what a turnaround it will be if all goes well!
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Jaguar Interactive II
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Message from Hasbro!
Posted by Keita (AGH) (keita.sjc.ca.i3s.net) on May 07, 1999 at 00:13:28:
In Reply to: Re: Re: Re: Re: Message from Hasbro! posted by DX on May 06,
1999 at 15:04:27:
>>>Seems a little odd that Hasbro wouldn't wait until
>>>CGE to make an announcement...
>>Why? How about BattleSphere being officially
>>released at CGE '99? That would be cooler :)
>>Keita Iida
>>Atari Gaming Headquarters
>Keita, I noticed Hasbro is one of the sponsors of the Classic
>Game Expo.. did you have something to do with it or was it
>their move?
Something to do with what? With getting them to sponsor CGE? If that's what
you're asking, I played a part in it. If you're talking about getting
approval for BattleSphere, I did discuss matters with Mark Goodreau and
others at Hasbro (along with John), but believe me -- we were just a cog in
the machine.
>That is quite a change on their part it seems..
Well, yes and no. Some guys at Hasbro are very friendly and helpful, and
you have to understand that large companies move slowly. Even John and I
were getting frustrated despite assurances that things were being
researched by them. However, Mark Goodreau helped get Hasbro to sponsor
CGE, so when he called us explaining the Jaguar public domain issue, we had
no reason to doubt him. You'll be the first ones to be informed when we get
something in writing, which shouldn't be too distant in the future
(although perhaps after E3).
Keita Iida
Atari Gaming Headquarters
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Jaguar Interactive II
The latest news from 4Play
Posted by I am code-holio! I must have cc for my bung-holio! (Stephanie
Wukovitz) (dynamic13.pm01.santa-cruz.best.com) on May 06, 1999 at 14:21:58:
Well, Mark Goodreau and Scott talked this morning, and Scott left to pop
into work right afterwards and evidently didn't have time to post (I, on
the other hand, am in the Zone or something doing intense Nuon hacking)
We have nothing in writing yet, but yes, this really does appear to be true
-- Scott didn't give details but evidently Mark was extremely pleasant and
says we should have the official go-ahead .
Personally I'm happy about this for two reasons: First, I've been a
juvenile diabetic for 26 years and contributing to JDF will feel good!
Second, my site is getting TV coverage very soon and I'd planned to spawn
an encryption write-in campaign the day the segment aired, so we might get
more letter-writers. I was nervous about this, though, and am pleased to
find that Hasbro's being so helpful.
Note: I just reread the first paragraph and realized that some people are
going to think that I'm working on some 4Play game for Nuon. No, I'm
actually a VM Labs employee as of mid-March, working on something quite
different and also very cool.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Jaguar Interactive II
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
//// Protector Update
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Jaguar Interactive II
Somebody's been PROTECTing their Jaguar..
Posted by Carl (socks1b.rochester.ibm.com) on January 08, 1999 at 08:36:18:
Hi, gang. Just wanted to let you know the milestone chart has been updated
to reflect my recent late-night crusade to polish off Protector.
Here are some fun new tidbits for you:
- There will be at least 3 cheats / easter eggs.
- There will be at least 5 different "ground" graphics (so it all won't
look like a barren moon).
- There will be several fun powerups that will make every player want to
collect them all... :) this is in addition to the credits powerups which
you can collect to make purchases at the "Galactic Shop".
Outlook is definitely good for a '99 release. And as many of you may know,
we're expecting our first child at the end of March, so the more
programming I do sooner rather than later is a good thing.
Carl Forhan
Jaguar PROTECTOR
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Jaguar Interactive II
Ah, the joy of Jag coding...
Posted by Carl (pmroch7-103.rconnect.com) on January 20, 1999 at 21:44:22:
Woo hoo! I'm adding cheats and powerups to Protector tonight. The game gets
more fun and more challenging every time I add something.
Oh, did I mention the nasty new boss I added? Heh, heh, heh... :)
Watch for more Protector updates soon!
Carl
Jaguar Protector
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
//// CatBox Calamity
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Jaguar Interactive II
Re: Re: Tom Harker-Catbox Fraud Challenge (alternative to CatBox)
Posted by Mark Stingray Santora (pool014-max13.ds19-ca-
us.dialup.earthlink.net) on January 10, 1999 at 23:11:43:
In Reply to: Re: Tom Harker-Catbox Fraud Challenge (alternative to CatBox)
posted by Wiz of Atari on January 10, 1999 at 20:59:00:
>I wholeheartedly agree with you. I've held off on ordering my CatBox
>to see what would happen, and I'm glad I did.
>
>Do you know what I've been thinking? Can anyone out there with some
>technical knowledge create a device for the Jag that can link up to
>32 players? Something just like the JagLink, except with two phone
>jacks, and that up to 32 player support. It'd be quite a better
>alternative to the CatBox. Yeah, it might not offer all those other
>things the CatBox does (RGB, headphones, etc.) but then again, how
>many of us just want the CatBox for networking?
Unfortunately, the Catbox is a HARDWARE modification that took a good deal
of time and money to develop so that more than two Jags could be networked
together. Even with the major work on the hardware end of it, the
networking code that Scott put together is most likely the most bug free
and solid networking code on any platform. And while I feel badly for
everyone still waiting on their Catboxes, don't take it out on 4Play. They
aren't ICD. I wouldn't even go as far to say that Tom is an active member
in 4Play. He's not. I would suggest to all involved to contact Tom
directly, phone, return receipt mail, etc and demand your money back. There
is no reason for any customer to be treated as poorly as Tom has treated
those who wanted the Catboxes. Let's face it, at this point I think that
the possibility of seeing new Catboxes is about as possible as seeing
justice come to an ex football player who murderers his ex wife and
companion to mask his masculine insecurities.
Of course, that's just my opinion - I could be wrong.
Mark "Stingray" Santora
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Tom Harker- The Catbox Lie !!!!
Author: Curt Vendel <cvendel@worldnet.att.net>
Date: 1999/01/11
Forum: alt.atari-jaguar
Matt,
It truly saddens me, but I have to agree with you 100%. I ordered 2
Catboxes in August of 1997 and waited and waited and waited. Finally I
sent Tom an email asking him for an update in March of 98' (I figured 6
months would be fair enough) asking him what was going on. I received back
a nasty reply saying I was just like everyone else and didn't have faith in
him or his product. So I replied back that I didn't mean to offend, but
all I wanted was an update, I also said that given his long standing in the
Atari community I would wait, and I did, for entirely too long!!! I sent
him an email last week asking him to one way or another do some kind of
deal with me for some alternate merchandise if he wasn't going to ship me
my Catboxes and I told him I'd give him a week to reply, NOTHING.
Fortunately I charged this on my Citibank VISA and they will reverse charge
anything for any reason, so tomorrow morning I'm doing just that. Tom
Harker is obviously not the trusted business man that he was many years
back and that he has gone back on his word about delivering Catboxes for
well over a year now (Read his Catbox section of his website where it says
he would begin shipping in Early 98) and here it is early 99, he claimed he
needed time to assemble the CatBoxes, how f-ing long does it take to
assemble these things!?!?!? Well if he's too busy with his ISP, then
perhaps he might be a little too busy to go to court for mail fraud. I
think the time has come, we have all sat patiently and waited, and I don't
know of ANYONE who paid for their Catboxes back in the summer of 97' that
EVER received their Catbox OR a refund, so if you charged it on your charge
card, talk with your bank and have it charged back to ICD, if you paid by
check or money order, then I suggest you find the cashed check or the money
order receipt, and contact the Post Office and file a mail fraud complaint
and also file a compliant with the Better Business Bereau in ICD's home
city, you have to wait three months to file a complaint and obviously Tom
has gone WELLLLL past that time limit. Its time for the charade to end
and time for everyone to realize that Tom Harker and ICD, Inc are not
shipping ANY Catboxes at anytime in the future.
If Tom Harker or anyone associated with ICD is reading this, then its
time to hear publicly from you Tom, if you wont reply to private emails,
then how about a public forum!!! Prove me and everyone else who doubt you
wrong!!!! Let me see my 2 brand new, perfectly working Catboxes show up
via Priority Mail (Which I paid for too!!!) show up in the mail in the next
3-4 days at my doorstep and everyone else's doorstep that paid in advance,
prove us all wrong and I will personally and publicly apologize for
everything I've written tonight, otherwise if you don't then you are just
another low-life that ranks down their with Terry Ortman and should be
treated like the gutter trash piece of garbage thief that you
are!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Curt Vendel
Matthew Ross Peterson wrote:
> Wondering what Thomas Harker of ICD has been doing all this time
> instead of shipping Catboxes? How about running Rock River
> Internet, a Rockford, Illinois ISP (www.rockriver.net)?
>
> You can read the details on http://www.eta.org/catbox/
>
> (Thanks to Sean Connery <bond@clark.net> for this info.)
>
> Needless to say, this pretty much wraps up all the lies Tom Harker
> has fed to people about "not having enough time to assemble
> Catboxes."
>
> I ordered mine in September of 1997, it's now 1999...
>
> ***
> If you ever have a chance to do business with Tom Harker or Rock
> River Internet, DO NOT: Tom Harker engages in fraudulent business
> practices.
> ***
>
> Matthew Peterson
> www.eta.org/catbox
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
//// Alternate Cartridges
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Jaguar Interactive II
Re: An idea...Jaguar System Cartridges...Hmmm...
Posted by Carl (socks1.rochester.ibm.com) on January 11, 1999 at 09:56:44:
In Reply to: An idea...Jaguar System Cartridges...Hmmm... posted by
Marshall W. Carter on January 11, 1999 at 09:33:39:
>I've heard 4Play state that they could get by encryption if they
>wanted to, but that it could result in a legal can of worms with
>Hasbro due to the fact that it would violate the contract that they
>signed with Atari. What I'm saying is, if we can have an EEPROM that
>allows you to play BJL games from your computer, can you make something
>similar that would allow you to play similar games directly from a CD?
What the Jaguar desperately needs IMHO but is not likely to receive is
something conceptually along the lines of what you're suggesting. Cart mfg.
costs will never get any cheaper, and profits are slim at best on cart
games (let alone on 4MB cart games). Here is my personal favorite solution
to this on the Jag, but I doubt it'll see the light of day:
Reproduce the flash ROM carts for under $150 each. This would allow games
like Protector, Native (after modifying the code), and even BattleSphere to
be released on a normal PC-readable CD. You then just download your game
into flash ROM from the PC, and the cart is identical in function to any
other cart. Want to change to a different game? No problem, just download
another one and overlay the game in the flash ROM.
This keeps mfg. costs WAY down on each game, and allows the developer and
publisher both to receive some hard-earned profit. This also avoids any
future encryption issues.
It's possible the JUGS unit could fill this gap, but since I don't have any
details on JUGS, that's just speculation.
The other choice would be to only make Jag CD games, which helps keep costs
down, but it's supposedly much more difficult to work with, and you can
only address the 2MB of RAM for your code (i.e. can't execute code directly
off the CD).
Yet a third and most unlikely choice would be to hack something like the
Memory Track, and get it to boot a PC-standard CD vs. a Jag-specific CD.
This really only helps you avoid encryption problems, I think.
Carl Forhan
Jaguar Protector
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Jaguar Interactive II
Re: Re: An idea...Jaguar System Cartridges...Hmmm...
Posted by Clay (vera.dyess.af.mil) on January 11, 1999 at 14:48:25:
In Reply to: Re: An idea...Jaguar System Cartridges...Hmmm... posted by
Carl on January 11, 1999 at 09:56:44:
>Yet a third and most unlikely choice would be to hack something
>like the Memory Track, and get it to boot a PC-standard CD vs. a
>Jag-specific CD. This really only helps you avoid encryption
>problems, I think.
A close, but somewhat different idea would be to build a 4 meg RAM cart
with a little ROM code to copy game images from a CD to the cart, then set
the RAM to read-only mode and boot from that as normal.
It would be cool if the boot loader could read ISO-9000 file systems so you
could put a whole bunch of games on one CD, but really... CD-Rs are so
cheap these days that it wouldn't be a big deal to limit yourself to one
game per CD.
I think it'd be pretty easy to create the Jag-format CDs on a PC. Since
they're basically Redbook format, you'd just tell the CD-R burning software
that you're creating a music CD from a WAV file. The trick would be
properly formatting the WAV.
Hmmm... on the other hand, maybe it would be easier to code for an ISO file
system...
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
//// 2600 Emulation
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Jaguar Interactive II
Re: Re: Jaguar
Posted by Glenn Bruner (fred242.u1.cos.pcisys.net) on February 09, 1999 at
23:14:51:
In Reply to: Re: Jaguar posted by MPS on February 07, 1999 at 13:03:34:
>Chris, I quote from the Jaguar Prototypes/Vaporware section of my
>site (link below):
>
>Dave Staugas, an Atari software programmer and engineer, was hard
>at work on a software emulator that would allow the Atari Jaguar
>to play Atari 2600 games stored on CD. This would have been similar
>to the "Action Pack" series recently released by Activision for
>DOS/Windows based PC's. As late as 1995, Atari still had plans to
>release multiple collections of classic 2600 games on Jaguar CD.
>
>It is not known if any prototypes exist, or how far Atari progressed
>with this product.
I got a chance to sit down personally with Dave at the show after he talked
about that. Here is what I recall from the conversation:
He was working on it up to the end of Atari. He said he was about 90%
completed. Then the day came when he got his pink slip. He said he grabbed
his jacket and left. The program he was working on and all source was left
on the hard drive in his computer on his desk. What happen to the contents
of that hard drive or that computer, who knows.
Dave did say at the show that the method he chose to do the emulation
wasn't very good and felt that he should've done it another way. Too bad
though, I would love to have a Jaguar CD, or cartridge, that has a emulator
with the entire 2600 library on it, including the Supercharger games.
I also talked with Steve from Wiztronics who attempted to get some of the
computers used by the programmers at Atari. Steve said that Atari was using
"wipe" utilities to clear the hard drives and erase the info. He tried to
get them to use a program he had, but they wouldn't.
All that work and effort, gone into oblivion!!!
Glenn Bruner
brunergs@pcisys.net
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
//// Curt's Cool Atari Trivia
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Re: Pole Position 5200
Author: Curt Vendel <cvendel@worldnet.att.net>
Date: 1999/01/11
Forum: alt.atari.2600
Mike Smeal wrote:
> Here's a question, Could anyone tell me why there's two copyrights on
> this game? 1982 NAMCO 1983 ATARI? BTW the 5200 version rules over the
> 2600 version.
>
> Thanks
>
> Mike
Hi Mike,
That's a simple answer, Atari licensed Pole Position from Namco to bring
it out in the arcade and in home computer and video game versions. Actually
a little bit of inside Atari history. Namco actually used to be Atari's
Japan division, however at the time Atari was unable to manage its overseas
office properly so it sold it to the management of the office and the
office and company was renamed North American Company or NAMCO, so in a
sense, whether it says Namco or Atari, its still Atari in a sense no matter
what.
Curt Vendel
The Atari Historical Society
http://www.atari-history.com
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Re: Ms. Pacman on the Atari 2600
Author: Curt Vendel <cvendel@worldnet.att.net>
Date: 1999/02/09
Forum: rec.games.video.atari
Actually GCC (General Computer Corporation) did almost all of the final
Atari 2600/5200 and Atari 8-bit games for Atari before the Tramiels bought
the company in 1984. GCC now makes laserprinters and has long since left
the gaming industry and its work for Atari behind. GCC is also the company
that designed the MARIE chip for the Atari 7800 console.
Curt
--==--==--==--==--
|| BattleSphere News
|| By: Doug Engel, Mark Santora, and Stephanie Wukovitz
\__// thunderbird@sprynet.com, santora@earthlink.net, sebab@melodix.com
-----------------------------------------------------------------
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
//// BattleSphere Update
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
[from Doug Engel's Thunderbird's Garage home page <http://home.sprynet.com/
sprynet/~thunderbird/>]
//// 05/10/99
Things were looking really well at the time of the last update. We had been
given verbal approval to go ahead and encrypt BattleSphere, so that it
would be playable on the consumer Jaguar systems. After that, all we needed
to do was to produce our cartridges and sell them to our loyal fans.
After that, things took a turn for the worse. Hasbro never came through
with any written approval, so we could not proceed. This was a very
frustrating situation. We made many attempts to remedy the situation, and
at every turn we were unable to make any headway.
After several months of stagnating, many of the Jaguar userbase became
tired of waiting and there were several email and letter-writing campaigns
to get the attention of the right people at Hasbro.
Well, Someone at Hasbro was listening. As of last week, the announcement
was made to the Atari community that very shortly the Jaguar would be
declared an "Open System" by Hasbro. This means that all the tools and code
may very-well become Public Domain.
Once the announcement is made, then we will once again be able to start
thinking about production of BattleSphere cartridges. Let's hope that the
announcement will come soon!
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
//// BattleSphere Playtester's Report
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
[from Mark Santora's BattleSphere Playtester's Page <http://home.earthlink.
net/~santora/>]
//// 01/11/99
So by now everyone has heard I'm sure. While BattleSphere has been complete
for well over four months, 4Play is still waiting on one giant suck hole
within the corporate wasteland we call the videogame industry - Hasbro. You
see, all 4Play needs is for Hasbro to sign a piece of paper saying it's
O.K. to publish the game. That's it. They don't need the encryption code,
they don't need any hardware modifications from Hasbro. All they need is a
signature. No one at Hasbro is willing to sign so basically, 4Play and
BattleSphere is FUBAR'd. And it's not like 4Play doesn't have some strong
allies outside of the internet community with them. But it's too much for
Hasbro to deal with.
Now, I've basically kept my mouth shut on this 'til now. But I'm tired of
this crap from Hasbro for the 4Play gang. I mean come on ,it's not like
Hasbro will lose anything here - in fact they could really use it as a HUGE
publicity stunt. Think about it... two years after the system is canceled
by Atari, they okay the release of a game for it that was in development by
grass-root developers (and they had a contract with Atari).
This little rant is not necessarily a call to arms against Hasbro. I'd love
to see Hasbro succeed with Atari, but I feel that all they're interested in
is mining the vast Atari library and milking it for all it's worth. Don't
e-mail bomb Hasbro yet. But I do think it's time to start beating our plows
into spears, if you know what I mean.
On a happier note, even after three years of playtesting, I'm still getting
better! And look for another game that was in development over at Bethesda to
hit the Jaguar via Carl Forhan-- Protector.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
//// E3 Euphoria
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
[from Stephanie Wukovitz's stefCAM Page <http://www.stefcam.com>]
/// 05/18/99
Check out the pictures I took on this trip!
First of all, I'm STILL recovering from E3. I flew down to LA Wednesday
morning with a number of coworkers (not Scott, unfortunately). We all checked
into the hotel and proceeded to the LA Convention Center, where we assembled
our booth. I stuffed press releases into folders for many hours, which is
about all I was intellectually capable of doing at the time, having had no
sleep at all. Then some of us got together and had dinner at the hotel. I
slept a bunch Wednesday night but not enough to really catch up...
Then I worked the booth out front almost nonstop on Thursday... It was fun
demonstrating a game and some FMV to passersby. It was also nice to sit on the
big comfy couch that my company provided for a "living room" setting.
A lot of Jaguar fans stopped by to wish me (and the rest of the Battle Sphere
team, who weren't there) good luck, as well. I also saw a lot of friends,
acquaintances, and even two former coworkers. One friend hadn't eaten since
the previous day, and it was late afternoon, so I made him eat some of the
food I always carry on me. Scott arrived in the hotel in the mid-evening,
having made good time driving from Santa Cruz. I was glad to see him!
Friday went much like Thursday except that Scott was there. That evening, we
got together with our LA friend Mark (and later, his girlfriend Ayn) for a
fantastic dinner at an Italian restaurant we discovered a few years ago (Tira
Misu on Ventura Blvd, if you're interested)
The best news of the trip, in my opinion, came when Hasbro gave us, IN
WRITING, word that they are making the Jaguar an open platform. We'd gotten a
phone call about 2 weeks ago from one person there and had figured that it
would take a while for all the details to be finalized. So we were surprised
that they issued a press release so soon! We are SO HAPPY about this.
Saturday, was much like the previous two days until the show ended. Our
friends Jon (Santa Cruz) and Ryan (San Jose) showed up to say hi. They'd flown
down somewhat unexpectedly -- we knew they were going to try but didn't know
for sure that they'd make it. We offered to give them a ride back... we also
went out to dinner with them. We had planned to show them an Indian restaurant
we have loved since we found it (Gate of India in Santa Monica, if you want to
know). However, we got there and found the carpets being cleaned! The owner
was there, though, and she knows us as customers who have spent way too much
money eating her food :) She mentioned that she owns the Greek restaurant a
few doors away and said that if we bought dinner there, she'd make an Indian
dish for us and serve it to us there as well as the food we paid for. She did.
It was wonderful and makes me think we should move back to LA... :)
We drove back starting around 3pm, after eating and then stopping at Mark's to
watch a tape of the TV show he worked on. The trip was really funny -- Jon and
Ryan were both acting immature, probably because Scott and I were being
equally immature. Many lewd and scatological jokes were made to alleviate the
extreme boringness of a trip up Hwy 5. Jon offered to pay Scott $20 when we
stopped for gas, if only he would take the 198 west to the 101 (which also
goes north to the Bay Area just like the 5). This is about a 50 mile detour
through winding roads and really uninteresting mountains/hills. Scott spent
the entire time complaining about how boring the trip was. Then we cruised up
the 101 and got back fairly late.
Monday at work, I had a paycheck waiting, which always brightens my day. Many
hours of hard work later, it was off to concert band, the final rehearsal
before our concert Sunday. There won't be any more rehearsals until late
August! I'm bummed! I wish I knew enough people in Santa Cruz to assemble a
woodwind quintet just for fun.
When I got home I worked so hard that before I knew it, it was after 4am!
Given that I have to get up at 7:30am to catch public transit into work, and
that I must go in Friday for a meeting, I figured it would probably be ok to
sleep until mid-morning and work from home. I fired off mail to my boss asking
him to call me when he got in if this was NOT fine with him. He had no problem
with it, not surprisingly... so now I'm relatively caught up on sleep and got
a bunch done today. Hurrah!
Finally, I promised that I'd comment on the ZDTV segment, so... here's my
comment: It was funny and represented the site in a balanced way as a diverse
and non-adult place. I'm glad they did it! We were on the floor! Check out
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX that David made out of the segment (with the permission of
ZDTV, of course!)
-Stephanie (dreading tomorrow's commute but feeling pretty cheerful otherwise)
--==--==--==--==--
|| Protector Update
|| By: Carl Forhan
\__// forhan@millcomm.com
-----------------------------------------------------------------
//// 04/06/99
Jaguar fans, the wait is almost over... OK, so that's an overused phrase when
it comes to Atari consoles, but the fact of the matter is, steady progress is
being made on Protector to turn this decent game into a spectacular one.
What's been happening over the last six months since I acquired the game? I'm
glad you asked that question; let me tell you all about it.
* I've added TONS of audio to the game. Many of the thrust, firing, bouncing,
etc. effects were simply absent. Net result is a much fuller game now.
* More enemies have been added, including some beefing up of existing ones.
You didn't REALLY think that one shot should destroy every foe that comes your
way, did you?
* More background graphics have been included. This helps spice up the
playfield a bit and keep the game visually appealing throughout the 40+ waves.
* Several bugs have been fixed. They were minor, but annoying.
* Ship handling is very sharp now. No more slipperiness, the player ship turns
on a dime!
* A number of cheats and an easter egg have been added (wouldn't you like to
know ;-) ).
* Complete revamping of all waves to provide a steady progression of
increasing difficulty.
* Complete revamping of the shop screen and the powerup system. There are some
really fun powerups that will turn Protector into a blast-fest at certain
times.
* My latest addition to the game: a SAVED GAME feature! Before, the player was
stuck wading through 10 or more waves to complete the particular difficulty
level in one sitting. Now, your progress is saved automatically every 5
levels.
So, assuming everything is resolved on the encryption issue, I don't see any
problem getting this game finished in 1999. However, I do have other projects
which could get either in front of or behind the actual publication of
Protector... don't worry, Protector WILL be completed, and any delay in its
publication will only stem from other Atari projects which may be of
particular interest to Jaguar fans. =)
--==--==--==--==--
|| Llatest from Llamaland
|| By: Jeff "Yak" Minter
\__// net.yak@yak.net
-----------------------------------------------------------------
[All of the following postings are taken from Jeff Minter's web page, Yak's
Zoo <http://www.magicnet.net/~yak/zoo.html>. Check it out, and see what
else Jeff has yakked up lately.]
//// 24 Jan 1999
Well, sorry for not having updated for awhile, I've been away over Xmas,
had lots to do, you know the score. I'll get the sad news out of the way
first: unfortunately, Flossie is now a single sheep, Alastair unfortunately
having passed away just before Christmas. I always knew he was an old goat
and he wouldn't last forever, but nonetheless it was upsetting to lose him.
He got ill around the beginning of November - the vet said he had eaten
something that didn't agree with him, which surprised me, because he had
been wandering loose all around my grounds all summer and showed no
interest in eating anything that was poisonous. I can only think that maybe
the wind blew in some poisonous leaves or something, it being autumn and
all. Anyway, the vet thought he would possibly die there and then, but I
brought him into the house and gave him a lot of TLC, and he seemed to
recover from the poisoning. I duly returned him back out to Flossie in the
field, and he seemed to be on the mend. Unfortunately, a couple of weeks
later he became ill again - this time with a cold, which went straight to
his chest. I called out the vet again, and once again brought him into the
house, and I thought he'd get over it - but the previous illness must have
left him too weak, because despite my best efforts, one afternoon he took a
sudden turn for the worse and expired shortly afterwards. I was gutted, and
Flossie bleated mournfully for days afterwards. She has got used to being
on her own now, but sheep are basically sociable animals, so I'll have to
look out for another companion for her.
I'll miss Ali - he was a proper character, and I miss having to kick him
out of the pinball room when he decided to come in for a visit. A shame,
too, to lose him just after he had achieved a degree of fame by getting all
over that PC Format interview, too. Anyway, here's one final pic of the ol'
beastie, making himself comfortable in my snug, as always about as happy to
be in the house as outdoors...
[pic of Alistair curled up on a rug, in front of a Tempest poster --Ed.]
Well... on to better news now. I'm still beavering away on T3K, which
continues to look nicer and nicer. I added subpixel accuracy to some of my
main graphics routines, with the result that my displays are now even more
smooth and unpixelly than ever; I've just put in the Powerups, which rez in
in a lovely swirly fashion and look very nice indeed, and the swirly bonus
points which are quite similar to the old Pixelshatter effects out of T2K,
but with heaps of translucency and smoothness and rotatey stuff, very
tasty! I have lots of cool SFX in there too, but unfortunately a lot of
them will have to be replaced before the game gets released - I basically
borrowed heavily from the MAME sample sets, so you've got everything from
Berzerk's robots saying "Chicken detected in pocket!" to Space Fury's
imperious alien saying "Warships, dispose of my arse at once!" (hey, you've
got to have a good old play with the sample editor, haven't you?). It's a
bit of fun while I'm working on the game; I'm sure we'll get some equally
groovy but legal sample sets for the release version. I've also been
tweaking at the gameplay (cor, looking at my last update a lot has happened
since - you can now get killed, the level transitions are in) -
particularly on the firing, which needed to be speeded up to make the
gameplay properly Tempest-like. One neat little thing I have added in there
is that you can steal the enemy's shots! You know how in Tempest there is
always a little gap in the bullet stream which prevents you from just
nailing the FIRE button for a continuous stream that would make it very
hard for the baddies to get you? Well, it starts out like that in T3K, but
if you're bold, you can augment your firepower. When an enemy fires a shot
at you, you can either dodge the shot as per usual, or, if you're bold, you
can tough it out, get in front of the shot, and take it out with your own
bullets. If you take this more risky approach, then every enemy shot you
shoot gets nicked from the Enemy Shots Available list and added to your
own! Of course, you risk mistiming this manoeuvre and getting blasted off
the Web, but the more often you get it right, the more powerful you become
and the weaker they become. It's cool.
Since I hadn't been away on holiday for ages, I decided to push the boat
out for a week over Xmas and buggered off to Barbados, taking my mum, which
was very cool. It was nice to have a few days away from the computer (so
long as you don't count the Colour Game Boy I bought to take with me) and
soak up a bit of unseasonal UV whilst drinking copious amounts of rum. It
was particularly nice to think that on Boxing Day instead of watching crap
TV and eating cold turkey I was snorkelling off a yacht in nice warm waters
:-). Barbados is cool - kinda similar climatically to Hawaii when I went
there, but much more British :-). Everyone plays cricket and there are more
red telephone boxes than there are now in the UK, and where we stayed was
right opposite a nice British pub, which was, as you can imagine knowing
how I like me beer, rather handy :-).
Upon my return it was straight back into work mode - the audio boys at VM
had cooked up an FFT for me, and they wanted to be able to demonstrate a
Nuon VLM at CES, which started on the 7th Jan - so I duly leapt back into
the code. Despite only having a few days, I managed to come up with a few
cool VLM effects which went down quite well at the show, so I'm told. It's
evident that the VLM on Nuon is going to be rather spiffy - already the
effects I have are far more responsive to the audio than the old Jaguar VLM
effects, partly because the frame rate is higher so there is less lag
between stuff happening in the music and happening on the screen, and
partly because with the extra Nuon grunt I can do much more mungeing of the
data before passing it on to the graphics, allowing extra cool stuff to
happen - parts of effects can change size according to the overall energy
in certain bands of the spectrum, and there are smoothly-varying params as
well as the immediately-responding raw spectrum which can be used... the
overall effect is Very Nice Indeed. I figure if I can get such stuff after
only a few days, gimme a few weeks (and a bit more power, too, because
there are certain parts of the Nuon audio libs I won't need to use in the
final version that were necessary for the demo, and I will get about a
third as much again rendering power in the final version) - anyway, gimme a
decent run at it and I will produce a beast of a VLM which will cause your
inner footwear to be forcibly removed ;-)
For relaxation, I have been turning once again to my trusty Ninty - at the
start of December I picked up the inevitable Zelda, which has occupied the
bulk of my Nintime since then. I shan't bother going into detail about this
game, since everyone, everywhere has already ranted at great length about
it already. If you liked the previous Zeldas you'll definitely enjoy this
one. The world is large and involving, there are copious dungeons to
explore and bosses to kill, the graphics are very nice indeed (particularly
some of the cut scenes, which are most impressive, given that this is a
cartridge game with no option to spool pre-rendered stuff off a CD) - and
there are some cool beasties, too! You can get your very own horsie, and
even win your own cow! The cows in the game, as well as mooing nicely and
looking cool, are actually quite useful - you can get milk from them which,
if carried in a bottle, can be quaffed in a time of need to restore your
life energy. Many a time I have emerged battered from a dungeon and my
first thought has been "Gotta find a nice cow!".
Silly trick - if you go to the chicken woman's house in Kakariko Village,
and go into that little doorway on the outside of the house upstairs, that
leads into a cage with a cow in it (and a Piece of Heart, the first time
you go in) - go in there, walk around in front of the cow, and stand facing
her - and it looks like she's giving you a Clinton! Hehe... if you leave
the joystick alone for awhile she keeps munching and mooing and Link starts
making what sounds like appreciative noises (actually he's just yawning but
in this context it sounds like something else). Hehehehe....
I'm almost at the end of Zelda now - I have just to finish off the boss of
the Spirit Temple and then there is only Gannon and his castle to go - but
I am in no hurry to finish it, it's too much fun, so I'm going to spend a
goodly while pottering around the world finishing up the subquests before I
go in to nail the bad guy. I want to win my own cow so I can enjoy a nice
bovine Clinton in the privacy of my own hut! :-)...
I've also been interspersing games of Zelda with games of Rogue Squadron,
for a complete, Star Wars oriented change of pace. RS is better than the
first Star Wars game, in which the best parts were the Snowspeeder bits
which were unfortunately too short. RS is all like the Snowspeeder bits,
but in a variety of different ships, including X-Wings, Y-Wings and A-
Wings. The SFX are pure Star Wars, and if you like the film series and
flying around blowing lots of things up, you'll enjoy the game.
Another cool Ninty game, which I must go back and finish off one of these
days, is Space Station: Silicon Valley. This is a cool and heavily beastie-
oriented puzzle/platform game in which you have to take control of various
different robot beasties and use their various abilities to solve puzzles
and complete tasks in a variety of bizarre levels. I particularly enjoyed
the fact that in order to complete many of the early levels it is necessary
to spend quite a lot of time being a sheep (a very silly-looking Monty
Python kind of sheep, at that). I'm about half way through the game at the
moment - apparently on the later levels you even get to be a camel with a
gun in your hump. No cows though (moo, moo, moo, slurp... hehe)...
Oh well, that's it for now - I'm gonna go upload this and then have a nice
lie down and try not to think about cows for a while.
(moo, moo, moooo... slurp... hehehe...)
--==--==--==--==--
|| State of the Lynx
|| By: Carl Forhan
\__// forhan@millcomm.com
-----------------------------------------------------------------
/// Preface
April 6, 1999
It's official, there IS a resurgence in handheld gaming. We now have a Color
GameBoy, a (fading) game.com, a B&W NeoGeo Pocket, and a (coming soon) color
NeoGeo Pocket. Sounds like a new comparison chart might be needed in a future
issue of JEO to see just how the Lynx stacks up against the new competition.
Here's one small tidbit: both the Lynx and the color NeoGeo Pocket boast a
palette of 4096 colors.
/// Web Lynx
At the risk of a self-serving plug, be sure to check out the Atari HQ web
pages for lots of Lynx morsels, including footage of the never-released Ultra
Vortex for the Lynx, information on upcoming games, reviews of recent
releases, and more.
<http://www.atarihq.com/jaglynx/>
/// Game Updates
Songbird Productions has been formed by yours truly to assist hobby developers
all over the world in getting their games completed and published on any Atari
console. Watch for more press releases in the coming weeks in
rec.games.video.atari.
If everything has worked according to plan, then by the time you read this,
SFX should be out the door! Thanks again to all those faithful supporters who
pre-ordered SFX over six months ago (where did the time go?). Your patience
has made it easier for Songbird Productions to produce more new Lynx games in
1999.
The following cheats were recently published by Bastian Schick for the SIMIS
cartridge. Somebody find that easter egg!
1) Invaders : Shoot shot before you're shot => 1 extra point
(Actually a bug in the collision check :-) )
2) For the easter-egg you'll need only press 3 keys at once!
Links to all the above may be found at The Lynx Domain:
<http://lynxdomain.atari.org>
/// Ye Olde Rumor Mill
Hyperdrome still is on its rather sluggish track... I think mid-1999 is the
earliest we will see this game.
Strangest Lynx rumor from a confirmed source: an OFFICIAL Tetris product could
appear on the Lynx in the future!
Ponx is being lined up for publication now that SFX is complete and out the
door. Watch this space for more details soon... and don't be surprised to see
EVEN MORE games published by Songbird Productions in 1999.
Majesco Sales is rumored to be planning a re-release of the Game Gear. Hasbro
is rumored to be interested in licensing the Lynx technology to a third party.
Anyone have a few million USD$ to spare so we could get these two working
together?
Signing off,
Carl Forhan
--==--==--==--==--
|| Review: Jaguar System Test Cartridge
|| By: Clay Halliwell
\__// clay.h@att.net
-----------------------------------------------------------------
//// Whither Come the Beast?
Several months ago, Best Electronics added a number of items to the Jaguar
section of their web site. Among these items was the Jaguar System Test
Cartridge. The price was nearly seventy dollars-- excessive even for a
game, ludicrous for a simple diagnostic cart. But my federal tax refund
rolled in a bit later, and I was still feeling curious, so...
//// First Impressions
The Jaguar System Test cartridge is a heavy little sucker, containing four
socketed EEPROMs. It comes in a standard Jaguar cart casing, but the
EEPROMs stick out so far that they had to cut a rectangular hole in the
front of the cartridge. The rightmost EEPROM is labeled "SYSTEST U1
5/3/94". The next chip to the left is "SYSTEST U2 5/3/94", and so on. There
are a pair of "Warranty Void if Seal is Broken" labels in the upper left
and right, and a taped-on label under the chips that reads "ATARI JAGUAR -
SYSTEM TEST VER. 5/3/94". I think Best Electronics applied that one.
The only other thing that came with the cartridge was a printed sheet of
instructions. Instead of rephrasing the whole thing for this review, I've
just typed it in verbatim below. So, there now follows the documentation:
//// System Test Cartridge 5/3/94
Setup Instructions:
Insert Jaguar System Test Cartridge into top of the Jaguar console and
insert one or two Joypads into the Jaguar console to be tested. Turn on
Jaguar. Note: Normal Jaguar start-up routine will be bypassed. You will get
a black screen on the monitor/TV for up to 6 seconds and then the test
sequence will start. To prevent damage to the test cartridge, ONLY remove
the test cartridge after all of the tests have been completed. Do NOT turn
off power in the middle of the tests!
1. Several different full screen color displays will appear in a set
pattern.
a. Set monitor to RGB mode and inspect image for clarity.
b. Set monitor to Composite video mode and inspect image for clarity.
c. Set monitor to the RF mode and inspect image for clarity.
2. Color Bars
a. Inspect RGB image for clarity. RGB mode shows the best quality.
Images shown in RGB mode must have sharp, clear edges. There must
be no color bleeding at all. There must be no snow, visible video
noise, or flickering.
b. Set monitor to Composite video mode. Inspect Composite image for
clarity. Composite mode shows excellent quality, although
slightly inferior to RGB. Color, hue, and tint should be same as
RGB image. There will be a very small amount of color bleeding,
in particular on red edges. From a distance of 4 feet, the
picture should be indistinguishable from RGB on a 14" monitor.
There must be no snow, noise, or flickering.
c. Set monitor to the RF video mode. Inspect for clarity. RF mode
will look very similar to Composite mode. Color, hue, and tint
should be the same as the Composite image. There will be a small
amount of additional blur on the edges of images. From a distance
of about 6 feet, the picture should be indistinguishable from RGB
on a 14" monitor. There must be no snow, noise, or flickering.
3. 1 KHz Tone
a. Check for 1 KHz test tone coming through the monitor speaker. The
audio tone should be clear, with no noticeable crackling.
4. Cybermorph Test
May be run in two different modes-- Manual and Auto.
a. Auto Mode: Do not touch any of the controller buttons and the
Cybermorph test will run in Auto mode. Once the Cybermorph
test is done it will automatically go on to the next test.
b. Manual Mode: After the first screen of the Cybermorph display
("CYBERMORPH SYSTEST 3.MAY.94"), when the second Cybermorph
game screen comes up, press any of the A, B, C buttons on the
left Joypad controller to start the manual Cybermorph mode.
You will jump back to the Select Destination screen. Again
press once any of the A, B, C buttons on the left controller
to start the Cybermorph test. Note: To get out of the manual
Cybermorph test mode, press the # and * keys on the left
Joypad at the same time. Hit A for the next test.
5. Color Bars Again
Hit the "B" button for next test.
6. White CRY
a. Inspect solid white RF image for clarity. In particular, check
for vertical black lines, or any dots in black or any other
color. Hit "A" button for next test.
7. CRY Color Band with 1 KHz Tone
a. Check for smooth gradation in RF horizontal bands image, no
abrupt changes in color or shading.
b. Check for 1 KHz test tone coming through the monitor speaker.
The audio tone should be clear, with no noticeable crackling.
Hit the "A" button on the left controller for the next test.
8. RGB Parrots
a. Inspect RF image for clarity. If the image rolls (loss of
synchronization), shimmers, or flickers in any way, the Jaguar
unit has failed. There must be no visible snow, video noise or
wavy lines. Press the "A" button on the left controller to
select the next test.
9. Joypad Checker
a. Press each button on Joypad 1 (left) and make sure that
only a single button appears highlighted in green on the
monitor image.
b. If a second Joypad is installed in Port 2, press the "#" button
on the right Joypad and observe the controller position move
to the right on the TV screen. If a second Joypad is not
available, move the Joypad from Port 1 to Port 2 and press
the "#" button.
c. In Port 2 Joypad repeat the test sequence in Step "a".
10. End of System Test
a. Turn off the Jaguar and remove the Jaguar System Test Cartridge.
//// Overall
Consider this an item for Jaguar completists only. If the built-in game had
been some unreleased or extreme beta item, that would have been cool, but
alas, it's just a slightly-modified Cybermorph. If you have a whole pile of
Jags it might be useful for occasional troubleshooting... except that any
repairs that could be made would surely cost more than buying a whole new
unit. Well, it looks neat sitting next to my AirCars and Iron Soldier 2
cartridges anyway.
//// Final Ratings
Title: System Test Cartridge JagNet: n/a
Design: Atari Players: 1
Published by: Best Electronics Media: 16 megabit cart
Retail: $69.95 Availability: NOW - LIMITED
A Summary of Ratings:
"*" is a whole
"+" is a half
5 stars maximum
Graphics - ** Mostly color bars. Neat parrots though.
Audio - ** Just some test tones.
Control - **** Well, there's certainly nothing confusing about it.
Gameplay - *** It is kinda cool having a THIRD version of Cybermorph.
Overall - *** Consider it a must-have only if you're a rabid,
"collect-everything" Jag owner. Otherwise it's
basically an expensive paperweight.
Key to Clay's ratings
(a fine tools state of mind)
***** - Leatherman
**** - Swiss Army Knife
*** - Spork
** - Pointy stick
* - Big rock
--==--==--==--==--
|| The Trials and Joys of a Flash ROM Cart
|| By: Carl Forhan
\__// forhan@millcomm.com
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Several months ago I received a flash ROM cart on loan to assist me in
Protector development. This cart is capable of receiving a binary download
from a PC and essentially let you play games on a stock Jaguar without
encryption.
Well, as cool as that sounded, it wasn't easy getting the thing to work that
first time. I spent several hours playing with parallel port settings,
alternating between a dev Jaguar and stock Jaguar, pressing buttons at
different times, and so on. FINALLY I got the download process to work, and I
want to share that process so no one will have trouble (hopefully!) in the
future.
Apparently I had to switch my parallel port from 'Normal' mode to EPP mode. It
worked on the first try after I did this. I never got it to work with the
parallel port in any other mode, and I should point out you must have a bi-
directional port.
Here is the complete sequence of what I did:
1. Start the flash.com utility with the proper -pN parameter (-p1 for me)
2. Turn on Jag and hold 3 on the keypad
3. Press space bar on the PC to continue the program
4. Jag screen says "Erasing" on yellow background
5. PC says "Erasing"
6. Jag screen says "Screen will blank out for a moment" on blue background
7. PC begins data transfer and dynamically indicates number of bytes sent
8. Jag screen says "Success" on green background
9. Game starts on Jag automatically, or unplug cable and reboot Jag
That's all it takes. I hope people find this information useful in years to
come.
Sincerely,
Carl Forhan
Songbird Productions
--==--==--==--==--
|| JEO Trivia Challenge V: The Answers
|| By: Clay Halliwell and Carl Forhan
\__// clay.h@att.net, forhan@millcomm.com
-----------------------------------------------------------------
1. What was the first console cartridge-based system?
Fairchild Channel F - 1976
2. What was the first handheld cartridge-based system?
Milton Bradley Microvision - 1979
3. What was the first color handheld cartridge-based system?
Atari Lynx - 1989
4. What was the first tabletop cartridge-based system?
Entex Adventurevision - 1982
(we would also have accepted the Entex Select-A-Game, which came
out even earlier than that, but which was more of an overlay-
based system)
5. What was the first tabletop cartridge-based system to use a column
of red LEDs and a spinning mirror to generate its display?
Entex Adventurevision again!
6. What was the first console game with digital speech?
Quadrun on the Atari 2600 - 1978
7. What was the first console game to do real-time anti-aliasing?
Ballblazer on the Atari 7800 - 1984
8. What was the first console system with analog joysticks?
Atari 5200 - 1982
9. What was the first console system with 4 controller ports?
Bally Astrocade - 1978
10. What was the first system to generate a true interlaced display?
Magnavox Odyssey^2 - 1978
11. What was the first console system with a 64-bit memory bus?
Atari Jaguar - 1993
BONUS QUESTION: Which system had a larger color palette-- the Atari 2600 or
the Nintendo Entertainment System?
The Atari 2600. The 2600 has a 128-color palette (16 colors x 8 bright
levels), versus the NES's 52-color palette (13 colors x 4 bright levels).
--==--==--==--==--
||
|| Shutdown ....................... Power off, * + #, EOL, Game Over
\__// -----------------------------------------------------------------
Buzzword Index:
Buzzword Occurrences
Texture 1
Bug 4
Network 9
CD 35
HTTP 51
BattleSphere 76
Hasbro 111
Useless Fact O' The Month: The Atari 7800 uses a 960-bit encryption key.
'Til next issue!
Your Editor
Clay Halliwell
<clay.h@att.net>
--==--==--==--==--
(This issue printed on recycled photons)
--==--==--==--==--
Portal Now Open.
--==--==--==--==--
Cheers Mate!
--==--==--==--==--
Where do you want to play Atari today?
--==--==--==--==--
Jaguar Explorer Online Magazine is a seasonal publication covering the
Atari Jaguar community. Reprint permission is granted, unless otherwise
noted at the beginning of the article, to registered Atari user groups and
not for profit publications under the following terms only: articles must
remain unedited and include the issue number and author at the top of each
article reprinted. Other reprints granted upon approval of request. Send
requests to <clay.h@att.net>.
No issue of Jaguar Explorer Online Magazine may be included on any
commercial media, nor uploaded or transmitted to any commercial online
service, in whole or in part, by any agent or means, without the expressed
consent or permission from the Editor or Publisher of Jaguar Explorer
Online Magazine.
Opinions presented herein are those of the individual authors and do not
necessarily reflect those of the staff, or of the publishers. All material
herein is believed accurate at the time of publishing. We are the chorus,
we hope you like our show. We know you're rooting for us, but now we have
to go.
--==--==--==--==--
Atari, 400/800, XL/XE, 2600, ST, Mega ST, STe, Mega STe, Atari Falcon030,
Blitter, Atari Lynx, ComLynx, Atari Panther, Atari Jaguar, AtariTel, Pong,
and the Atari Fuji Symbol are all trademarks or registered trademarks of
Hasbro Interactive, Inc. All other trademarks and identifying marks
mentioned in this issue belong to their respective owners.
--==--==--==--==--
Jaguar Explorer Online Magazine
"Your Source for Jaguar News"
Copyright (c) 1999, White Space Publishers
******
**
**
** **
****
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: J E O ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
:: Volume 3, Issue 1 JAGUAR EXPLORER ONLINE June 3, 1999 ::
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
--
IBM OS/2 Warp 4.0 - WinNT 4.0 Fred Horvat
Win98 - MagiC 5.03 - BeOS 4.0 Free-Net Atari Portfolio Sigop
File Attachments to : fmh@netzero.net Atari Classic/LYNX/Jaguar gamer
-----------------------------------------
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