CAIN Newsletter: 15-Sep-94 #0106
From: Atari SIG (xx004@cleveland.Freenet.Edu)
Date: 09/16/94-12:08:53 PM Z
From: xx004@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Atari SIG)
Subject: CAIN Newsletter: 15-Sep-94 #0106
Date: Fri Sep 16 12:08:53 1994
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\ Sep 15, 1994 Vol.I No.6 /
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/____/__|__\_________ Central Atari ______| |________/
/____/___|___\________ Information Network ____| | | |_____/
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August / / \ \ September
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The Official Online Newsletter of the Cleveland Free-Net Atari SIG
_________________________________________________________________________
The Cleveland Free-Net Community Computer System is accessible worldwide!
_________________________________________________________________________
telnet freenet-in-{a,b,c}.cwru.edu (129.22.8.32 or 129.22.8.51)
_________________________________________________________________________
216/368-3888 | 300-14400 bps | type 'go atari' at any menu
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Covering:
7800/XE/XL/800/400,FALCON030/ST/TT/ST(e),PORTFOLIO,LYNX,JAGUAR
CAIN Online Newsletter Published and Copyright (c) 1994
by Cain Publishing
Publisher/Editor
Voting/Conferences.........Mark Leair aa338@cleveland.freenet.edu
Assistant Editor
SIG Manager/Jaguar Area....Len Stys aa399@cleveland.freenet.edu
8-Bit Support Area..........Michael Current aa700@cleveland.freenet.edu
8-Bit Technical Forum.......Craig Lisowski aa853@cleveland.freenet.edu
16/32-Bit Support Area......Thomas Main em129@cleveland.freenet.edu
16/32-Bit Support Area......Bruce D. Nelson aa789@cleveland.freenet.edu
Atari Classic Gaming Corner/
Portfolio Support Area......Fred Horvat ap748@cleveland.freenet.edu
Lynx Support Area...........Barry W. Cantin aa852@cleveland.freenet.edu
Contributor.................Augie Kuo akuo@cirrus.com
Contributor.................Kevin Haley khaley@nova.gmi.edu
Contributor.................Marty Chinn drknight@garg.campbell.CA.US
Contributor.................Sgt. Dudley gt7608b@prism.gatech.edu
Contributor.................Darren Bates gary@batesg.demon.co.uk
Contributor.................Andrew Heller heller@akh104.rh.psu.edu
Contributor.................Rick Reaser r.reaserjr1@genie.geis.com
Contributor.................John Daniels ah499@cleveland.freenet.edu
_________________________________________________________________________
Cleveland Free-Net Atari SIG Internet E-Mail: xx004@cleveland.freenet.edu
_________________________________________________________________________
Cleveland Free-Net Atari SIG, P.O. Box 364, Mentor, OH U.S.A. 44061-0364
_________________________________________________________________________
Table of Contents
>From the Editor..........................................The CAIN Newsletter
-Mark Leair
>From the SIG Manager......................The Cleveland Free-Net & Atari SIG
-Len Stys
Free-Net News Part I............................Atari SIG Conference No More?
New 16/32-Bit Computers SIGOp
CAIN Atari Fun Fest 94 Prize Report
NOISE in Greater Cleveland Area
-Atari SIG
Atari News.........................................Video Gamers Need Not Wait
Atari Abolishes All Rules
Jaguar Tips and Tricks Publication
Alien Vs. Predator Ad
-Atari Corp.
Wolf 3-D on Babbages Top 10 List
-Sgt. Dudley
European Trade Show Report
-Darren Bates
Jag Site Returns
-Andrew Heller
Jaguar in "History of Computing"
-Kevin Haley
8-Bit Computers Support Area..........................8-bit Support Area News
8-bit Product News
8-bit Feature Article--Rick Reaser
8-Bit Commentary
-Michael Current
16/32-Bit Computers Support Area..........The Persistence of Vision Raytracer
-Thomas Main
Free-Net News Part II..................CAIN Atari Fun Fest 94 Show Exhibitors
-Atari SIG
Atari Classic Gaming Corner...............Pitfall Map/Solution--Thomas Clancy
-Fred Horvat
Lynx Support Area...................................................Lynx News
CAIN Atari Fun Fest 94 Lynx Report--John Daniels
Lynx Summer Steal Deal Extended to Fall
-Barry W. Cantin
Jaguar Support Area...............................................Jaguar News
AvP, Iron Soldier, and others--Marty Chin
Brutal Sports Football Review--Kevin Haley
Brutal Sports Football Review--Augie Kuo
Brutal Sports Strategy Tips--Augie Kuo
Messages of Interest
Jaguar Release Date Lists
Jaguar Commentary
-Len Stys
Head Organizer Show Report........................................Fred Horvat
CAIN Atari Fun Fest 94 Responses................................Part-Time BBS
Upcoming Atari Shows......................................Atari Show Calendar
-Mark Leair
Voting Issues and Results............Reader and User Opinion Poll Information
-Mark Leair
General Information of Need........................How to Contribute to CAIN
Article Requests
-Mark Leair
>From the Editor
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Mark Leair
What's this? An August/September issue of CAIN? Has CAIN, like
Current Notes, changed to a bi-monthly schedule? Of course not! Let's just
say it was one busy month for the CAIN staff. Some staff members were
without Internet access, some were heading back to school, and others were
making up work that was missed while planning the CAIN Atari Fun Fest.
However, you'll be happy to hear that we haven't "short changed" you. This
double issue will definitely live up to its name. Over 160K of Atari news and
reviews are at your finger tips! (But wait! There's more!) ...and for you
Jaguar Fans, there's a special supplement containing details on how you can
encourage more game manufacturers to develop for the Jaguar. So, with the
supplement you're getting over 200K of Atari news! If it's news, it's in
here!
You may notice a few minor changes in this issue. First, there's the
Free-Net News area which has been split into two sections. The second section
contains a list of vendors whom attended the CAIN Atari Fun Fest. Because this
list is rather large, we felt it would interfere with the continuity of the
news section. Therefore, please refer to "Free-Net News Part II" for this list
of vendors. Next, you may notice that there isn't any "Conferencing" section.
This has to do with the fact that the Free-Net Administration has made
a decision that prohibits SIG Operators to access the IRC Multi-User Chat
facility. Without access to the IRC, the Atari SIG Operators are unable to
moderate conferences. No explanation for this decision has been made public as
of September 13, 1994. See the "Free-Net News Part I" section for this and
other news. Thirdly, CAIN has a new 16/32-bit writer on its staff. Thomas
Main has joined the CAIN ranks and brings you a review on the "Persistence of
Vision Raytracer," a graphics tool for the ST. Finally, one will find many
"CAIN Atari Show Reports" scattered throughout this issue.
It is hard to believe that the end of summer is here! However, it was
definitely a memorable one. The CAIN Atari Fun Fest 94, which was held August
7th in Kirtland Ohio, was definitely the highlight of this summer.
"If you throw a show, they'll come."
A good portion of our spectators were from the Northeastern Ohio and
Pennsylvania. Many people came out to see the Jaguar, while other die-hard
Atari fans came out of the wood work in search for the ultimate Atari deal.
Overall it showed us that there is still an interest in Atari products in the
area.
Give Aways! Give Aways! Give Aways!
The highlight of the show was definitely the raffling of three Jaguar
systems courtesy of Atari Corp. Additionally, most of the vendors donated
door prizes to the show. Door prizes were given away 1-2 times an hour. For
a complete list of winners, see the Free-Net News Part I section.
* * *
Finally, we are in need of a few talented writers. If you're interested in
joining our team, please send me e-mail (Internet) at "aa338@po.cwru.edu".
Thanks a million!
-Mark Leair
CAIN Publisher/Editor
>From the SIG Manager
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Len Stys
The CAIN Atari Fun Fest 94--the highlight of the Summer--the biggest day
of the year for Atari users in Ohio and surrounding states--is over and
everyone that I have talked with had a blast. The official count of the
number of people that attended the show was near 300 people. Because many
people did not register, we estimate that well over 300 people attended
the CAIN Atari Fun Fest 94.
This was the first show ever organized by CAIN User Group and the
Cleveland Free-Net Atari SIG. It was also the first Atari show in years
that was located in the Cleveland area. Since this was our first show,
we spent a lot of time to make sure the show went well. But we knew that
the show would not be perfect. We have learned a lot from our first show
and we will remember these things for future shows that we do. We were
told, however, by a lot of people that they could not believe it was our
first show. They thought the show compared favorably to other shows that
have taken place in the United States.
I am thankful to the dealers/vendors, developers, and user groups that
attended the CAIN Atari Fun Fest 94. You were part of something that this
area has needed for a VERY long time. And you didn't disappoint
anyone. Most of the people that attended the CAIN Atari Fun Fest 94 had
a great time and you are directly responsible for it. We have mentioned
the dealers/vendors, developers, and user groups in another part of this
newsletter--look for it!
I am especially thankful to Atari Corporation. The company gave the show
organizers THREE Jaguar 64-BIT integrated multimedia systems and THREE
Tempest 2000 cartridges to demonstrate and then raffle off at the show.
The support that Atari has given us is one of the reasons the show was a
success. And because of Atari's contribution, everyone that attended the
CAIN Atari Fun Fest 94 has a new positive attitude towards Atari
Corporation.
The people at Atari that arranged to give us the Jaguars and Tempest 2000s
to demonstrate and raffle off at the show made a smart move. This is
because their contribution to the show has not only helped the show in
many ways, but it has also helped Atari Corporation in many ways.
1) Atari Corporation received a new image through the advertisements
that were made to promote the show. Each of the advertisements stated
that people can win Jaguars and Tempest 2000s from Atari Corporation.
Immediately, people have a positive image about Atari in their minds.
The thought of Atari being cheap is dismissed by people because of
Atari's actions now.
The advertisements were: Usenet newsgroup postings, messages sent
to over 200 Free-Net users, 10,000 Cleveland Free-Net users through
the System Announcements, major Atari gaming BBS postings, messages
posted on over 25 Greater Cleveland BBSs--including PC OHIO, letters
sent to all Atari user groups in Ohio and surrounding states,
letters sent to all Atari dealerships and Atari publications,
over 1,200 flyers about the show that were distributed through 20
Jaguar dealers, flyers posted on bulletin boards of local libraries,
post offices, and colleges, information in CAIN Newsletter,
Atari Explorer Online, & ST Report, information in ST INFORMER, and
advertisements in the CLEVELAND PLAIN DEALER and CHESTERLAND
newspapers.
2) The contribution of Jaguars and Tempest 2000s by Atari Corporation
also resulted in dealerships carrying the Jaguar and games. Before
the show, there was little excitement about the Jaguar by many of the
video game dealerships. After the show, we have heard of at least one
Jaguar dealer setting up a Jaguar for people to try at their store.
The WaldenSoftware in Akron, Ohio set-up a Jaguar that now sits next to
the 3DO that they had been demonstrating for awhile. Guess which
system gets the most attention? You guessed it--Jaguar. Dealers are
excited about the Jaguar and this is a result of Atari Corporation's
support of the show.
3) A lot of people know about the Jaguar, but they refuse to buy a product
before trying it. These people came to the CAIN Atari Fun Fest 94 to
try the Jaguar to see if they want to buy it. Several Jaguars were
sold at the show and a large number of Jaguar games were also sold.
The people that went home without buying a Jaguar or game cartridge
will most likely buy a Jaguar or game cartridge soon after.
4) The Jaguars that people won resulted in sales of games. And the
Tempest 2000 cartridges that people won resulted in Jaguar sales.
One winner of the Tempest 2000 bought a Jaguar at the show and also
bought all of the games available for the Jaguar.
In any way I look at it, Atari Corporation did very well for themselves
by contributing Jaguars and Tempest 2000s to be demonstrated and raffled
off at the show. The contribution of the Jaguars and Tempest 2000s was
much more cost effective than advertising in a newspaper for one day.
The contribution also boosted the morale of many Atari supporters and
loyalists in the Greater Cleveland area.
I would also like to thank TOAD Computers for sending several hundred
post cards that promoted the show. Unfortunately, the U.S. Postal Service
is up to their usual standards and most people did not receive the post
card until after the show. I received my post card from TOAD Computers on
the Tuesday after the show. The post card was done extremely well and it
was really nice of TOAD Computers to try to help make the show a success.
Thanks to everyone that attended. The Atari Community is definitely made
up of special people.
A number of people are writing game companies to encourage them to produce
their favorite title for the Jaguar. In the CAIN Newsletter Supplement,
you will find a letter writing campaign which lists several companies and
their addresses. I encourage you to read it and participate. If you own
a Jaguar or plan to buy one, these games are fun to play and should help
make the Jaguar a success.
Free-Net News Part I
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Cleveland Free-Net Atari SIG Conferences No More?
The Cleveland Free-Net Administration took away IRC (online conference)
access away from SysOps. No explanation was given to SysOps for the
action taken. This makes it impossible for the Atari SIGOps to continue
monthly online conferences.
In order to get IRC Access back to SysOps, please write Jeff Gumpf at
jag@cleveland.freenet.edu and inform Mr. Gumpf that you enjoy online Atari
conferences and wish for them to continue on the Cleveland Free-Net.
In order for the online Atari conferences to continue, IRC access to SysOps
must be returned.
* * *
New 16/32-Bit Computers SIGOp
The Cleveland Free-Net Atari SIG welcomes Thomas Main (em129) as the new
16/32-Bit Computers SIGOp. He will also be contributing articles and
information to CAIN Newsletter each month. This month's 16/32-Bit article
is an extensive review by Thomas Main on the Persistence of Vision
Raytracer.
The Atari SIG is looking for additional 16/32-Bit SIGOps and writers for
CAIN Newsletter. If you are interested, please send e-mail to:
xx004@cleveland.freenet.edu
* * *
CAIN Atari Fun Fest 94 Prize Report
Jaguar 64-BIT Winners!
----------------------
Gary Branstein Robert Lai Dave Merklin
Mentor, OH Euclid, OH Akron, OH
* * *
Below is a list of prizes donated and the vendor whom donated it.
Vendor/User Group Prize
----------------- -----
Atari Corp. 3 Jaguar Multi-Media Systems
3 Tempest 2000 game cartridges for Jaguar
AAA Video Tweety Board
The Computer Shoppe Pair of Remote Control Joysticks
FMH Games 8-bit games Pac-Man + Joust
2600 console with 10 used games
16 new 2600, 5200, and 7800 games
Fouch Software Mailing Manager ST software
It's All Relative View II by DMJ software
Jeff's Atari Outpost 2 $50.00 gift certificates
3 2600 Grab Bags
Majic Soft MAGE Arcade hits Vol 1.
Micro Computer Depot Button Awari ST software
Buttonz Basic ST software
Nertz ST Software
Spectrum Atari Group Spectrum T-shirt
Stys on the Rise Gauntlet III Lynx game
Toad Computers 2 Jaguar Caps with $5.00 off coupons
Steven J. Tucker $40.00 gift certificate
* * *
Below is a list of prize winners at the CAIN Atari Fun Fest 94.
Name Prize
---- -----
Brian Roach $50.00 gift certificate
Joyce Kowalski $50.00 gift certificate
Paul Klomfas Atari 2600 console and 10 used games
Andrew Floyd Jaguar cap and $5.00 gift certificate
Tim Roach $40.00 gift certificate
Tom Lamparty Nertz ST game
Larry Ray Jaguar cap and $5.00 gift certificate
Joe Pallendino Wireless joysticks
Linda Spangler 4 new 2600 games
Robert Lai SAGE T-shirt
George Adams Mailing Manager ST
Al Silverstien Buttonz Basic St software
Nick Branstien 4 new 2600 games
Rob Cupples 4 new 2600/5200/7800 games
Adam Corover 2 new 8-bit cartridges
Sandy Durisin MAGE Arcade Pack
Gable Blankenship Buttonz Awari ST software
Don Crano Tweety Board
Dave Curtin 4 new 2600/5200/7800 games
James Woodford View II Software
Dan Paxton Gauntlet III Lynx game
* * *
NOISE in Greater Cleveland Area
Northern Ohio Internet System Explorer (N.O.I.S.E.) is a public access
OS/2 Internet site. It is designed for the novice user, but its help
screens are unobtrusive for the experienced hand.
We offer a full range of Internet services, including email, usenet,
Telnet, FTP, Archie, gopher, WWW, MUD and IRC.
The System is front ended with a standard bulletin board which provides
a menu driven access to all functions.
On the bulletin board we maintain current files of interest to internet
users, including a number of basic FAQ's.
We are available from 9 am to midnight to provide assistance to users via
a bulletin board 'yell' feature, and by voice phone (see below).
Our service is price at $2 per hour with a free trial for the first five
hours. Discounts for educators, students and businesses are available.
Fore more information, contact: Bill_Leyser@noise.cleveland.oh.us
Data: 216-892-110, Voice: 216-871-7419
Atari News
-=-=-=-=-=
Contact: Ron Beltramo
Atari Corporation
(408) 745-8852
VIDEO GAMERS NEED NOT WAIT 'TILL LATE 1995 TO EXPERIENCE
64-BIT POWER
Wolfenstein 3D, Alien Vs. Predator, Kasumi Ninja and Doom
Among Many Hot New Titles Available by Christmas on the
Award-Winning, 64-bit Atari Jaguar
SUNNYVALE, CA (August 29,1994) -- Sega, Nintendo, 3DO and
Sony continue to tell game enthusiasts that they must wait
until late 1995 to experience advanced video game
technology and performance. But the Atari Jaguar, the
world's first 64-bit multimedia home entertainment system,
already is available. "By Christmas 1994, Jaguar fans will
be playing 30-50 new game titles on their 64-bit systems
while our competitors continue to play catch up and beg
their followers to be patient," said Sam Tramiel, Atari
president and CEO. "Its nice to know American companies are
once again leading the way in technology."
The Atari Jaguar is the only video game system manufactured
in the United States. Jaguar, the most powerful multimedia
system available, was recently named the industry's Best
New Game System (Video Games Magazine), Best New Hardware
Systems (Game Informer) and 1993 Technical Achievement of
the Year (Die Hard Game Fan). Jaguar also recently was
given the European Computer Trade Show Award for Best
Hardware of the Year. "We still have the best hardware on
the market. And now we have great titles rolling in." said
Tramiel. "So if you can buy 64-bit power today for under
$250, why should you wait until 1995 to spend close to
$500?" said Tramiel.
In September, Atari will launch an aggressive advertising
campaign highlighting the great gameplay made possible by
the Atari Jaguar's 64-bit power. One of the campaign spots
stresses the immersive, 3D nature of Jaguar games by
focusing on upcoming title Alien Vs. Predator. "The 3D
graphics and texture mapping take full advantage of the
Jaguar's technological superiority and create an experience
that is out of this world," said Tramiel.
Atari Corporation, based in Sunnyvale, Calif., designs and
markets 64-bit interactive multimedia entertainment systems
and video games.
---
Jaguar is a trademark for Atari Corporation. Atari is a
registered trademark of Atari Corporation. Other products
named may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their
owning companies.
Contact: Diane Carlini Ron Beltramo
Edelman Public Relations Atari Corporation
(415) 433-5381 (408) 745-8852
Terry Grantham
Telegames, Inc.
(214) 224-0690 ext.901
* * *
For Immediate Release
ATARI ABOLISHES ALL RULES --
SCORES TOUCHDOWN WITH NEW "BRUTAL SPORTS FOOTBALL"
Title Is First Of Many Third-Party Games For Award-Winning,
64-Bit Atari Jaguar
SUNNYVALE, Calif. (August 22, 1994) -- Imagine no
rules on the football field as you decapitate your opponent
as he runs toward the goal line. The only game you'll
experience it on is Brutal Sports Football and the only
video game system you'll play it on is Atari's award-
winning Jaguar. The first of many third-party video games,
Brutal Sports Football also is the first sports-related,
fast-action game developed for the 64-bit Jaguar system.
Initially released for sale in mid August, with
national availability in September, Brutal Sports Football
represents a hybrid in video games -- coupling the sporting
elements of rugby with the blood-and-guts mayhem of the
most popular video games. The product is designed for
action gamers and football fans who are tired of the same
old set of moves and rules. The new rules are simple ...
there are none. Players simply pick up the ball and run for
their video game life while avoiding the head-hunting
opposition.
"Brutal Sports Football was our chance to work with
the most sophisticated video game platform on the market,
the 64-bit Jaguar," said Telegames' Terry Grantham. "We've
been developing software for Atari hardware since 1982 and
believe this is our most innovative product yet." Brutal
Sports Football, retailing for $69.95 at consumer
electronics and toy stores nationwide, is the first of
numerous games Telegames is developing for the Jaguar
platform including World Class Cricket, Ultimate Brain
Games, Casino Royale, and Operation Starfish (James
Pond 3).
Atari's Jaguar game system has approximately 30
software titles planned for release before the holiday
season. Popular titles in the works include Alien Vs.
Predator, Dragon - The Bruce Lee Story, Doom, Busby, Troy
Aikman Football, and Kasumi Ninja.
"We've challenged our software designers to develop
games that use the full technological capacity of the 64-
bit Jaguar," said Atari Corporation President Sam Tramiel.
"This means players can look forward to some incredible
titles in the near future because our developers are not
constrained by less-sophisticated 16-bit or 32-bit
technology." More than 150 independent developers currently
are working on Jaguar-compatible products.
Since its release in November 1993, Atari's Jaguar
game system has been named the industry's "Best New Game
System" (Video Games Magazine), "Best New Hardware System"
(Game Informer) and "1993 Technical Achievement of the
Year" (DieHard GameFan). The Jaguar is the only video game
system manufactured in the United States.
Atari Corporation, based in Sunnyvale, Calif., designs
and markets 64-bit interactive multimedia entertainment
systems and video games.
# # #
Jaguar is a trademark of Atari Corporation. Atari is a
registered trademark of Atari Corporation. Other products
named may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their
owning companies.
* * *
Contact: Ron Beltramo Joe Harabin
Atari Sandwich Islands Publishing
(408) 745-8852 (808) 661-5844
For Immediate Release
FANS OF JAGUAR VIDEO GAMES CAN LEARN THE LATEST TIPS AND
TRICKS WITH "ATARI JAGUAR OFFICIAL GAMES SECRETS"
First Authorized Jaguar Book Available December 1994
SUNNYVALE, CA (August 18, 1994) -- Fans of Jaguar video
games -- the most technologically-advanced games on the
market -- soon will be able to learn the best strategies
for playing their favorite games with Atari Jaguar Official
Games Secrets. Hawaii-based book company Sandwich Islands
Publishing will produce the strategy guide, the first
Jaguar book written with the full authorization and
cooperation of Atari.
Written by Zach Meston (contributing editor to Video Games,
Computer Player, and Tips and Tricks Magazines), J. Douglas
Arnold, and Danny Han, Atari Jaguar Official Games Secrets
will feature:
* Detailed strategies for the hottest Jaguar games on the
market including: Tempest 2000, Aliens vs. Predator,
Kasumi Ninja, Wolfenstein 3-D, Doom, Iron Soldier, Ultra
Vortex, Club Drive, and many more
* Previews of upcoming Jaguar releases
* Interviews with Jaguar game programmers and a "tech
specs" chapter written by Jaguar game developer Douglas
Engel
* A vivid design -- with hundreds of screen shots -- which
conveys the excitement of the Jaguar's 64-bit power
Atari Jaguar Official Games Secrets will be available in
December 1994 at a suggested retail price of $14.95.
"Our secrets and strategies for Atari's library of superb
games will make for a book that no Jaguar owner can afford
to be without," said Joe Harabin, president of Sandwich
Islands Publishing. Zach Meston, lead author of Atari
Jaguar Official Games Secrets, added, "It's an incredible
thrill for me to work directly with the company that helped
me sharpen my hand-eye coordination and get such a great
job in the first place."
Some of the tips included in Atari Jaguar Official Games
Secrets already are available on Atari's popular Jaguar
hotline (tel. 1-900-737-2827). The hotline is available 24
hours a day and costs only 95 cents per minute. (Children
under 18 require parental permission.)
Atari Jaguar is the world's first 64-bit interactive
multimedia home entertainment system and is the only video
game system manufactured in the United States. Jaguar, the
most powerful multimedia system available, was recently
named the industry's "Best New Game System" (Video Games
Magazine), "Best New Hardware Systems" (Game Informer) and
"1993 Technical Achievement of the Year" (Die Hard Game
Fan). Jaguar also recently was given the European Computer
Trade Show Award for "Best Hardware of the Year."
Atari Corporation, based in Sunnyvale, California,
manufactures and markets 64-bit interactive multimedia
entertainment systems, video games and personal computers
for the home, office and educational marketplaces.
Sandwich Islands Publishing is a privately held company
based on the tropical paradise of Lahaina, Maui,
Hawaii. It was formed in 1984 and has been producing best-
selling video game strategy guides since 1990. Sandwich
Islands Publishing's books are distributed in the U.S. and
overseas, including Canada, Spain, and the UK.
---
Jaguar is a trademark for Atari Corporation. Atari is a
registered trademark of Atari Corporation. Other products
named may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their
owning companies.
* * *
ALIEN vs. PREDATOR MAGAZINE AD
From: 75300.1267@compuserve.com (Donald A. Thomas, Jr.)
Below is the text of the 2-page ad that appeared on facing
pages (48 and 49) of the September 1994 issue of VideoGames
magazine. The ad has a color photograph on the upper two
thirds of each page. The photograph on the left page is
of the Alien from Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation
The first line of a three line headline is "pasted" just
over the Alien's image. The right page photograph is of the
Predator holding a human skull from Twentieth Century Fox
Film Corporation. The second line of the headline is pasted
above the Predator's head and the last line of the headline
is pasted just beneath the image of the skull. All three
headline lines appear in a large, underlined typewriter
font.
Headline line 1: _YOU_CAN_BE_THE_ALIEN._
Headline line 2: _YOU_CAN_BE_THE_PREDATOR._
Headline line 3: _OR_YOU_CAN_BE_LUNCH._
The Alien vs. Predator logo stretches just beneath the two
photographs across both pages. Six screen captures taken
directly from the Alien vs. Predator video game for the
Atari 64-bit Jaguar Interactive Multimedia System are
"stacked" side-by-side across the two pages. There are a
few lines of italicized text beneath or to the right of
each screen capture.
SCREEN: far left; left page
IMAGE: Aliens' perspective facing marine
TEXT: YOU'RE THE MARINE. YOU'RE THE ALIEN. YOU'RE THE
PREDATOR. Be any one of them and fulfill your
biological destiny; kill or be killed.
SCREEN: center; left page
IMAGE: Marine's perspective facing Alien
TEXT: THE ALIEN LASHES OUT. His claw and tail strikes
are beautiful and deadly. No such aesthetics
apply to acid-spitting. That's just plain sick.
SCREEN: far right; left page
IMAGE: Marine's perspective facing Alien in airduct
TEXT: YOU'RE JUST A CRYBABY WITH A SHOTGUN TO THE
ALIEN. Texture-mapping heightens the
claustrophobia of the airduct. Too Bad. Tell your
therapist.
SCREEN: far left; right page
IMAGE: Marine's perspective facing Predator
TEXT: THE PREDATOR'S DISKS FROM HELL may outmatch your
more conventional weaponry. Might be a good idea
to keep your first-aid kit handy.
SCREEN: center; right page
IMAGE: Predator's x-ray perspective
TEXT: THE PREDATOR CAN SEE WHAT YOU CAN'T. Stay out of
his view. Too many x-rays can be bad for you.
SCREEN: far right; right page
IMAGE: Predator's perspective facing Marine
TEXT: MARINE? SOLDIER-ON-A-STICK IS MORE LIKE IT. Your
extraordinary bit-mapped image makes the shape of
your skull look so very right to the Predator.
Above the screen captures and beneath the photographs from
Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation are four lines of
body copy:
BODY COPY: Lunch. Toast. Dogmeat. You're on the menu. The
Alien eats you from the inside out. The
Predator's razor-like mouth parts go for the
crust. It's one thing to be the low man on the
food chain in a 16 or 32-bit game. But in
Jaguar's 64-bit system, it takes extremely fine
tuned reflexes to stay alive. Give your
reptilian hindbrain a workout. Be the Predator
or the Alien. Ancient animal instincts exploit
the high-resolution bit-mapping - the better to
see you. Huge sound-sampling - the better to
hear you. And unparalleled animation - the
better to come out of nowhere and eat you. In a
64-bit environment, pure sensation can
overwhelm. Keep a little blood in your
adrenaline system, and maybe you'll survive. At
least until dinner.
On the left page is an Atari logo underscored by "MADE IN
THE USA". To the right of the logo are three small lines of
disclaimer:
DISCLAIMER: Game tips and hints: 1-900-737-ATARI. 95 cents
per minute. If you are under 18, be sure to get
a parent's permission before calling. A touch-
tone phone is required. USA only. Atari Jaguar
information is available in the Atari Gaming
Forum on CompuServe. Type GO JAGUAR to access
this area 24 hours a day. Atari, the Atari
logo, and Jaguar are trademarks or registered
trademarks of Atari Corporation. All rights
reserved. Alien and Predator(tm) & (c)
Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. All
rights reserved. Used under sublicense from
Activision.
In the lower right hand corner of the right page is the
Jaguar logo with a square stating "DO+THE MATH" and six
circled yellow reverse letters spelling out "64-BIT".
Beneath the logo it states: "INTERACTIVE MULTIMEDIA
SYSTEM".
* * *
WOLF3D ON BABAGES TOP 10 SALES LIST
-From: gt7608b@prism.gatech.edu (Sgt. Dudley)
-Date: Sun Sep 4 00:02:25 1994
Jag Wolf 3D was on Babbages top ten sales list for September
Here is the whole list
1. SSF2
2. Breath of Fire
3. FIFA Soccer
4. Sega CD Rebel Assault
5. Jag Wolf 3D
6. World Series Baseball.
7. Hardball '94 for Genesis
8. Ken Griffey Baseball
9. The Incredible Hulk
10. Vay
This is the first time I've seen a jag game on this monthly flier.
It's a good sign.
Later,
Jarrell
* * *
EUROPEAN COMPUTER TRADE SHOW REPORT
-From: gary@batesg.demon.co.uk (Darren Bates)
-Date: Tue Sep 6 20:09:59 1994
European Computer Trade Show
I have just attended the ECTS in London, it was ACE. Although Atari did not
have a dedicated stand there (they held a private conference in a nearby
hotel), there was a stand showing off RAYMAN on Jag. I must say it looked
absolutely stunning! 24-bit backgrounds, 30 FPS, cool! I know cute platform
games are not everyones' cup of tea, but this game may convert a few of us.
The animation on the central character was some of the best I've seen, and
the enemy characters were equally impressive. Hopefully, this will aid
Atari's sales at Xmas with the younger players.
Also, one of the rep's at the Atari area revealed that Atari has a secret
game in development that no-one has seen or heard of. He also claimed it
would blow ANY game away, on ANY platform! Does anyone have any clues to
what he was referring to?
BTW, the PSX video made me wet my pants, Labyrinth boasted the best graphics
I have seen in years and Poly Circus Racing was more impressive than
Cruisin' USA on Ultra 64!!!!
The future is looking EXCITING
* * *
akh104.rh.psu.edu JAG SITE RETURNS!
-From: heller@akh104.rh.psu.edu (Andrew K. Heller)
-Date: Fri Sep 2 23:29:16 1994
Its up again. Remember this site has not been updated
with new information since May 5, 1994. If you could tell me
the name of a site or two that has the Jag stuff..I'll pull
it all.
Uploads are welcome... =)
* * *
JAGUAR MENTIONED IN "HISTORY OF COMPUTING"
-From: khaley@nova.gmi.edu (Kevin Haley)
-Date: Wed Sep 7 12:50:57 1994
There is a 70-page book published by the Computer Science Department of
South Bank University (UK) called "The History of Computing". It is a
chronological timeline of major events, milestones, and accomplishments in
the history of computing. The publishing date is March 1994, so it is
quite recent.
Anyway, I had to buy this book for a Comp. Science course. A quick perusal
of the book revealed a mention of the Jaguar! The entry is dated
"November, 1993", and it gives a 3 line mention, "Atari introduces Jaguar
games console; 64-bit architecture with multiple RISC processors estimated at
55MIPS", or something similar.
I was rather impressed to see that the Professors who authored the book
found the Jaguar of significance to mention it. This is magnified when the
mentioned topics seem to be those that are "new or innovative". For
example, the Super Famicom is mentioned, but the NES, SNES,
Genesis, and other competing machines aren't mentioned. CD-I is mentioned
as "first consumer based dedicated multimedia machine", but there is no
mention of 3DO.
Other Atari-related events mentioned:
- Creation of Pong
- Creation of Atari VCS (2600)
- Introduction of Atari ST
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
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=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=--=
8-Bit Computers Support Area
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Michael Current
8-Bit Support Area News
-----------------------
Apparently quite a few 8-bit users showed up at our CAIN Atari Fun Fest
this month, but I was personally unable to attend (I live in Iowa City,
IA). Maybe I'll see you next year!
8-Bit Product News
------------------
From: b.poehland@genie.geis.com
ATARI CLASSICS: Final Farewell August 10, 1994
It pleases me greatly to report that the issuing of refunds to all
former subscribers to the old AC is now essentially complete, and as of
this date the original publication may be considered officially terminated.
I wish to officially announce my departure from the AC Staff, and
hereby declare my resignation therefrom in the positions I occupied,
Managing Editor and Circulation Editor.
The status of refunds at this time is as follows:
1.) A batch of 88 refund checks, representing the last of the American
refunds and all of the Canadian refunds, was posted on August 9 and
should be in the hands of their intended recipients shortly.
2.) A batch of 18 IPMOs and bank drafts, representing refunds to overseas
subscribers, was posted today. The IPMOs will take a few weeks for
postal processing before final delivery.
3.) Unicorn Publications is presently working up 17 credit card refunds to
overseas subscribers. Notices of account credits will be mailed out
shortly by Unicorn Publications from Ann Arbor, Michigan.
All together, a total of 351 refunds has been/are being issued. The refund
policy as announced in the April AC was followed very nearly as given, except
in the case of Australian refunds: one Australian refund was denied and the
remainder made by bank draft, in consequence of the discovery that IPMOs are
not available to Australia.
The entire stock of back issues of the old AC has been transferred to
the magazine's new management in California, including back issues of the
AC Software Disk. I will no longer respond to inquiries concerning back
issues or subscriptions to AC. Individuals desiring such information about
the new AC should contact:
ATARI CLASSICS Magazine
5507 Langford Court
Concord, CA 94521
ATTN: Jim Hood, Managing Editor
A number of people have asked what role I will play in the new AC.
I've made myself available to the new management in a consulting/support
capacity over the past 6 months and expect to continue in that role for as
long as they desire my services. Many people have begged me to continue
my "Alchemist" column in the new AC, but regrettably circumstances will not
permit me to make contributions of that nature in the foreseeable future.
In consequence of unprecedented instability now sweeping the U.S.
pharmaceutical industry in the wake of political turmoil surrounding the
Clinton national health plan proposals, many scientists in that industry are
experiencing the loss of their jobs and wreckage of their careers. I am one
of them. In June the department where I worked for 13 years was abolished,
and I became unemployed. A few weeks later I received news that my mother
has been diagnosed with terminal cancer. In a few days I'll be leaving for
an extended visit to Mesa, Arizona to attend my mother's needs. I trust the
8-bit community will forgive me for placing these serious concerns far above
any continued participation in Atari magazines. However, I anticipate being
an 8-bit user for quite some time to come, and of course I'm a charter
subscriber to the new AC.
The slow pace of refunds over the summer on the part of Unicorn
Publications initially hobbled the efforts of our California colleagues to
restart the magazine. Many loyal readers apparently held off subscribing
to the new AC until they had received their refund from the old AC. By
encouraging Unicorn to complete the refund process in a timely manner I
expect to see a corresponding boost in support for the new AC in the weeks
ahead. Feedback I've received from readers in response to the refund
program has consisted mainly of expressions of astonishment that the
policies stated in the April issue were actually followed and people had a
cash refund in hand from an Atari magazine for the first time in the history
of Atari computers. I'm very proud of the legacy AC established in dealing
"up-front" with its loyal supporters and hope the new management will
continue the tradition.
I don't have any real figures for the present level of support for the
new AC, but reasonable estimates place it at around 200 paid subscriptions.
Based on my experience I believe the revived publication will probably top
out with a subscriber base in the range of 300-350. Unpublished manuscripts
remaining in my hands were turned over to the new management following their
promise to continue the same policies toward author compensation that I
originally established. Recently they've begun aggressively recruiting a
staff, and I'm pleased to report many of the former AC Staff will be serving
the new publisher. I'm also aware the new management has been in contact
with Unicorn Publications to secure transfer of the magazine's 2nd Class
mailing permit. They've also made local arrangements that will permit them
to print the new AC far more cheaply than Unicorn did, which means they'll be
able to survive financially with a smaller subscriber base. All indications
point to a revival of AC very soon, I would guess September but must admit
that's purely speculative.
Finally, many people have questioned why it was necessary to shut down
AC and start it up anew instead of just having the old publisher turn over
operations to the new. First, I must point out that plans to shut down AC
had already been laid in January 1994, well before Bob Woolley became
actively involved in saving the magazine and securing a new publisher.
Once the presses began to roll it was too late to stop the process; the best
I could do was extend support to the new effort. Second, back in February
no one knew what level of support a revived AC might attain. Staff morale
was extremely low due to the sharp falloff in renewals in Dec.'93/Jan.'94,
and even Bob Woolley and Jim Hood were concerned there might not be enough
support to warrant their continuing the effort. The whole period of
January-May 1994 was fraught with unknowns, anxiety, chaos, and instability--
punctuated by power blackouts and disruptions caused by the Killer Winter of
'94 (which left me with $2,000 in property damage and a huge mess to clean
up). For Unicorn to turn over AC to an unknown third party in such a climate
would have been an act of catastrophic stupidity. Due to the uncertainty of
future support, Bob Woolley and I mutually agreed any continuation of AC
would have to be an independent effort. And finally, neither the Staff nor
Publisher of AC had the authority to transfer the magazine's operations
even under ideal conditions. Had AC been threatened by some external event
(for example, the collapse of its publisher), it would have been within the
scope of my authority to transfer the operation elsewhere. But instead, AC
was threatened by a failure of support from the very community that brought
it into existence. In conferring with Jeff McWilliams (de facto
representative of the 615 people whose response to the mail campaign of 1992
authorized him to ask me to start the magazine), we agreed that in view of
the situation the correct response was to "give AC back" to the community
that authorized its existence. The only way to do that was to release the
Staff back to the community and distribute the magazine's financial resources
back to the community. We have in effect given AC back to the community from
whence it sprang, in consequence of the community's failure to support the
original mandate.
People should bear in mind that the revival of AC in California is
totally independent of the original AC. All the support given by elements
of the old publication to the new have been at a purely personal level, none
of it official. For the past 8 months I've walked a fine line between strict
adherence to the original proposals upon which AC was founded and my own
personal desire to see the AC Experiment live on. Through the intervention
of Bob Woolley and a mutual spirit of informal cooperation between elements
of the old and new publications, I believe I can at last claim success on both
accounts. We have been through a trial by fire, from whence a new AC will
arise as a Phoenix from the flames.
For some of you, the refund you receive(d) is merely a check, to be
cashed and spent. But for others- those of you still capable of dreaming-
that refund check is a ticket to be used to vote yet a second time to continue
what still stands as one of the most unique events in the history of personal
computers. I hope people will realize the extraordinary effort that has gone
into giving the community a second chance to vote, and that you will do so
wisely.
Respectfully submitted,
Benjamin L. Poehland
<Managing Editor>
<Circulation Editor>
ATARI CLASSICS Magazine
\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
From: dx107@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Dean Garraghty)
Subject: NEWS-PAPER BACK ISSUES
Date: 20 Aug 1994 04:43:50 -0500
Ok, here's a good deal for you all!
We have now produced 5 printed issues of the News-Paper (our
magazine). Get the lot for just $10 including Air Mail shipping!
We must be mad!!
Come on folks, get your $10 to us!
As usual, pay in cash in US$.
We have about 50 sets available, so there's no need to reserve any.
Dean Garraghty.
--
Dean Garraghty Software (D.G.S.) - dx107@cleveland.freenet.edu
D.G.S., 62 Thomson Ave, Balby, Doncaster, DN4 0NU, ENGLAND.
Phone (in UK): (0302) 855026 / International: +44-302-855-026
D.G.S -- Supporting the Atari 8-bit!!
8-Bit Feature Article
---------------------
FidoNet 8-bit Echo
Rick Reaser
From: r.reaserjr1@genie.geis.com
Date: 13 Aug 1994 22:09:48 -0500
The following is a list of FidoNet BBSes that carry the Atari 8-bit Echo.
It is organized by area code and compiled from the taglines of messages
posted over the past several months on the echo. Hopefully, the format won't
get too messed up and you will be able
to decipher the list. It's actual 93
characters across.
Phone Location Node # BBS Name
SysOp Baud
(204) 889-3608 Winnipeg MB 1:348/104 Ability
Jim Martinuk 9600
(206) 472-6805 Tacoma WA 1:138/245 Permanent Crew Rest
John Schliep 2400
(206) 695-0799 Vancouver WA 1:105/169 Aurora BBS
Scott Hemphill 9600
(210) 333-5360 San Antonio TX 1:387/307 Quantum Leap
Mike Mazzola 9600
(214) 442-0388 Wylie TX 1:124/7028 Wylie Connection
Wes Newell 9600
(216) 478-0548 Canton OH 1:157/629 CanCom BBS
Gary Cox 9600
(219) 674-6040 Osceola IN 1:227/145 Ye Ole Connection
Chris Smith 9600
(301) 292-7955 Fort Washington MD 1:109/412 The Computer Orphanage
Ken LaCapria 9600
(302) 239-7242 Hockessin DE 1:150/120 Inner World BBS
Brian Funk 9600
(305) 472-7715 Fort Lauderdale FL 1:369/120 Bashful Pervert BBS
Bob Patten 9600
(310) 374-7929 Redondo Beach CA 1:102/137 PC Heaven BBS
Tony Reeves 9600
(315) 797-3054 Utica NY 1:2609/507 W.A.A. BBS
Richard Seeley 9600
(317) 356-5519 Indianapolis IN 1:231/370 The Zoo
Bill Jones 9600
(407) 568-8774 Bithlo FL 1:363/153 MoonRose HQ
Kevin Hoffman 9600
(501) 932-6961 Jonesboro AR 1:389/2 The Wizard's Domain
Jon Wagner 9600
(501) 933-9281 Jonesboro AR 1:389/3 The Gameing BBS!
Gary Edwards 9600
(504) 362-1636 New Orleans LA 1:396/80 Assassin's Lair
Todd Jordan 9600
(514) 466-9637 Greenfield Park Qc 1:167/565 Evening Shade
Chris Ross 9600
(516) 579-2069 Seaford NY 1:2619/119 The Arena BBS
Mark Ciochetto 9600
(601) 992-4023 Jackson MS 1:3632/3 MCS Micronet
James Simmons 9600
(602) 459-0013 Sierra Vista AZ 1:309/51 United We Stand America
Bill Starr 9600
(602) 459-6514 Sierra Vista AZ 1:309/35 The Danish Tower BBS
Bill Morris 9600
(602) 464-4817 Mesa AZ 1:114/318 STAR*LINX
Jeff Kovach 9600
(604) 272-5888 Richmond BC 1:153/813 T.R.A.C.E BBS
Terry Schreiber 9600
(604) 323-9698 Vancouver BC 1:153/7091 Miramax BBS
David Poon 9600
(609) 223-0133 Mullica Hill NJ 1:266/52 Python Bbs
Rudy Schmidt 9600
(609) 794-8907 Vineland NJ 1:266/73 Connections! BBS
Michael Nelson 9600
(612) 544-5118 Minneapolis MN 1:282/47 FlightLine BBS
Craig Peterson 9600
(615) 376-7623 Knoxville TN 1:3615/17 Soft Touch
Mary Pinckard 9600
(617) 595-5626 Swampscott MA 1:101/106 NewWorld Magic1
Hal DuPrie 9600
(617) 595-5627 Swampscott MA 1:101/107 NewWorld Magic2
Hal DuPrie 9600
(617) 932-0958 Woburn MA 1:101/435 MMASKS
Herb Oxley 9600
(701) 727-9811 Minot AFB ND 1:14/645 Gamma World
Lance Powell 9600
(702) 435-0786 Las Vegas NV 1:209/745 The Rebel BBS
Terry May 9600
(703) 642-3616 Alexandria VA 1:109/618 Infinite Data Source
John Choi 9600
(706) 868-9726 Martinez GA 1:360/17 The Far Side BBS
Jim Noblett 9600
(713) 461-1682 Houston TX 1:106/6969 STarship
Rich Tietjens 9600
(718) 817-5500 Bronx NY 1:278/103 Fordham Jesuit BBS
Fr. N. Lombardi 9600
(803) 731-3884 Columbia SC 1:376/50 Dreadnaught Class
Julius Edwards 9600
(803) 788-8194 Elgin SC 1:376/112 Jake's Place
Leo Davidson 9600
(805) 734-4742 Vandenberg AFB CA 1:206/2703 FIDOdoor Support BBS
Bryan Hall 9600
(816) 763-3353 Kansas City MO 1:280/66 Synergy
John Hutton 9600
(818) 763-9006 N. Hollywood CA 1:102/836 Computer One
Ed Baker 9600
(904) 268-9203 Jacksonville FL 1:112/57 The Dragon's Domain
B. Himmelstoss 9600
(904) 375-7913 Gainesville FL 1:3601/106 The Den
Ken Sallot 9600
(904) 871-6536 Panama City FL 1:3608/1 221B Baker St
James Young 9600
(904) 769-9688 Panama City FL 1:3608/121 The -< Bejue >-
Larry Black 9600
(916) 737-1844 Sacramento CA 1:203/69 Humanx Commonwealth
Smokey Layton 9600
(916) 448-5840 Sacramento CA 1:203/9264 *Your BBS*
Curtis Delzer 9600
(919) 469-8463 Cary NC 1:151/139 ArenA
Paul Newton 9600
46-31-363973 Partille 2:203/221 STraight BBS
Bertil Jagard 9600
64-3-389-0898 Christchurch 3:770/140 Mirth Control [#1]
Daniel Ayers 9600
64-9-817-2868 Auckland NZ 3:772/480 Hitch-Hiker's
Jamie Walker 2400
64-9-445-0661 Auckland NZ 3:772/1000 PC WORLD-1
Chris Miller 9600
Rick Reaser
Atari 8-bit Editor
Current Notes Magazine
8-Bit Commentary
----------------
Recently I received my postcard acknowledging my resubscription to Atari
Classics magazine. Yes, folks, Atari Classics lives! Publication is
expected to resume within a month or two.
Meanwhile, Rick Reaser at Current Notes continues to deliver quality
8-bit coverage in every issue, although CN has now been forced to move to
a bimonthly (six issues per year) schedule.
Over at Page 6 in Great Britain (publishers of New Atari User), things
seem to be more desperate. They are presently almost begging people to
add to their subscriptions or purchase merchandise from them as soon as
possible, in order to prevent a deathly cash crunch which isn't really
anyone's fault. The untimely demise of NAU would be a low blow to all
8-bit users, as this publication has provided more quality coverage for a
longer period of time than we've ever experienced among 8-bit magazines in
the U.S. Good luck Page 6!
It's been a couple weeks now since I began my attempt to install a 1Mb
installation of the MEG130 upgrade by Newell Industries and now a product
of Fine Tooned Engineering. I've managed to regain functionality of the
lower 64K, but my upgraded memory is too flakey to be usable. Since I am
very used to having at least 128K in my 130XE, my system is rather
crippled for now, but I'm hoping to get everything working soon. Mike @
FTe has provided helpful telephone support. Maybe by the next issue
you'll be reading my report of the thrills of huge RAMdisks!
Until next month,
-Michael
16/32-Bit Computers Support Area
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Thomas Main
The Persistence of Vision Raytracer
The Persistence of Vision Raytracer (POV-Ray) is a relatively new software
package that will transform your Atari computer into a powerhouse graphics
tool. POV-Ray allows you to create stunning and realistic three-dimensional
images. Even if you don't possess traditional artistic drawing skills, with
POV-Ray you will be able to create beautiful true-color pictures that have
perfect shading and perspective.
A Note About the Required Hardware
The POV Raytracer will run on all Atari computers, but because of the nature of
its output--24 bit true color pictures--real use is limited to those who own a
Falcon or an ST/TT with a graphics card. Also, POV-Ray's method of rendering
images is very math-intensive, so a math-coprocessor will significantly
increase the speed of the program's execution and thereby increase its
usefulness.
What Is Raytracing?
Raytracing is a way of rendering pictures in three-dimensional space by
describing objects that exist in that space and the light sources that are
shining on them. For example, when we look out into the night sky and see a
crescent moon, we see an object (in this case a sphere) that is only partially
illuminated by its light source (the sun). If we were to trace the rays of
light emanating from the sun, we would see that some of them hit our object,
and thereby formed the visible crescent, and some were blocked by another
object (the earth) which would form the shadow on the moon.
This way of tracing rays of light and seeing which objects are illuminated and
which objects are not forms the basis of raytracing. But raytracing is not
limited simply to lights and shadows. Color intensity, texture, and reflection
also play an important part.
Let's bring our example down to earth. Imagine putting a tennis ball on a
table and illuminating it with a desk lamp that you have placed directly
overhead. If you view the tennis ball from the table's level, you will notice
that the top of the ball appears to be a brighter color yellow than the ball's
base. The gradation in the ball's color from bright to dark yellow enhances
our depth perception and allows us to see the ball as a sphere rather than a
flat disk. A raytracer uses the same technique of color shading to simulate a
three-dimensional object on a computer screen.
The texture of a tennis ball also determines how we perceive light reflecting
from it. For instance, a tennis ball is relatively dull and fuzzy compared to
the smooth sheen of a marble. If we were to replace the tennis ball in our
example with a white marble we would still see a gradation of color on the
marble. But because of the smooth and lustrous texture of the marble, other
effects would become noticeable. For instance, the marble's surface would have
a spot reflecting the light source. This was unnoticeable on the tennis ball
because its texture allowed for the spot's absorption. The spot of light on
the marble that reflects its light source adds a grater degree of realism to
our scene. We can perceive the texture of an object without touching it
through this sort of visual information. A raytracer uses texture information
to calculate the way light should reflect from an object. As you'll see
shortly, all sorts of textures are already predefined in the POV-Raytracer,
allowing you to create very realistic three-dimensional scenes.
As a final example of how raytracing works, let's consider the idea of
reflection. We have already seen how rays of light reflecting on objects of
different textures can influence our perception of the object. Now let's
examine how direct reflections from other surfaces give an object a degree of
realism. Let's replace the marble in our example with a pinball. If we look
at our object (the pinball) we will see it as not only a sphere that has
shading and reflects a light source, but will see the reflection of other
surfaces upon its face. For instance, we might see a representation of all the
other objects in the room wrapped around its shape. The pinball acts as a
mirror of the space surrounding it. Of course, because of the shape of a
sphere, the image is distorted. A raytracer will mathematically calculate the
amount of distortion of reflected objects appearing on the face of a sphere
with a mirror finish. It will then "map," or wrap the distorted picture,
around the sphere to achieve the illusion of three-dimensional realism on a
two-dimensional computer screen.
The Program
The Persistence of Vision Raytracer is a unique program in the graphics field.
As a matter of fact, it's text based! That's right, unlike traditional
painting and illustration programs, the POV-Raytracer uses text-based input to
create its images. Rather than draw with a mouse or graphics tablet, with the
POV-Raytracer you must describe the scene you are painting using a simple scene
description language. The POV-Raytracer takes the information that you
provided through writing a scene description file and renders the picture.
A Note About Artistry
In recent years, much has been made of the theory that the two hemispheres in
our brain support different types of thinking. It is said that the "right
brain" supports intuitive, creative, and artistic reasoning whereas the "left
brain" is oriented more towards analytical and rational reasoning. Since the
POV-Raytracer uses mathematics and a computer programming language to render
its scenes, some of you may be inclined to see this application as
"left-brained." Indeed, it does have a logical and straightforward structure
that can be intimidating to the "right brained" artist. However, I prefer to
see this program as more of a marriage between the two different ways of
thinking. It requires "left brain" thinking in the implementation stage and
"right brain" thinking in the design stage. Therefore a symbiosis is achieved
that will, hopefully, improve the final product.
The Scene Description Language
POV-Ray's scene description language can be compared with a simple computer
programming language. This may seem daunting to users who are used to a point
and click interface, but I assure you that the trouble of learning a few
cryptic commands will pay off when you see the quality of the scenes that you
can render with this powerful application. And, although it will take some
time to master the language of POV-Ray, it is not that hard to start and within
an half an hour of studying the language, you will be able to render some
pretty good pictures. Probably the best way to see what is involved in
learning to use POV-Ray's language is to look at an example:
#include "colors.inc"
#include "shapes.inc"
#include "textures.inc"
camera {
location <0,2,-3>
look_at <0,1,2>
}
sphere {
<0,1,2>,2
texture {pigment {color Yellow}}
}
light_source { <2,4,-3> color White}
This is an example of a complete POV-Ray file that will render a sphere on your
computer screen. Let's take a look at this file in detail. The first three
lines tell the raytracer to use some predefined colors, shapes, and textures in
this scene. Using these "include" files, as the are called, can be of enormous
benefit as they save artists from the trouble of defining these picture
elements for themselves. The second part of the file specifies where the
"camera" should be located. In other words, from what perspective shall this
scene be viewed. Notice that the locations of the camera, sphere, and light
source are all given using three numbers. These numbers are called a vector
and simply represent the object's location in three-dimensional space using an
x,y, and z axis. Are you feeling nostalgic for your high-school days yet? The
third part of the file specifies that the object you would like to place in
this scene is a sphere and that its color should be yellow. And finally, the
location of a light source is given so that you may illuminate the object from
the proper angle. I hope this has given you a taste of the POV-Ray scene
description language.
Since this a review rather than a tutorial, we'll move on. But don't fear if
this seems a little cryptic to you, the POV-Raytracer comes with complete
documentation of all its features as well as a tutorial that will take you
through the creation of scene files step-by-step. With a little determination,
anyone with a basic understanding of a three dimensional coordinate system and
a willingness to learn POV-Ray's language will be able to create beautiful
raytraced images.
Some of the Included Files
The POV-Raytracing package is a very complete program that comes with many
predefined textures and sample scenes for you to render. There are far too
many to list here, but to give you an overview, take a look at some of these
textures that come predefined with the POV-Ray package:
Classic white marble with red veins
Jade
A grey blue agate
Pink granite
Basic Blue Sky w/ clouds
Cherry
Pine
Rosewood
Luminous finish
Mirror finish
Glass finish
Metal
Brass texture
Gold texture
Bronze texture
Copper texture
Silver texture
Imagine being able to use all of these textures to form your scenes. An array
of basic shapes is also included with the POV-Ray distribution. You can use
these textures on spheres, cones, boxes, or a multitude of other geometric and
original shapes.
Combining POV-Ray with Bitmapped Graphics
Those of you looking to put a new spin on art you've already created with your
computer will benefit from POV-Ray's powerful graphics tools. For instance, it
is easy to use an existing picture as part of your POV-Ray scene. You can even
wrap your picture around a box, cone, or other object in your raytraced picture!
Other Options
The scope of all the tools POV-Ray has available does not allow for their
inclusion in this short review. But POV-Ray has many features that are there
for the user to explore. For instance, creating raytraced animations is
simplified because of POV-Ray's language.
Once you have created a scene, it is easy to render the additional frames
necessary for an animation. A simple animation could be created just by moving
the camera in subsequent renderings of the same scene. Use your imagination!
The Program's Distribution
The Persistence of Vision Raytracer was developed by a dedicated team of
computer programmers and graphic artists who support the program by making it
widely available to the public and who meet on-line regularly to dispense ideas
regarding raytracing and offer new scene files that artists from around the
world have created. To the end of making the program available to a large
number of people, several versions have been created for almost every computer
platform. There is a POV-Raytracer available for the IBM-PC and compatibles,
Apple Macintosh, Commodore Amiga, Unix workstations, and our own favorite, the
Atari. The Atari version of the POV-Raytracer is identical in output to all
the other computer versions. Also, the standard "include" files are the same,
allowing any computer user to take advantage of the predefined textures that
come with the package. Another way in which the program has been made widely
available has to do with its distribution. The POV-Raytracer is copyrighted
freeware. This means that it may be freely distributed pending a few
restrictions that the creators of the program have made (such as the
distribution must be complete, it may not be modified and redistributed, etc.).
This liberal attitude to the distribution of such a powerful graphics tool was
implemented by the POV-Ray Team (as the originators call themselves) in order
to make POV-Ray a standard in the computer graphics field. I hope it will also
become a standard in your graphics work. It has become a staple program in my
collection of quality software for the Atari computer.
Free-Net News Part II
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
CAIN Atari Fun Fest 94 Show Exhibitors
--------------------------------------
Exhibitor : The 2600 Connection
Contact : Tim Duarte
Address : P.O. Box N664
: Westport, MA 02790
Internet ID : tduarte@umassd.edu
Products/Services : Atari 2600 bi-monthly newsletter.
Exhibitor : A A A Video Repair & Computers
Contact : Doug Novak
Address : 5538 Pearl Road
: Parma, OH 44129
Phone : 216-845-6260
Fax : 216-845-6260
Products/Services : Atari, PC, ICD, Panasonic, etc. Repairs, sales,
hardware and software.
Exhibitor : CACUG (Cleveland Atari Classics User Group)
Contact : Martin Quinones
Address : 3201 Russell Ave
: Parma, OH 44134
Phone : 216-398-3866
Internet ID : ak527@cleveland.freenet.edu
Products/Services : Atari 8-bit user group.
Exhibitor : CVACC (Cuyahoga Valley Atari Computer Club)
Contact : Don Crano
Address : P.O. Box 9173
: Akron, OH 44305
Phone : 216-376-7618
Fax / BBS : 216-376-0885
Products/Services : Atari user group.
Exhibitor : Dr. Bob + Bob Rakocy
Exhibitor : Harry Dodgson
Contact : Harry Dodgson
Address : P.O. Box 19574
: Kalamazoo, MI 49019-0574
Phone : 616-375-5809
Internet ID : dodgson@coyote.cs.wmich.edu
Products/Services : Atari 7800 and LYNX developer.
Exhibitor : FMH Games
Contact : Fred Horvat
Address : P.O. Box 493
: Chesterland, OH 44026-0493
Phone : 216-729-0761
Internet ID : ap748@cleveland.freenet.edu
Products/Services : Atari 2600, 5200, 7800, 8-bit, Colecovision,
ADAM, Aquarius, Arcadia, Channel F, Intellivision
hardware and video game dealer.
Exhibitor : Fouch Software
Contact : Jim Fouch
Address : 1823 West 8th Street
: Erie, PA 16514
Phone : 814-455-1294
FAX: 814-459-1808
Products/Services : Atari Mailing Manager ST
Exhibitor : ICD, Inc
Contact : Tom Harker
Address : 1220 Rock Street
: Rockford, IL 61101-1437
Phone : 815-968-2228 info 800-373-7700 orders
Fax : 815-968-6888
Products/Services : ICD Link, ICD Jaguar Cat box, Adspeed ST,
Star Battle (tm) Jaguar game, Atari hard drive
connectors and software.
Exhibitor : It's All Relative
Contact : Greg Kopchak
Address : 2233 Keeven
: Florissant, MO 63031
Phone : 314-831-9482
Internet ID : greg@genie.cis.com
Products/Services : Photo CD, CD-ROM, Photo Show Pro, Art For Kids,
It's All Relative View II, and Sound Lab
Exhibitor : Jeff's Atari Outpost
Contact : Jeff Morin
Address : 17545 Madison Ave.
: Lakewood, OH 44107
Phone : 216-529-1485
Products/Services : Everything Atari.
Exhibitor : Majicsoft / Microcomputer Depot
Contact : John Stewart
Address : 348 Meredith Square
: Columbia, SC 29223
Phone : 803-788-8177
Fax : 803-778-2010
Products/Services : Atari ST/Falcon Software producers.
Exhibitor : PCS
Contact : Paul Plants
Address : P.O. Box 469
: Washington, PA 15301
Phone : 412-229-7378
Products/Services : Atari software, hardware, and magazines.
Exhibitor : Spectrum Atari Group of Erie
Contact : Dennis McGuire
Address : P.O. Box 10562
: Erie, PA 16514-0562
Phone : 814-833-4724
Internet ID : mcguired@apmail.mpd.lord.com
Products/Services : Atari usergroup, all Atari products.
Exhibitor : Stortech
Contact : Terry Stiglic
Address : 15610 Madison Ave.
: # 102
: Cleveland, OH 44107
Phone : 216-529-1999
Products/Services : Atari Desktop Publishing, MIDI and IBM hardware
and software.
Exhibitor : The Computer Shoppe
Contact : Len Olenik
Address : 297 Highland Ave
: Wadsworh, OH 44281
Phone : 216-334-5205
Products/Services : Full line of Atari hardware and software,
including Jaguar and LYNX. IBM hardware and
software sales.
Exhibitor : Toad Computers
Contact : David Troy
Address : 570 Governor Ritchie Highway
: Severna Park, MD 21146-2925
Phone : 410-544-6943 info 800-448-8623 orders
Fax : 410-544-1329 410-544-0098 Fax Back
BBS : 410-544-6999
Internet ID : taod@genie.geis.com
Products/Services : Full line of Atari hardware, software, and
repairs.
Atari Classic Gaming Corner
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Fred Horvat
Here's something I down loaded from the Usenet last winter. This will help
you find all the treasures in the classic game "Pitfall".
* * * PITFALL MAP/SOLUTION * * *
by Thomas Clancy
1 1
6 5 1 2 1 3 2 34 LEGEND:
#%-A%S*---A<%>F>--A<-A%-A>-S*---A<-A%<>%-*F*-F*--*F # Starting Point
< % < Tunnel Left
> Tunnel Right
% Dead End Tunnel
45 5 6 7 6 - No Snake/Tunnel
*--A%F*--A%SSSF--F*-S*F---*S*---*-A%<-A>F>-F*--ASSF Fire/Alligators
<> % <% A Alligators
S Snake
F Camp Fire
7 8 9 9 * Treasure
---AF---A%--A%<F*--*-A%-A%%-*-A>-*-*-AF--S*--F*-ASF
% > < The numbers show
which tunnels
1 11 1 connect.
0 801 1 ie: 1 to 1
--S*SSF---*-A%--A%--*-*-AF%--A<<SF---*-*-*S*SF---AS 15 to 15
> >% < etc;
1 1 1 1 11 11 1
2 2 3 3 45 64 6
-*-A>%%-ASSSSSF---A<%>S*F---AF<--*-A%%%>>%-ASF---A#
% % ><
There are 254 screens which "wrap" together. ie: Going in either
direction will eventually return you to start. Simply read the map from
left to right and descend when you reach the end of a line [remember to
read the new line left to right]. If you chose to go left when starting
out simply reverse this, start at the bottom of the map and read from
right to left and ascend when you reach the end of a line, then simply
continue reading from the right to the left for each line. One is not
limited to traveling in only one direction, as a matter of fact one can
solve the game quicker by traveling in both directions.
There are 4 different treasures types with eight of each to be found for
a total of 32.
Bag of Money $2000 I have a more detailed map [ie: that tells me
Silver Bar $3000 exactly how many scorpions there are per tunnel]
Gold Bar $4000 but it would be impossible to reduce to ASCII
Diamond Ring $5000 form without cluttering p on Thomas Clancy
an old cartridge and 1 Hunt's Lane
send it to someone that St. John's NF, Canada
will use it - me! 8-) A1B 2L2
This file is copyright 1993 and is freely distributable. If you publish
any portion please include the author's name.
PITFALL is copyright of Activision, ATARI 2600 Copyright Atari Inc.
Lynx Support Area
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Barry Cantin
Lynx News
---------
Just when you thought you'd seen the last new title for the Lynx, we receive
a surprise from Telegames! Two games have just been released that we have
been eagerly awaiting: Bubble Trouble and Super Off-Road.
Bubble Trouble is about a research scientist named Travis who works in a
physics lab which concentrates on high-energy dense matter used to create
black holes for inter-dimensional travel. Travis finds himself travelling
around the lab in a friendly bubble, which protects him from the dangers
around him. His object is to collect radioactive deposits that will allow
him to return home. The game is divided into five sections that travis must
explore, inside his bubble companion. Naturally he meets with hostile
entities along the way, and can defend himself and his bubble with shots from
equipment he has with him. Energy is a factor here, and must be conserved so
he can get from one level to the next.
Super Off-Road is a translation of the arcade game of the same name. This
one was reviewed in one of the popular video game magazines back in March,
but the game is finally available. No specific details available on this one
yet.
These games are "limited edition" releases, but no word on just how many of
each title will be produced. They are not in the typical small card format,
but rather on a bare circuit board with a plastic block covering the EPROM --
as Telegames puts it, "prototype cartridge form". Not much to look at, but a
new release is a new release...
These games can be ordered directly from Telegames USA at 1-(214)-228-0690.
This is a NEW telephone number. Each game is $39.95 a piece.
CAIN Atari Fun Fest 94 Lynx Report
----------------------------------
From: ah499@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (John Daniels)
>Newsgroups: freenet.sci.comp.atari.spec.video
Subject: Re: Lynx at the CAIN show
Date: Sun Aug 28 22:23:19 1994
I was at the CAIN fest with my kids and our Lynxes. We were among the first in
the Lynx Up room and due to the fact that there was no overlap between our
collection and those of several other people that showed we wound up running
Checkered Flag between the 3 of us. There were several others there that were
having a good time razing cities playing Rampage. A fellow next to me had a
copy of Desert Strike there that he let me play with (not comLynxable) and I'm
suitably impressed to add it to my Want List. Rampage has been added to that
list too (so what if I already have it for the Atari 7800 and the Sega Master
System?).
I was quite impressed with my first viewing of Wolf 3-D on the Jaguar and
a company (ICD) had a demo of a Jag game "Space Battle" with marvelous
gourad-shaded polygon ships that you controlled the rotation and scaling of.
Many ships with neat designs (the Castrator looks like a double edged axe head).
ICD also had the Catbox there attached to a Jag - must have been the Plus
model since it was driving headphones.
Many tables with carts for the classic Atari game machines were there too. I
resisted temptation several times by reminding myself that I need the money for
new Jag and Lynx games. It worked.
I hope there's another next year. I'll discourage my wife from coming and
bring another power strip for the comLynx room. And try to have more
discretionary cash. If the Jag takes off like I hope it will a bigger
facility than the Knights of Columbus might be needed.
John Daniels
ah499@cleveland.freenet.edu
Lynx Summer Steal Deal Extended to Fall
---------------------------------------
The following Lynx Summer Steal Deal has been extended to at least
Fall 1994. The original deal was only to the end of August, but you can
still order Lynx games from Atari at dirt cheap prices.
Now there's NO excuse!
Atari Corporation has a new summer deal everyone should enjoy...
New low prices on almost every Lynx video game. By special
arrangement with the factory, a large but limited quantity of
60 outstanding game titles have been set aside especially for
this special offer.
Now and for a limited time, buy popular Lynx titles by Atari
for as little as 14.99 each (SRP). Enjoy the fast paced action
of Pinball Jam or an exciting whirl around the track with up
to 6 ComLynx'd friends with Checkered Flag. Look for chilling
answers to ghastly problems with Dracula The Undead for only
$19.99 each (SRP). Beat incredible odds against an army of
adversaries with Ninja Gaiden III for only $29.99 (SRP).
In fact, NO specially reduced cartridge is priced any higher
than $29.99. Most cartridges are less than $15.
If you are tired of the same old thing that the other guys
ram in front of your face, then ask your dealer for the system
that's exploding with colorful excitement. Find out what
head-to-head ComLynx gaming is all about. Spend your allowance
on the system that leaves you change for lunch!
Can't find the Lynx or great Lynx titles in your area?
Call 1-800-221-3343 or 1-800-GO-ATARI toll free,
Monday thru Friday; 9am to 5pm Pacific time.
OR Write: Atari Lynx "Summer Steal Deal"
P.O. 61657
Sunnyvale, CA 94089-1657
OR fax your order to Atari at 1-408-745-2088
OR send a message from any online service through the
Internet to CIS:70007,2363 or GE:ATARI
Any way you do it... Get Connected... Get the Lynx!
NEW LYNX VALUES FROM ATARI!
(limited time offer)
NOW $29.99
==========
AWESOME GOLF* NINJA GAIDEN III
TOKI WARBIRDS*
NOW $19.99
==========
A.P.B. BATMAN RETURNS
BLUE LIGHTENING CALIFORNIA GAMES*
CRYSTAL MINES II DINOLYMPICS
DIRTY LARRY RENEGADE COP DRACULA THE UNDEAD
GORDO 106 HOCKEY*
JIMMY CONNORS TENNIS* LEMMINGS
MALIBU BEACH VOLLEYBALL* NFL FOOTBALL*
NINJA GAIDEN PITFIGHTER*
POWER FACTOR SCRAPYARD DOG
SHADOW OF THE BEAST STEEL TALONS
SWITCHBLADE II TURBO SUB*
VIKING CHILD PAPERBOY
NOW $14.99
==========
BASEBALL HEROES* BASKETBRAWL*
BILL & TED'S ADVENTURE* BLOCKOUT
CHECKERED FLAG* CHIPS'S CHALLENGE
ELECTROCOP GATES OF ZENDOCON
GAUNTLET 3RD ENCOUNTER* HARD DRIVIN'
HYDRA ISHIDO
KLAX KUNG FOOD
LYNX CASINO* MS. PAC-MAN
PACLAND PINBALL JAM
RAMPAGE* RAMPART*
ROADBLASTERS ROBO-SQUASH*
RYGAR S.T.U.N. RUNNER
SHANGHAI* SUPERSKWEEK*
TODD'S ADV/SLIME WORLD* TOURNAMENT CYBERBALL*
WORLD CLASS SOCCER* XENOPHOBE*
XYBOTS* ZARLOR MERCENARY*
* denotes multiplayer games. Atari Corporation reserves
the right to correct typing errors or to change
promotional pricing at any time without notice.
Can't find the Lynx or great Lynx titles in your area?
Call 1-800-221-3343 or 1-800-GO-ATARI toll free,
Monday thru Friday; 9am to 5pm Pacific time.
OR Write: Atari Lynx "Summer Steal Deal"
P.O. 61657
Sunnyvale, CA 94089-1657
OR fax your order to Atari at 1-408-745-2088
OR send a message from any online service through the
Internet to CIS:70007,2363 or GE:ATARI
Any way you do it... Get Connected... Get the Lynx!
Jaguar Support Area
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Len Stys
Jaguar News
-----------
ALIEN VS. PREDATOR STATUS
-------------------------
Alien Vs. Predator is suppose to go into production this week. If it does
go into production this week, there should be mass quantities available
by the end of October, 1994.
DOOM STATUS--help@idsoftware.com
--------------------------------
Status of DOOM ports---Updated: Thu, Sep 8th 12:20am
JAG: Running very fast. We are doing this port in-house. Maps are
being worked on now. They will be the same maps. This is very
close to being finished. Out before Christmas.
Sega 32X: Like the Jag version. Sega is doing this one. Close to
being finished. No release date.
DOOM FACTS & INFORMATION
------------------------
INTERVIEW WITH: Shawn Green <shawng@idsoftware.com> at id Software
(Editor's Note: The following is concerning why id Software is using a
lower resolution for Jaguar DOOM)
LS:Other people think it is because Jaguar DOOM is a direct port from
LS:PC DOOM and special features of the Jaguar aren't used.
The portions of DOOM that were directly ported from the PC do not affect
the refresh. When we port a game, the refresh must be re-written from scratch.
LS:And finally, some people think that id Software is using a graphics
LS:engine that doesn't support the Jaguar's blitter chip.
Wrong. Don't believe anything you hear unless it comes directly from id. (Even
then it may change :)
LS:One last question... In Jaguar DOOM, will it be possible to have two
LS:Jaguars in one house and two Jaguars in another house and allow all four
LS:systems to participate in the game? Or will Jaguar DOOM only allow for
LS:four players if all four of them are sitting in the same room?
JagDOOM will only be two player. :(
UPDATE!
-------
From: Mark Santora <santora@delphi.com>
Date: Wed Aug 31 19:42:07 1994
Yet Another UPDATE from GEnie:The official Atari on-line resource!
-Mark "Stingray" Santora
This messages if from a guy named Steven Horn, a EBX manager.
------------------------------------------------------------
NEW INFO!!!!!!!!!!
According to Gary Tramiel (I talk to him today) AvP is not in production as
of 8/30 but is in the final stages. He added that the final version is MUCH
HOTTER than anything seen previously. According to him it is much better
looking than what has been seen in the mags or at CES. He said the street
date
is the first week in Oct. rather than 9/22 that I posted earlier. I had a
feeling that our list was dated but I posted exactly what I had in the store,
and had a feeling it would be around early Oct. Hurray for me. It should be
worth the wait. He's also sending me a video tape of the final version
running. I'll let everyone know what I think.
******Kasumi Ninja Update*******
The version seen at CES was the 16meg version. According to Gary Tramiel the
final version will be 32 MEGS !!!!! New characters and moves have been added
and maybe some new back grounds. The price for the cart will be $69.99. Not
bad when you consider that MKII has a SRP of 74.99. If this one is as good as
what i've seen then it WILL be worth it. You have to finish the end boss by
using each character in order and chase him through a maze ( and the maze I
saw rivals DOOM graphics )!!!!
Well, that's the latest.....oh yeah...Gary said he was impressed with the
amount of work ID has put into DOOM. It's an early Oct. cart as well. I asked
him about the res and color and he said that Id is still playing with
it...they might kick the res back up.
UPDATE 2!
---------
From: qaz1111111@aol.com (QAZ1111111)
Date: Wed Aug 31 21:43:08 1994
AT&T dropped the 3DO and Genesis Voice Modem module stating their focusing
their efforts on "nuclear water polo league for the def impaired who have
recently seen Elvis with Bill Belichick at a Bon Jovi concert".
Maybe nobody was developing for it. But as we all know and love the JAG's
voice/modem module should be making it's way to us soon. Remembering CES
it seemed there were at least 10 games being developed for this feature.
That's 10 more than on any other game system and this is originality at it
finest. A selling point if you will.
I predict the Genesis and 3DO will eventually have to develop this module
to stay in pace. But it's going to be a least 6 months before there's one
game for it, by then the JAG could have a big lead.
I'm especially interested in the Space Fighting game (Name escapes me) that
will support up to 16 separate consoles hooked together, with each player
having their own star craft to explore in. This game sounds good to me in
concept alone.
BH
AVP, IRON SOLDIER, AND OTHER MINI REVIEWS
-----------------------------------------
From: Marty Chinn <drknight@Garg.Campbell.CA.US>
Date: Fri Sep 2 16:57:38 1994
The two hottest Jaguar titles had to be Alien vs Predator and Iron
Soldier. Alien vs Predator is still not completed but is near completion they
say. They need to place the items and aliens and predators around the levels.
Its 90 to 95 percent completed. They expect it to be done within a few more
weeks and then released in September. Yes its taking a long time, but damn is
it good. When you first start out, you can pick between either the soldier,
alien or predator.
The story behind the soldier is, you are locked up in the
brig for some reason that I have not learned, and the base gets invaded and
everyone is killed but you. Your goal is to self destruct and nuke the area
to rid the aliens and predator of the area and release the escape pod so you
can leave. When you first start out, you will have nothing. No motion
tracker, no weapons, no security access cards. Everything will be placed in
various places and you need to have a certain amount of points to obtain
higher level items. You get points by of course killing aliens and predators
and face hungers. There is a catch to the scoring, your points awarded is
determined how you killed the enemy. If you use a strong weapon, little
points will be given, but if you use a weak weapon, you get more. They tried
to make it a fair challenge and not too easy. At the beginning you will find
a fallen soldier with a diary and that diary will help you figure out what to
do. He will also have a shotgun with him that you will be able to get. One of
the key items that you need to obtain to self destruct the base will be deep
in the alien's lair and you might even run into the Queen Alien.They said
they put a lot of effort into how the Queen Alien looks as kind of a reward
for going so deep and far into the alien's lair. In the alien's lair, you
will need to find the last item needed to self destruct the base which is in
a guy that is being cocooned for the alien eggs.
The story behind the Alien is the Queen is on the Predator's ship and
you have to bring her back to the lair. You start deep in the lair and have
to work your way up into the Predator ship. The alien is fast but has limited
weapons. It does have one good thing about it, it can travel through the air
ducts. The soldier and predator can as well but this area will be infested
with aliens. But when you're the alien, it will be empty and a transportation
route for you.
The Predator is the opposite of the Alien. In this, you must capture
the Alien Queen. You start in the predator ship and so on. He has the most
powerful weapons and can even cloak. But if you cloak and kill something, you
will get minimum points.
There are many small details to this game which makes it even better.
Face hungers will kill you if you don't shake them off immediately. All the
aliens and predators will stay there when they are dead so in certain places
you could just have a floor full of dead bodies. When you kill the alien, of
course there is blood remaining.Those familiar to the movie know that the
alien has acid for blood. When you walk over it, there will beminor damage
but later on in the game you can earn armor that will protect you from in.
There will also be three saved game slots, one for each character. I know
this sounds bad and when I was talking to the developer I suggested they make
it so the three slots could be used for any character not just one dedicated
to a single character. He told me they never thought of doing it and that it
could easily be done. He also asked if I thought people would like it that
way, and as representing you as Jaguar nuts on the net, I said yes! Hopefully
the change will go through.
Wow I know this is long, but I have to add my opinion to it. The game
is damn good. This game alone would keep me satisfied with buying a Jaguar
even if they didn't release any more games. I'm very impressed and it does
live up to the hype. Many people talked about how realistic it was and better
yet, that this game was better than most of 3DO. I even heard some people
say, they haven't seen anything of this genre on the 3DO. The introduction
and ending weren't there but they did have one intro screen and its a
beautiful picture and it is on the video.
Iron Soldier is a mech type game in which you control the mech of
course from the inside. Not only can you look left and right, and turn
around, you can also look up and down. I watched myself walk over a tank. It
was cool to walk around and destroy things and the 3D effect was good. There
were at least 5 weapons. This will probably be the next hit, not next
release, next hit on the Jaguar.
Kasumi Ninja was a very early version but as far as visuals go, it
was very good and I couldn't ask for anything more. Both the characters and
backgrounds were digitized. The characters were well animated as well. This
is where it ends though. The play control is awkward and it was hard to
figure out special moves. There are fatalities in the game as well. What was
cool was the blood stayed when it landed on the ground. But there was also
blood after every hit which was bad. The energy bar is unique. Its a sword
and when you get hit, more blood appears on it and it also drips down. When
the sword is full of blood, you're dead.
For more reviews of Jaguar games, please request them but not by
email. Request them in public, and I will post them on rec.games.video.atari.
This concludes part 1 of Day 3 of the Chicago CES. I figured I'd put
it in a few posts rather than just one huge post.
drknight@Garg.Campbell.CA.US (Marty Chinn)
The Land of Garg BBS -- +1 408 378-5108
$7 SUMMER CES VIDEO
-------------------
Date: Tue Aug 2 16:36:59 1994
From: 180DEGREES@delphi.com
Summer CES Video for $7.00 ($10.00 priority)
The video contains Jaguar game video and several interviews. It also
includes video on the 3DO, third-party game companies, and much more!
For more information, write: 180DEGREES@delphi.com
(Editor's Note: I (Len Stys) received this video and if you are interested
in getting a video, I recommend it. I thought it compared really well
to the AEO Summer CES video.)
ALIEN VS. PREDATOR BOX SUMMARY
------------------------------
From: 75300.1267@compuserve.com (Donald A. Thomas, Jr.)
ALIEN vs. PREDATOR - COMBAT ACTION
Choose you weapon and brawl with the notorious warriors
of the big screen! Commission the Colonial Marine and use
your weapons and your wits to destroy the base - and
survive. Be an Alien and use your voracious instincts to
defend the hive and rescue your Queen. Or play a Predator
and use your grisly arsenal to acquire the ultimate
trophy... the skull of the Alien Queen. Game features
"miles" of texture-mapped 3D corridors to explore and
conquer. Detailed graphics with chilling stop-motion
animation create ultra-realistic character likeness,
movements and responses. Digitized SFX from the 20th
Century Fox films bring graphic horror to life. Each
character possesses his or her own arsenal and battle
skills -- just like in the movies!
[1 player] $69.99 (Atari/J9008) Release: 4th QTR '94
AVP ON NEWS REPORT #1
---------------------
From: liu@aol.com (Liu)
Date: Sat Sep 10 02:16:02 1994
One of my local TV news programs did a bit part on MKII and the "violence
in video games" when they segued to Atari and how a majority of their
games are "non-violent." I can't remember the name of the guy that they
talked to, but in the background, on a TV or monitor, was AvP in all it's
glory! Although the TV I was watching on was a old, puny, B&W Sony "tummy
TV," AvP was cooking!!!!!!!!!! Extremely smooth. Bobbing just like in
Doom. Shotgun pumping also. Part of what was shown was of the marine
walking through a door and then around a corner, when an Alien comes after
him. The marine starts moving backward, shotgun firing away, while the
Alien chases after him. The details were amazing, especially the texture
mapping on the walls. The HUD was very nice as well. You know it's
there, but in no way does it intrude. It was just amazing!!! I can't
wait!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Eric Liu
PS For those of you in the SF area, it was on the KTVU 10:00PM news.
Hope you got a chance to catch it!
AVP ON NEWS REPORT #2
---------------------
From: david.yee@vidgame.com (David Yee)
Date: Sat Sep 10 02:59:00 1994
Saw some more screen shots of AvP tonight on the local news show
on channel 2 KTVU in the SF bay area. They did a news story on the game
rating or lack of it on the new games. They interview GamePro, they show
screen shots from MK II and Primal Rage. Anyway, then they interviewed
someone from Atari. I first thought he was Sam T. No, it was an Atari
spokesman I never heard of. Couldn't catch his name fast enough. In the
background was AvP running. Then they should close up of Zool and AvP.
Now my copy of the AEO video is at my friend's house, so I don't know if
this was on the AEO video. But the soldier's hands moves back and forth.
I couldn't tell if it was running off a cart and I didn't see fighting
with Aliens or Predators, but I didn't see the soldier collect a medikit
when he walk over it. Well that's all I could remember.
Jaguar Reviews
--------------
BRUTAL SPORTS REVIEW
--------------------
From: khaley@nova.gmi.edu (Kevin Haley)
Well, I had a chance to play Brutal Sports Football, so I thought I'd throw
in my comments...
Yes, graphics-wise, it doesn't look much more spectacular than what the
16bit systems can do. However, the graphics are nice, the complaint that
they are not "64-bit" shouldn't imply that they are bad... because they're
not.
When I read the reviews on this group, I expected some "unimpressive"
graphics, and a pretty lackluster game overall. But I was very pleasantly
surprised!
THIS GAME IS FUN! (IMO)
Playing by yourself doesn't do the game justice... find a friend to play
with you. Two player "unfriendly" matches are a blast!
It took me and my friend a while to get used to the controls, but once we
got the hang of it, it became quite enjoyable. For those who have seen all
the bad reviews of BSF, I offer a dissenting opinion, with the addendum
that the game is much more fun when played with a friend.
My personal list of "the top 3 most fun Jaguar games"...
1. Tempest 2000
2. Wolfenstein 3D
3. Brutal Sports Football (2-player mode)
My overall opinion on BSF? It's a good game. However, it's not worth the
high price. Personally, I would buy it for even $40, but not much more
than that.
I would recommend the game for those who are into the "violent sports"
genre, especially for those who know they would be playing the game against
other human players 75% of the time. This is definitely a "2-player" game.
Solo play doesn't do the game justice.
/Kevin
BRUTAL SPORTS REVIEW
--------------------
From: akuo@cirrus.com (Augie Kuo)
I've had BSF for a couple of days now so here are my impressions of it:
Graphics: People have said that they weren't really impressed with it -
well, I wasn't really impressed with Cybermorph's graphics
either or Tempest 2000. I think the graphics are better than
the current games out and I think any more detail would
probably get the game an "X" rating when heads start rolling.
Sound: Definitely doesn't rock like T2K but adequate. Music is kind
of cheesy-Nintendo-like but it doesn't distract from the
action. I would have liked to hear screams/grunts when
people get stomped on or get their heads cut off but then
again maybe some people would complain.
Documentation: Describes stuff with no pictorials of the icons - maybe
some advanced players can post their findings? It's not
really a big deal since you can find out which ones are
which. Maybe it was intentional so that advanced players can
really stomp on beginners (hehe).
Playability: Downright fun. I've stopped playing T2K because it got
frustrating and repetitive. The two-player action is
kind of slow in T2K but this one is a lot more exciting.
The play is more like soccer, you kick/pass the ball to
your offense to score a goal and you kick the ball away
when the ball is too close to your goal. The really fun
part is the smashing/slashing game. There are swords
and axes which players can pick up and whomp on each
other/the opponent while play goes on. A player has a
limited lifeline which goes down every time he gets hit
with an axe, punched/tackled, slashed with a sword, or
stomped on while on the ground. Once it goes to zero,
he gets decapitated. The winner is the one with the
most goals or chops off 6 heads of the opponent's 7
players. This is the interesting part because one guy
could be scoring goals and the other is trying to kill
him off. Even if you have 10 goals more than your
opponent, if he kills off 6 of your players, you lose!
Overall: Cool game - definitely recommended. It won't get oohs
and aaah's for its looks but once you start playing it,
your friends won't want to leave. This may turn out to
be a cult game like BallBlaster, MULE, etc. There are a
lot of elements to this game (especially with two people
playing) that will make you enjoy it for a long time.
Augie
BRUTAL SPORTS STRATEGY TIPS
---------------------------
From: akuo@cirrus.com (Augie Kuo)
Date: Sun Sep 11 16:51:34 1994
I'd like to know how other people are playing BSF so I'm posting
some of my own strategies. Basically the computer isn't a very
good opponent because it will continue to try to score goals even though
you're cutting the heads off of most of its players. Since you win
outright when you kill 6 of the 7 players, trying to make goals only
puts your players in a weaker position to defend themselves from getting
stomped on and their heads cut off. The real name of this game should
be BEHEADING RUGBY since there isn't anything football about it. Anyway
the real fun of this game is playing with another player.
Basic strategy: CHOP! MAIME! KILL! Ignore the ball - if you have it,
get rid of it!
The goal is to kill 6 of your opponent's players - he can score as many
goals as he wants but if you do this first, you win automatically. The
ball serves as a hindrance to you most of the time. If it comes to you,
get rid of it because when you have the ball, you can't pick up weapons
and the shield. Also people can tackle you then stomp on you if you're
carrying the ball which lowers your health. The only time the ball is
useful is moving it so you can see other parts of the field (like
finding where a sword is) and giving it to your opponents so that they
drop their weapon/shield and you can tackle them, stomp them and grab
whatever they had.
When the ball first comes out, you can tackle your opponent's players
behind your player who's supposed to go for the jump ball. Stomp on
him and switch to another player to help out the guy who your opponent
is stomping on (assume that your opponent is using the same strategy).
Try grabbing the weapons before your opponent does. Use the ball to
make him drop whatever he was carrying and cut down his players that
aren't currently under his control since they're sitting ducks. The
reverse power up is useful if it looks like he's about to grab something
useful before you can reach it, like a bomb or a sword. Axes are cool
to use on the guys guarding the goal since there are usually two of them
close together and the axe takes both of them out!
If you can make an easy goal, make it. Also if it looks like your guys
are taking a beating, score a goal. Your opponent drops whatever he was
carrying at the time and you line up again for the jump ball. If the
killing takes awhile, score some goals to pressure your opponent. If
it looks like you're ahead on goals but low on players, HIDE them! Try
to run out the clock. The "radar" is useful in moving your players
away from your opponents. He'll have to carry the ball to look for
you to stomp on and you can have a guy with a weapon ready to cut off
his head. The goal is a nice place to hide inactive players since you
can't see them too clearly and your opponent would have to spend some time
to align his guy correctly to stomp on you.
Anyway this is how my friends and I have been playing it so far and its
served me well so far. I haven't used the fist or question mark powerup
too effectively since I'm not sure what they do exactly. Anyone else
have some ideas?
Augie
Jaguar Messages of Interest
---------------------------
-From: alenm@ifi.uio.no (Alen Milkovic)
-Newsgroups: rec.games.video.atari
-Subject: Is the Jag better than PSX
-Date: Wed Aug 31 16:18:05 1994
-
- A game developer explained the potential of jag`s 64-bit GPU
- What I can make of it is that the PSX is better if you use the
- default texture mapping routines. In other terms almost any idiot
- could make an impressive texture mapped game on the PSX. To make the
- same game on a jag you would need a really good coder.
- But on the other hand it I think it wouldn't help much being a wizzcoder
- on the PSX cause of the hardware limitations of the texture mapping
- device.
- The games I have seen on the Jag (T2K, Raiden,Cybermorph) have not
- used the jags potential. Well T2K is somewhat impressive having
- the best 3d and color use i have seen in a game. But I think there
- are almost no limits with the jag's hardware since the chips are
- fully programmable. It will take a good deal of time before the
- limits of the hardware cant be pushed anymore. It's much like the
- old C64 that has pushed the limits beyond the obscene. But as I said
- it takes time and lots of good coders.
-
- The 3DO is no real hardware competition since its inept at
- handling 2D graphics. (developers have serious problems
- getting anything run on 60 fps)
- The 3D handling capabilities are the same as
- the Jags with default routines. (the jag is much faster!)
-
-
- The PSX is real competition in Japan. THE PSX WILL OUTSELL THE JAGUAR
- in JAPAN !!! (so what?)
- It has great 3D hardware
- It has great 2D hardware
- It wont make it big outside Japan before next
- X-mas.
- It will cost much.
- It has one big advantage above the jag,
- its CD-rom.
- (more gfx and sound,but not FMV SQes i hope)
-
- I think the Jag will outsell the PSX in US. And if
-the Jag doesn't get it all wrong, it will outsell the 3DO in the US
-eventually.
-
-
- The question is :
-
- will the Jag outsell 3DO in the US ?
-
- and
-
- will the games on Jag be better than on PSX ?
-
- I dunno, time will tell
-
-From: smiller@bnr.ca (Scott Miller)
-Newsgroups: rec.games.video.atari
-Subject: How difficult is it to remake classics?
-Reply-To: smiller@bnr.ca
-Date: Fri Sep 2 09:40:12 1994
-
-In article <CvCx8C.2yI@cix.compulink.co.uk>, yak@cix.compulink.co.uk ("Jeff
- Minter") writes:
-|> - I dunno. I realize that the classic Tempest I did was not 100 percent
-|> true, *but*, I didn't have to put it in, I wanted to, and I was going by
-|> memories that were six odd years old. However I have seen *so* much
-|> bitching about 'oh classic version wasn't an identically perfect version
-|> and there was no software version of the rotary controller' that I am no
-|> longer convinced I should spend time doing classic versions in 2000 games
-|> :(
-
-When I first read this I thought 'Oh no! That would be a shame!'. But then
-I got thinking... (Don't you hate when that happens?)
-The problem I have with Traditional Tempest is that it 'felt' different
-enough that it didn't push my nostalgia buttons, so I had a kind of lukewarm
-reaction to it. T2K is clearly the superior game. So, for me, a 'classic'
-version should be as close as possible close to the original.
-But I apologize profusely if that is bitching, 'cuz I don't mean to bitch)
-
-But it seems to me that recreating all of the details of a classic game might
-be very difficult and time consuming. If it takes as much effort to recreate
-the original as to update it, it may be better to leave it out entirely and
-spend the time on the next project.
-
-But then again, Traditional Tempest was 95% of the way there, and it probably
-wouldn't have been much effort to get it all the way. (assuming access to an
-original). And it would be *really* cool to have Defender/Stargate/D2K on
-one cartridge, so I'd love to see it.
-
-Somebody should be able to scare up some originals for you...
-
---
-Scott Miller, in the bowels of Bell-Northern Research
-signature USES DISCLAIMER Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
-smiller@bnr.ca (For personal email: aa438@freenet.carleton.ca)
-
-Newsgroups: rec.games.video.atari
-Subject: :Checkered Flag and networking
-From: sal.manfredoni@syncomm.com (Sal Manfredoni)
-Date: Tue Aug 30 23:55:00 1994
-
-Does anyone know if Checkered Flag for the Jaguar will support more than
-one player at a time? If so, will it support the modem and network
-options?
---Sal Manfredonia
-
-Newsgroups: rec.games.video.atari
-Subject: UPDATE 2!
-From: sal.manfredonia@syncomm.com (Sal Manfredonia)
-Date: Sat Sep 3 00:30:00 1994
-
--> AT&T dropped the 3DO and Genesis Voice Modem module stating their
--> focusing their efforts on "nuclear water polo league for the def
--> impaired who have recently seen Elvis with Bill Belichick at a Bon
--> Jovi concert".
--> Maybe nobody was developing for it. But as we all know and love the
--> JAG's voice/modem module should be making it's way to us soon.
--> Remembering CES it seemed there were at least 10 games being
--> developed for this feature. That's 10 more than on any other game
--> system and this is originality at it finest. A selling point if you
--> will.
-
-It's a definite selling point. Many of the best games will use the
-modem--for instance, Doom, Club Drive, Ultra Vortex, and Iron Soldier.
-
--> I predict the Genesis and 3DO will eventually have to develop this
--> module to stay in pace. But it's going to be a least 6 months before
--> there's one game for it, by then the JAG could have a big lead.
-
-That's quite possible, if Atari makes all the right moves. They should
-really emphasize connectivity (both modem and direct networking) in
-their advertisements and such.
---Sal Manfredonia
-
-From: rattion@fornext.com
-Newsgroups: rec.games.video.atari
-Subject: Re: Jaguar Game Release Disappointment
-Date: Thu Sep 15 08:11:22 1994
-
-
-This goes out to everyone, but Advertising is something i think atari
-should take a little more seriously. They should use some of the things
-that worked in the 2600 Ad's. Warner use some of the same people (kids
-for one of the repeat ad's) and everytime a new game came out they would
-have one of the club house members bash in with the game and all start
-fighting over who was gonna play and what they liked about it. I
-remember how it invoked me and my friends to do sorta the same thing.
-
-Remember What Works Works! Starting over and not using ideas that you
-have sitting in some Ad room on a shelf is stupid, take all of the Ad
-stuff from day 1 and look at it over again, and think and take ideas
-from every one of them and put it together into something new that would
-work with todays people! :) This is Atari's one chance to be #1 again,
-but they only have till Thanksgiving, after that it will most likely be
-to late to take control of the market it time for kids to get it in
-thier minds and thier parents to buy JAGUAR! More Games and More Eye &
-Mind Catching stuff is needed NOW!
-
-Thank you for listening to my Rambles :)
-
-Jeff (Rattion@fornext.com) :)
-
-- 4Next GT BBS (fornext.com) 72 Lines (All 16.8 - 28.8)
-- 714-956-4698 (16.8's) 714-956-8127 (28.8's)
-- Soon Telnetable! For More Info, Email xerxes@fornext.com
-
-From: (null pointer)@symphony.cc.purdue.edu (George Belle)
-Newsgroups: rec.games.video.atari
-Subject: Atari ads on tv -- too early?
-Date: Wed Sep 14 12:04:20 1994
-
-Ok, of course I'm excited that Atari is actually advertising... but does
-anyone else agree with me in thinking perhaps they should have waited
-a few more weeks before beginning them? Maybe even a month? If AvP is
-delayed at all, it will be the end of October before it's out. I just
-think this may get even more people frustrated with Atari... but I guess
-it may establish more of a user base. I'd just like to hear some opinions.
-George
-
-From: mikess@comtch.iea.com (Michael S. Smith)
-Newsgroups: rec.games.video.atari
-Subject: Re: Atari ads on tv -- too early?
-Date: Wed Sep 14 14:45:47 1994
-
-George Belle (@symphony.cc.purdue.edu) wrote:
-: Ok, of course I'm excited that Atari is actually advertising... but does
-: anyone else agree with me in thinking perhaps they should have waited
-: a few more weeks before beginning them? Maybe even a month? If AvP is
-: delayed at all, it will be the end of October before it's out. I just
-: think this may get even more people frustrated with Atari... but I guess
-: it may establish more of a user base. I'd just like to hear some opinions.
-: George
-
-I agree. Why shows tv ads with all these neat games that aren't even out
-yet? It's just going to disappoint people when they go into buy a Jag. I
-think Atari should either wait until all those games are out (October?)
-or just show the T2K commercial.
-
-Mike
-
-From: Travis Guy <aeo_mag@delphi.com>
-Newsgroups: rec.games.video.atari
-Subject: Re: Atari ads on tv -- too early?
-Date: Wed Sep 14 22:32:02 1994
-
-Michael S. Smith <mikess@comtch.iea.com> writes:
-
->I agree. Why shows tv ads with all these neat games that aren't even out
->yet? It's just going to disappoint people when they go into buy a Jag. I
->think Atari should either wait until all those games are out (October?)
->or just show the T2K commercial.
-
-The Cabbage Patch syndrome.
-
-From the early reports I've read, Jaguar "know nothings" are greatly impressed
-by the clips in the scoolteacher ad.
-
-Just wait until they see the AvP "attic" ad. Heh heh.
-
Jaguar Release Date Lists
-------------------------
BABBAGE'S JAGUAR RELEASE DATES (AS OF 25 AUG 94)
------------------------------------------------
From: cu593@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Alexander G. Falkenberg)
Date: Fri Aug 26 01:01:01 1994
I gleaned these from our POS today. As always, dates are subject to
change, but we all knew that. For information purposes only. :)
Here we go:
ATARI JAGUAR RELEASE DATES
Title Company Date
----------------------------------------------------------------
Brutal Sports Football Telegames 09/12/94
Dragon's Lair - CD ReadySoft 09/15/94
World Class Cricket Telegames 10/03/94
Alien vs. Predator Atari 10/10/94
Checkered Flag Atari 10/10/94
Club Drive Atari 10/10/94
Doom Atari 10/10/94
Double Dragon V: The Shadow Falls Williams Ent. 10/17/94
Troy Aikman NFL Football Williams Ent. 10/17/94
Kasumi Ninja Atari 10/31/94
Space Wars Atari 10/31/94
Star Raiders 2000 Atari November
Tiny Toon Adventures Atari November
Ultimate Brain Games Telegames 11/21/94
----------------------------------------------------------------
Re: BSF Football. Seems Atari told Babbage's that only 1200 copies of BSF
were produced in the recent run, and Babbage's was not a part of that
distribution... So, Babbage's will apparently be getting their first
copies of BSF in September...
FWIW. :)
Alex Falkenberg | cu593 @ cleveland.freenet.edu |
_________________________|___________st7759 @ siucvmb.siu.edu______|
ELECTRONICS BOUTIQUE'S JAGUAR RELEASE DATES
-------------------------------------------
From: dimitril@aol.com (Dimitri L)
Date: Wed Aug 24 03:40:01 1994
Okay, this just came along as of CIS, and is the latest release list that
Electronic Boutique just got. Thanks to Steve Horn.
>>
#: 50815 S15/Jaguar General
23-Aug-94 22:25:52
Sb: #EB Jaguar release list
Fm: Steve Horn 74461,637
To: ALL
Here is the complete Electronics Boutique release list for the Atari
Jaguar as of 8-23-94:
----Alien vs Pred Atari 9/22/94
----BattleWheels Beyond Games 9/30/94
----Cannon Fodder Telegames 9/30/94
----Casino Action Telegames TBA
----Air Car Wars Telegames 9/30/94
----Club Drive Atari 9/30/94
----Commando Microids TBA
----DOOM!!!!!!!! Atari/Id 9/30/94
----Double Dragon V Williams Ent. 10/30/94
----Dragon Bruce Lee Atari 11/?/94
----Dragons Lair Ready Soft 9/30/94
----Dungeon Depths Midnight Soft. 11/?/94 to 12/?/94
----European Soccer Chall. Telegames 9/30/94 (maybe sooner)
----Evidence Microids TBA
----Flashback Us Gold 11/30/94
----Grunge All Systems Go TBA
----Hardball III Atari TBA
----Hosenose & Booger Asg Tech. TBA
----Iron Soilder Atari 11/?/94
----Kasumi Ninja Atari 9/30/94
----Legions of the Undead Atari 11/?/94
----Lester the Unlikely Dtmc 10/30/94
----Lobo Ocean 9/30/94
----Military Might Midnight TBA
----Pinball Fantasies 21st Century 09/30/94
----Return to Zork Activision TBA
----Skid Marks Telegames 1/30/95
----Soccer Kid Ocean TBA
----Space Wars Atari TBA
----Syndicate Ocean 10/?/94
----Synergy All Systems Go TBA
----Thene Park Ocean TBA
----Tiny Toons Atari 11/?/94
----Troy Aikman Football Tradewest TBA
----Ultimate Brain Games Telegames 9/30/94
----Ultra Vortex Beyond Games 11/?/94.....this is gonna be
a good one!!!!!
----White men can't Jump Trimark 10/30/94
Here are the titles that my rep tells are are on the way:
----Checkered Flag 10/01/94
----Demoliton Man 11/?/94
----Assualt/ Covert Operations 11/?/94 to 12/?/94<<
Look at all those September dates! Tal was saying we'd see a significant
number of titles in September...
Okay, with AvP going into production this week, and Atari reps telling
callers that the rollout is *still* scheduled for the first week of
September (waitaminnit! A week away and it's still on? Is this
Atari?)--well, things look not so bad.
Dimitri
Jaguar Commentary
-----------------
Len Stys
Most of my commentary does little good unless the person reading it is
Mr. Sam Tramiel, President of Atari. I have a better chance at winning the
$4 million dollar Ohio lottery than I do of Sam reading this commentary,
but I'm writing it anyway. Why? Because I play the Ohio lottery too.
There is no need to rush through the games to make sure that 30 to 50 games
are available for the Jaguar by Christmas. If a game is rushed, features
may not be included in the game that could be a selling point next year and
the year after.
An example of this is Jaguar Checkered Flag. This game would be incredible
if it included the feature of Jaguar networking and Jaguar voice-modem.
And in all honesty, I really don't care to see the game released without
these features. How fun is racing around the track against drones in 1994?
Not as fun as racing around the track with your friend from across town.
And not as fun as racing around the track at an Atari show with several
other Jaguar players.
Atari--TAKE YOUR TIME AND DO IT RIGHT. There are 7 Jaguar games available
now. I will be happy if there are a total of 25 by Christmas, 1994.
This means Atari and third-party companies will need to release 18 games
between them. This shouldn't be that hard to do.
I received my AEO Summer CES Video and a $7 video that was created by
180DEGREES. I thought that each video had it strengths. The $7 video
had better interviews. It also had video of all the games. The AEO video
had the direct video of games, Sam Tramiel interview, and Jaguar
commercials. But I definitely got more moneys worth with the $7 video.
I would have paid $15 for the $7 video.
Atari made some new Jaguar commercials in June that Tal from AEO put on
the video. Since I have a degree in Business (emphasis in Marketing &
Management) and I have studied advertising, I feel I can give my opinion on
what I thought of Atari's commercials. My opinion is that if Atari wants
to sell more Jaguars, they should make better commercials.
The commercials looked like something put together for a video game
manufacturer that has a lot of money to waste. They were more cute and
fancy than they were convincing. I would expect such commercials from
Nintendo--not Atari. The first commercial was "Video Game Marketing 101"
and showed a classroom teacher teaching bored video game marketers about
the Jaguar compared to other video game systems. I have no idea who the
target audience is for this commercial. It can't be children between the
age of 8 and 18. This age range does not know anything about college
courses or marketing. And they will not understand the point that the
advertisement is trying to make.
The second commercial was an Alien Vs. Predator advertisement. The
problem with this commercial is that it focused more on the person playing
Alien Vs. Predator than the game itself. Alien Vs. Predator is the first
game to really demonstrate 64-bit power through its high quality graphics
and sound. Showing the graphics and sound is the only thing that should
matter in the commercial. But the audience never really gets a good look
at the game in this commercial.
The slogan "Do The Math" is not catchy either. Besides, kids play
video games to get away from math and homework. The last thing they want
to hear is video games and math in the same sentence. If you look at
it from a psychological stand-point, it probably turns them off to the
Jaguar more than it turns them on. The "Do The Math" slogan also does not
help convince people that the Jaguar is a true 64-bit system. I was
arguing with a video game dealer that claimed the Jaguar had two 32-bit
processors and they are added together to make the Jaguar a 64-bit system.
I told him that he was wrong and he asked me then why do all of the ads
say "do the math"?
The "Marketing 101" commercial is being in use now. And I question why
it is in use now. Perhaps the commercial is being targeted at retailers
more than consumers? In either case, it is advertising Kasumi Ninja,
Iron Soldier, Doom, and other games that are not available to purchase.
And they will not be available to purchase for at least another month.
Is the commercial creating suspense? No, it just makes people upset with
Atari for advertising products that are not on the market.
Atari's customer relations is the best, Atari's producers and programmers
of video games are very good, but Atari's marketing department has needed
and still needs improvement.
If you are disappointed by the lack of games for the Jaguar, don't be
too disappointed. There are several good things that came out of these
delays. The first thing is that the game quality should be very high.
The second thing is that AvP, Kasumi Ninja, Club Drive, and Checkered Flag
are now going to be double the size of what was originally planned. The
third thing is that the games will be receiving major publicity in gaming
magazines and television programs just in time for the Christmas shopping
season. The fourth thing is that there will be A LOT of excitement over
the Jaguar because of all the games coming out at once.
You should also realize that making Jaguar games isn't like making PC
games. If there is a bug in a PC game, the game company just releases a
quick patch for it. This cannot be done on a Jaguar game. The Jaguar cannot
have any bugs in it when released.
The Jaguar is on its way to success. But we can help get the games we
want for it by writing game companies. I have included a list of popular
game companies and their addresses in the CAIN Newsletter Supplement so we
can all encourage them to make their games for the Jaguar.
Until next time--JAG RULES!
Len Stys, Jaguar Support Area
Head Organizer Show Report
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Fred Horvat
OK, the C.A.I.N. Atari Fun Fest '94 is officially over. The show
went over better then anyone had expected. Our official or best
estimate on the number of people exceeded 300 people! Because we did not
charge admission, an exact count is unavailable to us.
Well who was at the show? The list of exhibitors is listed
elsewhere in this issue so I won't repeat it here. The exhibitors
appeared to really get into meeting their customers face to face.
Some vendors did real well selling their products. Others commented
that they did only fair. All vendors did mention that maybe they did
not sell as much of their products as they would have liked, but the
public relations side of attending the show will help their business
down the line. What is meant by this is they get to meet customers
and answer their questions on hardware and software. The person
takes a catalog and now knows that the vendor is a great source of
information to them. Maybe the person is just not ready to purchase
anything at the show, but some time later when they need more
information and are ready to purchase they now know who to contact.
What was there to see and do at the show? Plenty, but
unfortunately for me I did not get to see every display because I was
running the show. What I did see I really enjoyed. I guess I'll
start out with the user groups. There were a few local user groups
in attendance. They were each given a free table to help promote
their group and hopefully increase their membership. Actually about
half of the dealers were from out of state with the rest local to
Cleveland. Without dealer support at the show it really would not
have been much to the show. These are the people that are more "in-
the-know" on hardware and software then the average user. Just
talking to them was a pleasure in itself. Besides all their
knowledge, they are the ones with all the great stuff. You actually
got to test products out before you bought them. Its true that you can
do this at your local dealer, but how many of us still have a local
Atari dealer? Plus you got to see some of the newest releases and
even some prototype products. I happened to miss seeing 4Play's (ICD)
Jaguar game "Star Battle" demo. Len told me about it after the show.
I did get to see and play some prototype LYNX games. One that comes to
mind was "Marlboro Challenge" which was a Paris to Dakar motorcycle rally
type race game. Some newsletter publishers were in attendance and they
handed out free issues of their newsletters. We also had from the past
an Asteroids stand up arcade game and a 2600 kiosk for folks to play.
The main attraction of the show was obviously the Jaguar. Atari Corp
was generous in giving C.A.I.N. three Jaguars and three Tempest 2000
cartridges to demo and raffle off at the show. Besides the three
Jaguars to try out on the C.A.I.N. tables there were about 5 others
setup.
So from going from one table to the next you were able to try out
all the Jaguar games that are available. At certain times in the day
you could hear Wolfenstein 3D's music playing on eight Jaguars at once.
The Cleveland LYNX-up started out slow but around 2:00 there were about
a dozen people ComLynxed-up in the front room and having a great time.
This I really wanted to be a part of but time did not permit it.
All of the dealers went out of there way to pitch in for door
prizes. We had an awesome collection of items on the table to give
away. Again a list of free door prizes is listed elsewhere in this
issue. We tried about every half hour to give a door prize away
starting around 12:00.
My observation on what type of crowd we had is best described as
a curious one. Curious about the Jaguar and the world of Atari. The
Jaguar brought the largest percentage of the people to the show
without a doubt. The final week before the show most phone calls I
received were from people interested about the Jaguar and what was
going to be on display for the Jaguar. Plus some people thought
Atari was out of business or Nintendo had bought them in the 80's and
so on. The show really opened the non-Atari community's eyes wide
open. Three dealers I recognized attended the show. They were totally
dumbfounded that there was this much enthusiasm for the Jaguar!
They were surprised that Atari still made computers and people use
them! A couple of days later I contacted a dealer and he decided
after what he saw at the show to set up a Jaguar to demo. He put
Tempest 2000 in the Jaguar and set the unit next to the 3DO. After
the show they were not too amazed to see that they had people in line
to play the Jaguar and the 3DO went untouched. Another dealer
commented that "Gee I wish that Sega or Nintendo would do a show like
the C.A.I.N. Atari show". And this is a guy who went to Summer CES.
At the 1:00 - 2:00 hour the hall was so packed I couldn't get from the
front to the back to the front so I ended up going through the back door
and around the building to get up front. The hall size otherwise was
just about the right size for the number of dealers and spectators.
Well I'd like to thank Sandy Durisin, Barb Gollini, and Michele
Horvat for running the concessions. They did a great job and the
food was great too. I'd like to thank Dennis Roff for handling the
Jaguar raffle table and to Robert Lai for standing in traffic with a
Fuji flag to help people find the hall easier. Also I'd like to
thank the dealers, user groups, newsletters, developers and to all
the spectators for attending the show. Most of you may not have
known this, but the dealers went well out of their way to help
advertise the show. Many spectators heard about the show from their
dealer. Toad Computers actually sent out two weeks before the show
about 200-300 post cards to the tri-state area stating that they
would be at the show and giving $2.00 off at their table. One
problem in the way was the U.S. Postal Service. I received my post
card two full weeks after the show! So it took one month to mail
something first class from Maryland to Ohio? Well hats off to Toad
Computers for their effort! One final thanks goes out to Don Thomas
and Atari Corporation for supporting our show by sending us three
Jaguar units and three Tempest 2000 game cartridges to give away and
to raffle off. Atari's support really made the difference in turning
a good show into a great show. It did not matter that this was our
first attempt at an Atari show or not.
People complain that Atari does not spend enough money on
advertising. Well, if you think about it for their cost of the
Jaguars and games for our show they hit 100% of the audience that
they wanted. What would it have cost to hit the 300+ Jaguar audience
on a nation TV advertisement?
Personally I learned a great deal on how to put on a show. There
are a few area's that needed improvement. After how well this one
turned out it definitely looks as if C.A.I.N. will have another show
next year.
CAIN Atari Fun Fest 94 Responses
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
The following messages were taken from Part-Time BBS: 216/582-1196
Message: 102 (#12334)
Title: Fabulous Fest!!!!!
Author: Mr. Haney
To: All
Posted: Sun 7-Aug-94 at 11:43:00pm
Replies: 0
Ok. IT WAS FANTASTIC!! You should have been there indeed. It was
Disney like.. I just can't describe it any better. There is no known
noun or verb to make it clear to those who missed it...
Yea, I know. I am in 40col. Making the adjustment to the COmm software
that I have for 2400 baud. Hey, this is ok. It is how WE all started out.
Now for the BIG THANKS! Thanks to Len, Mark, Fred,..
ICD, Triple AAA, Toad, C.V.A.C.C.. Computer Shop, Relative,(They have
the CD stuff as well as TOAD)..
Jeff's Outpost and the many others who showed up. It was just
great.
To all who made it happen: BIG THANKS!
My apology's to anyone who I did not get to talk in great detail about our
own user group. It was really hard to concentrate with all that was
happening in the K&C hall..Big Thanks to them for hosting it. I loved the
Pizza! This was a big time for the Atari users in the Cleveland area.
If you did not go, then you missed all the real fun. I could not sit
still. There were:
Falcons
St's
Xl's/Xe's and 2600'rds
CD ROMS and Classic Games.
The Door Prizes and Inovations!
T.G.I.A...! If you want to know what that means call me!
Thanks Russ for starting us out in the wee hours of the morning. By
the way, you won a prise in the raffle drawing. But, you had to
leave. You had to be there to collect it, (Hey, we tried but
rules are rules).
Also, Washired won on the raffle.
Sorry about that VAC! I just can't thank everyone enough..
*** Mr. Haney ***
(102/175+) C.A.C.U.G.:
Message: 103 (#12335)
Title: FEST PART II
Author: Mr. Haney
To: All
Posted: Sun 7-Aug-94 at 11:56:00pm
Replies: 0
Yes it was Fab-U-Luss!! Atari Fest 94! We felt the power and have
the POWER..supplies.
'This is 8-bit country'..quote
from an IDC Rep. There were alot
of great deals. VAC got the best.
Yea, somehow he always does it.
$12.00 for a drive..it was one of
those 'shady types' that wander
around computer shows. He tried
to sell me a mint-condition Sega
system..old style. I declined.
I missed that one deal no dought.
There was so much Used and 'NEW'
equipment at the Fest that I felt
that I had gone on vacation again.
I missed seeing AT/COM, yea. I
miss ya Dud. We inherited some
ideas from ya..call me sometime.
Geez, we were there only for about
6 to 7 hours and it was JAG that
really made me stoned! The system
is just beyond belief. Those who
won one of Jag systems in the
Raffle were indeed to LUCKY!
Oh yes, next time I will bring
DOS DISKETTE!!
8-Bytes the father and mother of
IT!
:) Mr. Haney :>
(103/175+) C.A.C.U.G.:
Message: 104 (#12336)
Title: Vision 3000
Author: Mr. Haney
To: All
Posted: Mon 8-Aug-94 at 12:32:00am
Replies: 0
The Fest was a better Idea. Yes, it was the best. C.A.C.U.G. was
present and accounted for indeed.
But where can U go from here? Hey, anywhere we what to go. C.A.C.U.G.
is a good Idea for the use of the old 8-BYTE. Don't let your 8-BYTE
sit in the closet collecting dust. (You'll Sneez to much!) Get it out
and go to a User-Group meeting of some type.
Really, There was alot of interest I noticed for the 8-Byte. There
were many people who expressed an interest in the 8-Byte, But, they
claimed to be left out without a group centered around the 8-bYTE
computer. Understandable. Now I know that there are lot of 8-BYTE
people out there. That is fact that presented it's self to me at
the FEST. However, can we innovate and leave us alive it the 64 bit
world? Humm..I think this stuff is still useful. We must innovate it
a little. There were 'hints' of this by the ICD REP at the show. He
spoke very highly of BOB PUFF and those New Guys..FINE TUNED.
There are at lest 3 8-byte user groups in Cleveland. Noah 8 over
at 3-aaa, (Passive?), C.V.A.C.C and use C.A.C.U.G people. The key
to all of this of course is a practical use of the 8-BYTE. Yes,
there is still alot of unexplored computer landscape for it. There
may even be a sort-of a PHOENIX like hardware production if anybody
who cares reads this message. They should have never stopped making
the 8-bit...said that once before did I?
.. Mr. Haney..
(104/175+) C.A.C.U.G.:
Message: 105 (#12337)
Title: FEST II
Author: Mr. Haney
To: All
Posted: Mon 8-Aug-94 at 12:45:00am
Replies: 1
The Fest was a GREAT. Yes, you are getting sick of me talking about it
are you? Not me!! There were some real good ideas put into this
opps! THIS..SHOW. Next one should last of at lest 2 days. The Hall
should be 'Bigger'. Why do i say that? Well..There was so much to
see and do of course. Will it be alot ..lot bigger we shall see. There was
something that was GENIUS about this. Must be those Collage boys playing
around again. EH? How about it LEN?
Humm..2 days of Atari Festing, GOd, I love the thought! The very Idea.
We would have a weekend of nothing but computers..without WINDO's. For
that WINDOW's..it SUCKS..Quote from an x-Atari user.
Yes. That would be nice..more space and lots of time. It just
did not last long enough JOHN P.!
(: Mr. Haney and the PIG :]
'What ever your read, it is Better
Backwards. You know how it will
end.'.. From the HighTeck Holy
Book.. CHpt. 8.vs. 120
(105/175+) C.A.C.U.G.:
Message: 106 (#12374) - Reply to #105
Title: FEST II
Author: Aslan
To: Mr. Haney (Recvd)
Posted: Mon 8-Aug-94 at 3:43:00am
Replies: 1
Well I made it out there, had fun. Met Joe Pallendino and some strange guy
with glasses who said his name was John something or other :-)
Actually it was fun seeing those old 2600 games again (makes me want to
pull mine out of the closet again) and seeing what the new stuff was.
To bad I missed meeting Mr. Haney.
(106/175+) C.A.C.U.G.:
Message: 107 (#12377)
Title: Thanks
Author: Len Stys
To: All
Posted: Mon 8-Aug-94 at 11:55:00am
Replies: 1
Thank you all VERY much for attending. I am glad that everyone had a
great time. Something like this really needed to happen in Ohio and I'm
glad that Fred, Mark, and myself were able to organize it.
One company that people forget to mention to thank is Atari Corporation.
They really showed support by giving us Jaguars to demonstrate and then to
raffle. The show would not have been as much of a success without Atari's
support of the show. A large number of people there came just to see the
Jaguar 64-bit system.
A couple of things I found out by the registration forms was that MANY
people want more information about user groups in the Greater Cleveland
area. They don't belong to one, but they would like to belong to one.
Another thing is that one of the Tempest 2000 winners bought a Jaguar from
one of the vendors at the show. I'm sure if the others didn't already
have a Jaguar to play Tempest 2000, they soon will have one. :)
Thanks for coming. I really had a lot of fun. I enjoyed meeting all of
you and as soon as I take care of some things and get my car fixed, maybe
I can attend some of your meetings.
Len
(107/175+) C.A.C.U.G.:
Message: 108 (#12422) - Reply to #106
Title: FEST II
Author: Mr. Haney
To: Aslan (Recvd)
Posted: Tue 9-Aug-94 at 12:27:00am
Replies: 2 [> Edited <]
Yea, you should fire it up..the 2600 games. I really loved seeing
them too. That was C.V.A.C.C Prez. who had that going. He was the Guy
with the HAT. By the way, in case you did not know, the Sega Gen.
Controllers will work with the old 2600 games. Try it if you
get the chance..it is an interesting experience.
I was there all day..should have run into me at lest once..but there
were alot of people there. I was running all over the place looking
at stuff..(Could not help my self).
I talked and talked to alot of people..and was dizzy by it all.
If I talked to you I don't quite remember it. Hey, sorry it was
just to much for me to handle.
You did talk to Joe. He is our resident Genius hacker. He can
put anything together that is broke. It fact, the very modem
I am using, (2400 b.p.s.) was fixed by him. Russ Gilbert is
the other guy you might have met. He is other G.H. type..and
has written some Super programs for the 8-bit. To bad he missed
his raffle prise. :) <-Big Grin>
** Mr. Haney..and minus the PIG
(108/175+) C.A.C.U.G.:
Message: 109 (#12423) - Reply to #107
Title: Thanks
Author: Mr. Haney
To: Len Stys (Recvd)
Posted: Tue 9-Aug-94 at 12:58:00am
Replies: 0
WE bought a whole lot of STuff.
The Jag was outstanding. I would have bought one but I was to busy
having FUN.
AND THAT IS WHAT MAKES ATARI
BETTER.. now for the SOAP-BOX:
If there is one feeling about Atari that I have had all along
it is that you can have fun with this computer type system. Yes,
I know you can play games on the I.B.M'ed. I know that Apple has
a real catch on the educational end. But with the Atari, you can
have fun with all the work. I find it REAL interesting that you
can emulate Atari 8-bit games on the 486, of course it takes a
486 to do it..! Someone in the I.B.M.'ed world liked Atari. The
Falcon was doing the same thing at the Fest. Micro had it running
8-BYTE games. Of all the games.. really, DONKEY CONG??? (I Cringed!)
Geez, we at C.A.C.U.G. could have provided a better game no dought.
Off the SOAP BOX now..
You are LEN always welcome to our meetings..if you have any interest
in the 8-BYTE. Do you still have one? No matter.. You must have had one
at one time or other. Remember: We have NO Fees or Dues. You just
come when it is posted here. The meetings always happen the 3rd week
end of the month. We will be 'Roving' to 'Washired's' house for the Next
meeting. Please come if you can. I am not yet sure what the subject
will focus on in Sept. But I can tell you it won't ever get boring.
Mr. Haney and Mrs. Dougles
Fest 95' yea..3 days of GRAPHICS
PEACE and MUSIC. *-0 (Guitar)
(109/175+) C.A.C.U.G.:
Message: 110 (#12453) - Reply to #108
Title: FEST II
Author: Aslan
To: Mr. Haney (Recvd)
Posted: Tue 9-Aug-94 at 1:34:00am
Replies: 1
I was only there from 10-12, I had to run off for work. You might have
seen me, I was the one with the hat (the big black cowboy hat that is).
Now all I want to do is get Narnia Up again. Any ideas where I can get a
good system for $300 or less?
(110/175+) C.A.C.U.G.:
Message: 111 (#12454) - Reply to #108
Title: FEST II
Author: RUSS GILBERT
To: Mr. Haney (Recvd)
Posted: Tue 9-Aug-94 at 7:34:00am
Replies: 1
Mr. Haney said it all. I had a great time, but I just tire out too quick
to stay for the raffle. Ok, it's killing me. What prize did I miss?
(111/175+) C.A.C.U.G.:
Message: 112 (#12455) - Reply to #110
Title: FEST II
Author: RUSS GILBERT
To: Aslan (Recvd)
Posted: Tue 9-Aug-94 at 7:36:00am
Replies: 1
Aslan, You are one big clown. I saw you but didn't know who you were.
Missing you would be like missing the side of a barn. No offense.
(112/175+) C.A.C.U.G.:
Message: 114 (#12487) - Reply to #111
Title: FEST II
Author: John Polka
To: RUSS GILBERT (Recvd)
Posted: Wed 10-Aug-94 at 4:10:00am
Replies: 0
You missed whatever was left on the d00r prize table when your name was
called...
(114/175+) C.A.C.U.G.:
Message: 117 (#12582) - Reply to #115
Title: thank-you
Author: Joseph Pallendino
To: John Polka (Recvd)
Posted: Thu 11-Aug-94 at 2:02:00am
Replies: 1 [> Edited <]
I haven't had time to try the wireless joysticks.
I've been trying to seal my garage roof for the 4th time in 5 years.
I'll let you know my thoughts on the wireless joysticks as soon as I
have time to check them out.
I had a fine time at the Atarifest & hope to attend another soon.
Don't spend that donation I gave you in one place. I appreciate the
ability to post things I have for sale & occasionally download a shareware
program through your BBS. This is what the donation was for.
(117/175+) C.A.C.U.G.:
Message: 124 (#12725) - Reply to #123
Title: 2400 baud & Omnicom
Author: Mr. Haney
To: Joseph Pallendino (Recvd)
Posted: Mon 15-Aug-94 at 1:29:00am
Replies: 0
ok. I am on vacation all this week. If you want to come by say, Tues. or
Wed. I should be around. I have to get the SX212 back to VAC, I'll
be doing that tomorrow or sometime this week. I have been fooling with
Sparta Dos alot. I can see why so many people like it so much. No
matter how many times I hit the reset key it is still there in memory.
I think VAC will really enjoy those books that you bought, especially
the Sparta one. We were lucky that ICD REP. had them on hand.
I really enjoyed talking to the C.V.A.C.C. people. Thanks to the
ANDY, we came away with some really nice PD demos.
You do know that I am using the 2400 baud modem you fixed. To think
that you pick out the problem and now I am putting it to good use. I
have not had any problem with it at all. We will have to look at that
little modem software that VAC had the outputs 80col. That looks a
little better than OMINCOM.
Yea, I think I know why RUSS like the Sparta so much.. The Fest was
a real boost for us. Well, got to go. Have alot of exploring to do
with the DOS. I have another game in mind as well..
(( MR. Haney ))
(124/175+) C.A.C.U.G.:
Message: 162 (#13151) - Reply to #161
Title: POWER
Author: Mr. Haney
To: Aslan (Recvd)
Posted: Sun 4-Sep-94 at 12:07:00am
Replies: 1
There where lot more that just 300..that was an official count of
the registered vender and Atari People I believe. There were people
coming and going all day lot through the doors. I never counted
but I saw alot of people all day long. I would bet that the number
was more like close to 7 to 8 hundred all told. This was of course
considering it was a one day event and the location. It was a bit
out there in Urban land. No dought if it had been closer to Cleveland
or a more congested area it would be larger in attendance. It was
great success to those who still have an interest in the computer
system. A real shot in the arm. You know, I think I have a picture
file of you Aslan..at lest it is of some fellow wearing a cowboy
hat..say: HOWDY
[[ MR. HANEY ]]
(162/175+) C.A.C.U.G.:
Message: 166 (#13158) - Reply to #162
Title: POWER
Author: Aslan
To: Mr. Haney (Recvd)
Posted: Mon 5-Sep-94 at 12:38:00am
Replies: 1
Yeah I can't believe I drove all that way to look at Atari's, but it was
fun. Speaking of that hat, it make a great identifier when meeting
someone. I wore it to the TRO/Narniapik-a-nik and everyone was able to
find us by looking for the hat <g>
(166/175+) C.A.C.U.G.:
Message: 168 (#13167) - Reply to #166
Title: POWER
Author: Mr. Haney
To: Aslan (Recvd)
Posted: Tue 6-Sep-94 at 2:36:00am
Replies: 1
I can't believe that VaQ and I found anything at all..and we were not
wearing any hats! The one major thing that impressed me at the show
was the CD stuff. I forget just who it was that had a Falcon running
the CD stuff but was Fantastic. Toad had tons of CD stuff in their
booth. We had our little 8-bit setup right across from them. It
was funny really. We 'Borrowed' some PD demo's from the C.Valley
people ..(Poor 8-Byter that we are), and many of those who passed
by us were stunned that it was an 8-bit graphic machine!
I had more than one person ask me what machine it was that we
had setup..When I told them it was an XEGS they had to look again..!
Of course it could not match the CD stuff..but, it was interesting
to see the 'RAW' graphics running away with some people..
Why oh why did they stop making these machines I really do and don't
understand..so..my hat's off to those who put so much time into
it for so little reward.
You are you know welcome to the meetings..'Hat and all'.
Mr. Haney at 2400.2 baud..the pig died by the way..
(168/175+) C.A.C.U.G.:
<< Computer Shows >>
Updated: 08/30/94
To include shows (preferably shows that include Atari products),
for the Cleveland Free-Net Atari SIG's Show list and the CAIN newsletter,
send the show's name, date, location, and any additional information to
xx004@po.cwru.edu. Please address the e-mail with the subject
"Computer Show". The following information is correct to the best of our
knowledge. However, we cannot guarantee its accuracy. Corrections and
cancellations are therefore requested.
+-----------------+
|Shows at a Glance|
+-----------------+--------------+--------------------------+----------+
| Name | Location | Date |
|--------------------------------+--------------------------+----------|
|1. Atari PowerShow International|Freiburg, Germany |09/23/94 |
|2. 5th Elmshorner Computerage |Elmshorn, Germany |10/29/94 |
| | | |
+----------------------------------------------------------------------+
For more information on these shows, please consult the Atari SIG on the
Cleveland Free-Net (telnet to freenet-in-a.cwru.edu or Nextsun.ins.cwru.edu)
Once connected to the Free-Net type 'Go Atari' to get to the Atari SIG.
In addition to show information, the CAIN newsletter would like to print
any reports, summaries, or reviews of these and other recent shows. Please
send any of these articles to 'aa338@po.cwru.edu'
Thank-you...
Vote Issues and Results
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<< Voting Booth >>
One exciting feature of the Atari SIG is its voting booth. Here, users can
create their own opinion polls. The voting booth is accessible from the main
menu of the Atari SIG on the Cleveland Free-net (CFN). Select option '11'
from this main menu to enter the voting booth.
General Information of Need
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
How to Contribute to CAIN
-------------------------
For full details on contributing to CAIN, please check out the "CAIN Online
Newsroom," option 13 from the Atari SIG's main menu. In summary, we can
use articles, tutorials, and reviews on Atari products. The format is simple
--ASCII format with 80 characters per line. The text should be sent via
internet electronic mail to "xx004@freenet.cleveland.edu". All submissions
to CAIN become the property of CAIN, unless otherwise agreed upon.
Article Requests
----------------
Below are some suggestions of articles we would like to see in future
issues of CAIN. For a complete list of newsletter needs, please consult the
discussion board under the CAIN Online Newsroom (option 13 from the Atari
SIG's main menu).
Newsletter Needs
----------------
Communications: Any articles that fits into the area of communications (ie:
reviews, summaries, articles, tutorials on BBS systems, term or BBS
software, services, etc for any Atari computer) may be submitted to this
section. When submitting to this section, please address this article with
the subject "Communications."
File Archives: Any type of summary, review, or list of new files that
are on any Atari ftp archive will benefit our readers. Please address this
article with the subject "ftp archives."
Tutorials: CAIN is actively seeking any project, "how-to," and tutorial
articles for future issues of CAIN. These articles can be for any type of
Atari product. Please address this article with the subject "Tutorial
Submission."
Atari Shows: Not only can we use information on upcoming Atari Shows, but we
also can use reviews and summaries of recent Atari shows. Please address this
article with the subject "Atari Show Information."
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THOUGHT OF THE MONTH: A shake-up at the Cleveland Free-Net soon? Could be...
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[C]entral [A]tari [I]nformation [N]etwork Newsletter Sept. 15, 1994
Copyright (c) 1994 All Rights Reserved No.006
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Central Atari Information Network (CAIN) Newsletter is produced by Cain
Publishing and is no way affiliated with Atari Corporation. CAIN Newsletter
editors/staff produce this publication on a volunteer basis strictly to
benefit users of Atari products. Views, and opinions expressed herein are
those of the article's author(s) and not necessarily those of the editors/
staff of CAIN Newsletter, the Cleveland Free-Net Atari SIG, or its
affiliates. Permission to reprint articles is hereby granted, unless
otherwise noted. Reprints must include: Name of article, author's name, name
of publication, date, and issue number. CAIN Newsletter may not be edited
in any way without prior written permission. CAIN Newsletter is believed
to be reasonably accurate. If any inaccurate information is found within,
please contact the editor of CAIN Newsletter and a correction will be made in
the next issue.
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Atari, ST, Mega ST, STE, Mega STE, TT030, Atari Falcon030, TOS, MultiTOS,
NewDesk, BLiTTER, Atari Lynx, ComLynx, Atari Jaguar, Atari Portfolio,
Atari 400, 800, XL series, XE series, and the Atari Fuji Symbol are all
trademarks or registered trademarks of Atari Corporation. The "Free-Net"
name is a Servicemark (SM) of the National Public Telecomputing Network
(NPTN). The Free-Net "FreePort" software is copyrighted by Case Western
Reserve University. FreePort is a registered trademark of Case Western
Reserve University. All other trademarks and identifying marks mentioned
in this issue belong to their respective owners.
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-----------------------------------------
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