CAIN Newsletter: Ap/May-95 #0204
From: Atari SIG (xx004@cleveland.Freenet.Edu)
Date: 10/22/95-09:38:23 PM Z
From: xx004@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Atari SIG)
Subject: CAIN Newsletter: Ap/May-95 #0204
Date: Sun Oct 22 21:38:23 1995
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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!
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telnet freenet-in-{a,b,c}.cwru.edu (129.22.8.32 or 129.22.8.51)
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WWW: http://ace.cs.ohiou.edu/personal/mleair/cain.html
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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) 1995
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......Bruce D. Nelson aa789@cleveland.freenet.edu
16/32-Bit Support Area......Thomas Main em129@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
Atari WWW Support Area......Mark S. Smith M.S.Smith@dl.ac.uk
_________________________________________________________________________
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...........................Cleveland Free-Net Atari SIG
-Len Stys
Atari News....................Atari & Virtuality Preview First VR Game System
Atari Jaguar's Library Approaches 100 Titles in 1995
Atari Continues To Expand Jaguar Peripherals
-Atari Corp.
Time Warner Interactive's Hit Arcade Primal Rage
Time Warner Interactive's Power Drive Rally Performs on Jaguar
Time Warner Interactive Demonstrates Commitment to Hockey
-Time Warner Interactive
8-Bit Computers Support Area...............................8-bit News #1 - #5
8-bit Commentary
-Michael Current
16/32-Bit Computers Support Area.............................Towers II Review
Atari ST FTP Sites Update
-Mark S. Smith
Portfolio Support Area...........................News from the Czech Republic
-Fred Horvat
Lynx Support Area...................................Letter from Edward Castle
Lynx Commentary
-Barry W. Cantin
Jaguar Support Area............................Jaguar News--VR Headset Specs.
Internet Game Reviews--Hover Strike
Internet E3 Show Reports
Jaguar Commentary
-Len Stys
Atari WWW Support Area............................Atari Web Pages Latest News
-Mark Smith
Upcoming Atari Shows......................................Atari Show Calendar
-Mark Leair
Voting Issues and Results..................................Last Month's Issue
This Month's Issue
-Mark Leair
General Information of Need.........................How to Contribute to CAIN
Article Requests
-Mark Leair
>From the Editor
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Mark Leair
Well, the leaves are out, the birds are chirping at 4:00 AM, and it is a
lot warmer down here in Southeastern Ohio. Spring is definitely here. I only
hope we can spring into summer with Atari. With school out, the summer is
probably a great time to sell video games. Having plenty of leisure time,
students of all ages will seek out a variety of entertainment. Video games
certainly come to mind as a quick fix of boredom. Let's only hope Atari jumps
on this opportunity. With other 64 bit systems possibly coming out this fall,
they would be smart to launch a media blitz this summer. They have one
component already in place: Price! Now, if they can get the software out
there, the CD-Rom unit, and a good ad campaign, the Jaguar will roar into fall.
Another information packed issue is here! Plenty of news for the 8
bit'ers out there, including information on a NEW graphical adventure game.
For the Falcon users Mark Smith brings you a review on Towers II - Plight of
the Stargazer. Last but not least, the votes have been tallied from last
month's reader poll, and a new survey is included in the Voting section of the
newsletter. Enjoy!
-Mark Leair
CAIN Publisher
>From the SIG Manager
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Len Stys
Well, I have to apologize for the double issue. Mark was on schedule to
release the April issue, but I was not. I have been very busy in the last
few weeks. My sister got married (congrats Joanne and Jim Mislay!). And
I had some other things that needed to be done that had priority. But
I doubt you will be disappointed by this issue. It is packed with news and
information that you won't find anywhere else.
Atari showed the Virtuality headset at the E3 show in Los Angeles and it
recieved high praise by just about everyone that tried it. This may be the
reason why consumers will choose Jaguar over other newer systems on the
tmarket.
Atari's shareholders meeting is coming up (June 5th) and I hope that all
shareholders speak their mind. There are a lot of concerns that need to be
addressed. For one, why is Atari clearing inventory of the Lynx? Is it
still not comparable to the stylish GameBoys on the market? If the company
does not want to spend capital to advertise it, at least include a catalog
in each Jaguar for consumers to order the Lynx and its games.
There is also the question of bonuses and options at a time when the company
continues to lose money. And perhaps the biggest concern should be that
Atari is not losing enough money. In order to make money, a company needs
to spend money. Newspaper ads, Jaguar kiosks, etc. costs money and is
needed for the Jaguar to be successful in the future.
Why not check out the Cleveland Free-Net Atari SIG when you get a chance?
It is a pretty cool place. While there, why not contribute news, reviews,
and conversation?
Len Stys, SIG Manager
Atari News
-=-=-=-=-=
CONTACT: for Atari Corporation
Jessica Nagel
Dorf & Stanton Communications
(310)479-4997
for Virtuality U.S.
Allison Ellis
Edelman Public Relations
(214)520-3555
for VIRTUALITY U.K.
Helen Horner/Ben Vaughan
Virtuality Group plc
011-44-116-233-7082
ATARI AND VIRTUALITY PREVIEW FIRST VIRTUAL REALITY GAME
SYSTEM FOR THE CONSUMER MARKET AT E3
Affordable 64-bit Jaguar VR sets industry standards; available by
end of year.
LOS ANGELES (May 11, 1995) -- The Jaguar VR, the world's first fully
immersive virtual reality game system for the consumer market, was
unveiled today at E3. It is being developed jointly by Atari
Corporation, developer of the world's first 64-bit game system, and
VIRTUALITY Group plc, the global market leader in VR systems.
The Jaguar VR incorporates VIRTUALITY's revolutionary new VR
head-mounted display (HMD) and optional track joystick, offering
unequaled display, audio, and tracking features. Atari's Jaguar VR
sets an impressive industry standard for home virtual reality
systems and has been designed with the highest international health
and safety regulations in mind.
According to Sam Tramiel, President of Atari, "There is not one
consumer VR product that can compete with the Jaguar in terms of
price, performance and quality. The Jaguar VR has been designed with
human factors in mind and sets the standard for the industry to
follow. We are committed to delivering great experiences and
entertainment."
The proprietary, ergonomic HMD weighs less than 1 pound and easily
adjusts to comfortably fit users, with or without glasses. It
features a custom-designed optical pupil projection system and a
full-color active matrix LCD screen. In addition, the HMD's 3D
spatialized sound system has been enhanced by placing speakers at
the player's temple, with sound projected back to the ears allowing
for peripheral hearing. A built-in microphone allows networked
players to talk to each other.
A docking station, which links the Atari Jaguar system to the HMD
and joystick, houses the technologically advanced "V-Trak" infrared
tracking. This is the fastest tracker ever developed for consumer
application, reacting to real-time head and hand movements with no
perceptible lag time in the virtual world.
In addition, Jaguar VR is designed to be used only when a player is
sitting with the unit stationary on a flat surface. If a player
attempts to walk around while immersed in the game, an automatic
cutoff will be triggered.
Players who own an Atari Jaguar will be able to to upgrade by
plugging Jaguar VR into their existing system. The Jaguar VR has a
targeted retail price of $300.
Jaguar VR Software Development
------------------------------
Through a software licensing agreement, VIRTUALITY is developing
immersive virtual reality games for the Atari Jaguar VR. Atari's
classic home and arcade hit "Missile Command" is being recreated in
VR format by VIRTUALITY and will be available by the end of the
year. In addition, the popular VIRTUALITY arcade title "Zone
Hunter" will also be available for Jaguar VR with the system
introduction. Discussions are also underway with a number of
third-party developers for the creation of future games that take
advantage of this unique technology to create new experiences.
"The combination of Jaguar's 64-bit graphics processing power and
our IVR technology has produced a phenomenal, fully integrated VR
consumer product which has no competition, " said Jon Waldern, CEO
of VIRTUALITY Group plc. "This system expands the boundaries of the
in-home interactive games market and sets a new standard for others
to try to achieve.
Founded in 1987 in Leicester, England, VIRTUALITY Group plc. is the
world's leader in immersive virtual reality entertainment systems
worth more than 80 percent global market share. VIRTUALITY
Entertainment, Inc. headquartered in Irving, Texas, was established
in 1993 as the U.S.-based subsidiary to oversee all North American
operations, sales, market development and distribution for its
parent company.
Atari has been in the video game business for over twenty years.
Today, Atari markets Jaguar, the only American made, advanced 64-Bit
entertainment system. Atari Corporation is located in Sunnyvale CA.
####
CONTACT: Jessica Nagel or Tom Tanno
Dorf & Stanton Communications
(310)479-4997
ATARI JAGUAR'S LIBRARY APPROACHES 100 TITLES IN 1995
SUNNYVALE, CA (May 11, 1995) -- Atari Corporation announces that
there will be nearly 100 titles for its 64-bit Jaguar entertainment
system by the end of the year. "We will have every kind of game that
players want, from the best developers and publishers in the world."
comments Atari President Sam Tramiel.
Based on the popularity of "Tempest 2000", Atari is launching a
complete line of classic games, including "Dactyl Joust" and
"Defender 2000", and "Missile Command VR" for the Jaguar VR.
"Defender 2000" is being developed with three distinct play modes
for the Jaguar by Jeff Minter, developer of "Tempest 2000". In
addition, Atari will publish classic games for the PC at the end of
the year, beginning with "Tempest 2000". Other new release titles
include "Primal Rage" from Time Warner Interactive, the "Highlander"
RPG series, "Fight for Life" and "NBA Jam Tournament Edition".
The featured titles at Atari Corporation's E3 booth in Los Angeles
are "TRF", "Rayman", "White Men Can't Jump" and "Ultra Vortex".
TRF: TRF combines the latest motion capture technology and
nationally known martial arts fighters in a wide variety of
combat scenarios. Featured fighters include Ho Sung Pak, Dr.
Philip Ahn, Katalin Zamiar and Daniel Pesina; who were all
featured in the "Mortal Kombat" games.
RAYMAN: Rayman lives in a fantasy land beyond the reaches of our
universe. Rayman must restore peace and harmony to his world
by defeating the evil Mr. Black and retrieve the stolen
Great Proton.
WHITE MEN CAN'T JUMP: Trash talk runs rampant in this
"in-your-face", two-on-two blacktop basketball
shootout. Automatic camera control zooms in
and swings around to catch all the action.
ULTRA VORTEX: Players become one of the ten eye-popping, bone
crunching warriors of the underground who battle it
out in mind-bending arenas carved out of living rock.
They have one goal in mind: Defeat the dreaded
Guardian of the Vortex.
Atari has been in the video game business for over twenty years.
Today, Atari markets Jaguar, the only American made, advanced 64-Bit
entertainment system. Atari Corporation is located in Sunnyvale CA.
###
Jaguar is a trademark of Atari Corporation. Atari is a registered
trademark of Atari Corporation. Other products may be trademarks of
their owning companies.
Primal Rage(tm) and all related elements are property of Time
Warner Interactive(tm).
Rayman(tm) is a trademark of UBI Soft.
Ultra Vortex(tm) is a trademark of Beyond Games, Inc.
####
CONTACT: Jessica Nagel or Tom Tanno
Dorf & Stanton Communications
(310)479-4997
ATARI CORPORATION ADDS TWO TOP INDUSTRY VETERANS TO SENIOR
MANAGEMENT TEAM
SUNNYVALE, CA (May 1, 1995) -- Atari Corporation has powered up its
senior management team with the addition of top industry veterans
Dean Fox and Jon Correll. Mr. Fox comes on board as Senior Vice
President of Marketing and Correll as Vice President of Software
Product Development.
"The formidable skills and experience of Dean Fox and Jon Correll
will provide Atari with a focused marketing plan and the development
of the highest quality software for the consumer, taking full
advantage of Jaguar's capability including 60 FPS, 16 million colors
and 64 Bit Processing, " Sam Tramiel, CEO, Atari Corporation said in
making the announcement.
Prior to joining Atari Corporation, Correll held the position of
Manager of Development Administration for Sega of America. At Sega,
Correll implemented and negotiated development contracts and
produced the first CD titles for Sega Corporation including "Night
Trap".
Correll began his career in the software and gaming industry as
Manager of Product Development for Accolade in 1986. While at
Accolade, Correll produced some of the company's most popular games
including "Test Drive" and "Mean 18 Golf". Correll went on to
consult various Silicon Valley companies including EPYX and worked
as Director of Product Development for Three-Sixty.
Before joining Atari, Mr. Fox founded, staffed, and led the
marketing group for Rocket Science Games. Prior to RSG, Fox directed
the launch for Sega CD and led ongoing strategic marketing, product
concept and distribution consultation for several CD-ROM multimedia
entertainment publishers.
In his marketing and advertising tenure, Fox contributed to the
introductions of many consumer products, including Sony Betamax and
JVC VHS Videocassette recorders, Sharp laptop computers, and Sega CD
multimedia game systems.
Atari has been in the video game business for over twenty years.
Today, Atari markets Jaguar, the only American made, advanced 64-Bit
entertainment system. Atari Corporation is located in Sunnyvale CA.
###
CONTACT: Jessica Nagel or Tom Tanno
Dorf & Stanton Communications
(310)479-4997
ATARI CONTINUES TO EXPAND JAGUAR PERIPHERALS
SUNNYVALE, CA (May 11, 1995) -- Atari continues to provide new
gaming options for owners of its 64-bit Jaguar Interactive
Entertainment System. Key products to enhance the Jaguar play
experience hit the marketplace in 1995, with many more to come.
"Since Jaguar has already made the leap to 64-bit technology, we can
now focus on providing even more value to consumers by expanding the
system with new and innovative peripherals," says Sam Tramiel, CEO
of Atari Corporation.
One of the Jaguar extras is the much anticipated multimedia compact
disc (CD) player. Priced at approximately $150, the Jaguar CD player
attaches to the top of the Jaguar console. The Jaguar CD plays many
new CD games, including "Battlemorph", "Highlander", "Blue
Lightning", "Demolition Man", "Myst", and "Creature Shock" in
addition to playing standard audio disks. The Jaguar CD player
provides 790 megabytes of raw data storage, allowing video game
programmers to incorporate more complex digitized images,
full-motion video sequences and high-quality audio soundtracks. This
powerful double-speed CD player also provides fast access speed for
smoother game play, and its massive data capacity gives users better
graphic detail, expanded plot lines and more characters for an
overall enhanced video game experience. Additionally, built into the
unit is the "Virtual Light Machine(tm)", which creates and displays
81 different light patterns on the video screen in response to music
played through the system.
Mr. Tramiel says about the system, "The combination of the most
advanced technology, sophisticated software and affordable consumer
pricing sets Jaguar apart from all competitors." Target ship date
for the CD player is August, 1995.
For around $30, Jaguar owners can take advantage of the Jag
Link(tm), which allows users to play competitively side-by-side. The
Jag Link enables users to connect two Jaguar systems for
simultaneous game playing up to 100 feet apart. The Jag Link uses
standard RJ11 phone line cable for linking two Jaguar systems.
Team Tap(tm) is a new peripheral that for around $25 enables
competitive, simultaneous play for up to four players on one Jaguar.
The peripheral, which debuts with the new title "White Men Can't
Jump", provides players with a two-on-two playground simulation
experience. With two Jaguar systems and Team Tap, the competitive
play can be expanded up to eight players.
In addition, the Jaguar Voice/Data Communicator gives players the
ability to link up over the phone. Developed by fax-modem-voice
technology experts, Phylon Communications, the new technology
permits two players to compete using a phone connection. Players can
speak with each other during game play through the use of a headset.
With the utilization of a "call waiting" feature, players can also
pause a game to answer a phone call.
Atari has been in the video game business for over twenty years.
Today, Atari markets Jaguar, the only American made, advanced 64-Bit
entertainment system. Atari Corporation is located in Sunnyvale CA.
###
May 11, 1995, Thursday - 08:59 Eastern Time
HEADLINE: TIME WARNER INTERACTIVE'S HIT ARCADE TITLE, 'PRIMAL
RAGE(TM)' PREVIEWING ON EIGHT HOME GAMING AND COMPUTER SYSTEMS;
Head-To-Head Fighting Action At E3 Tradeshow With 'Primal Rage' Dominating Home
Platforms
BODY:
Building off the success of their hit arcade game, "Primal Rage"(TM), Time
Warner Interactive, Inc., Consumer Games Division (TWi) today previewed "Primal
Rage" on eight home gaming and computer platforms at the E3 Tradeshow in
their suite #308, in the South Hall of the Los Angeles Convention
Center. International distribution for all eight versions demonstrated, as
well as software for three more versions, are scheduled for release on two
dedicated launch dates this Fall, 1995.
On August 25, the company will release the Sega Genesis(TM), Super Nintendo
Entertainment System(R), Sega Game Gear(TM), Nintendo(R) Game Boy(TM) and PC
CD-ROM versions. November 14 is the date for the second wave of software on ne
w
gaming systems including the Sega Saturn(TM), Sega 32X(TM), 3DO(R), Sony(R)
PlayStation(TM), and Atari (R) Jaguar(TM), as well as the Macintosh(R) CD-ROM.
LOS ANGELES, May 11
"For a company to support a game on so many platforms is unprecedented,"
commented Mark Beaumont, Senior Vice President, Marketing and Product
Development at TWi. "We chose to take an aggressive stance following the
reception the game received at the arcades last summer. We know we have a
mega-hit on our hands and will support the launch with extensive TV and print
advertising campaigns as well as special events and on-line activities."
Hit Arcade Title Moves Home
"Primal Rage" is a head-to-head fighting game with an original look
that features seven fantasy, pre-historic characters in a battle for
supremacy. In creating "Primal Rage," TWi went back to the classics to
invent something entirely brand new. Stop-frame animation, the process
long used in Hollywood for movies such as "King Kong" and employed today
for feature film special effects, was key in creating the game's look.
The result is life-like prehistoric characters that move with unmatched
fluidity, in a game loaded with detail and personality.
The popularity of "Primal Rage" goes far beyond the appeal of the
characters. The nearly unlimited fighting engine makes "Primal Rage" a
game with more combination potential than practically any other fighting
game to date. Each character has an individualized fighting style, and
set of more than 70 moves including: fighting moves, powerful "secret"
moves, masterful combo hits, graphic finishing sequences, punches,
reactions to being punched, death sequences, victory sequences, and
ready poses. The originality of the characters, the sheer number and
ingenuity of their actions, taken in combination with the precision of
the fighting collision-matrix, come together in an innovative, and
addictive fighting game.
TWi's goal is to have all versions look and play like the arcade
experience. To that end, the original source code is being used to
create software for the home versions and will be re-worked to take
advantage of each gaming console and computer system's strengths. Fans
of "Primal Rage" at the arcade will find home play to not only stay true
to the original, but most versions will also include additional options
such as a dinosaur tug-of-war and four-on-four battles.
Time Warner Interactive, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Time
Warner Inc. (NYSE: TWX), develops and publishes interactive consumer
entertainment products that span across platforms from location-based
and video arcade games, to video game consoles and computer platforms
including: Sega Saturn(TM), Sega Genesis(TM), Sega(TM) 32X(TM), Sega(TM)
CD, Sega Game Gear(TM), Super Nintendo Entertainment System(R), Game
Boy(TM), Atari (R) Jaguar(TM), Sony(R) PlayStation(TM), CD-ROM for IBM(R)
and compatible computers, Macintosh(R), and interactive TV applications
for entertainment and gaming markets. All product names are trademarks
or registered trademarks of their respective owners.
May 11, 1995, Thursday - 09:00 Eastern Time
HEADLINE: TIME WARNER INTERACTIVE'S 'POWER DRIVE RALLY(TM)' PERFORMS ON THE
ATARI (R) JAGUAR(TM) AT E3;
New Atari (TM) Jaguar(TM) Title From Time Warner Interactive Shows Its Stuff
BODY:
Time Warner Interactive Inc., Consumer Games Division announced the preview
of "Power Drive Rally(TM)" for the Atari (TM) Jaguar(TM) today at the E3
tradeshow in suite 309. Flying gravel, spraying mud, squealing tires announce
the arrival of your all-terrain vehicle with opponents in hot pursuit -- better
not look back! Based on the official World Rally Championships, players jockey
for competitive times, major prize money, and sleek racing machines on
the international touring circuit. This high speed, strategic driving game
utilizes the power of the Atari Jaguar to project graphics so detailed you'll
feel the challenge of long distance racing in 38 international road rally
courses. "Power Drive Rally" is expected to ship in June, 1995 for an
anticipated retail price of $54.95.
LOS ANGELES, May 11
"Power Drive Rally(TM)" is the classic road rally, a two-member
team endurance race that makes regular speedway tracks look like a Sunday drive
.
Your computerized driving partner is in charge of the map and barks out
directions to you as you negotiate fallen logs, snow drifts and river beds
making maneuvers around hazardous bends all the more gripping. The quality of
tracks and terrain are vivid with details such as water pools reflecting the sk
y
and clouds, tires creating skid marks, shadows, dust clouds, brake lights, and
exhaust plumes.
The Race Is On
"Power Drive Rally" is a one or two-player game, where racers go
head to head on three different types of courses: road rallies over
mixed terrain including mud, gravel, and asphalt; time trials for flat
out speed challenges; and obstacle courses with cones, curves and a
sinister slalom.
Cross the start line with a fairly basic vehicle and a small wad of
cash in your pocket. You must tear across a range of terrain, from
the break of day to the dead of night to beat your opponents, win prize
money, and move onto more challenging vehicles and races. You'll find
each vehicle has its own handling nuances with differences in cornering
and road holding abilities as well as acceleration and deceleration.
You're responsible for repairing and maintaining your cars. Fail to
heed excessive damage and you may be penalized with disqualification.
On the other hand as you accumulate prize money, you can tirade your car
in for a higher spec model and gain automatic entry to higher levels of
competition.
"Power Drive Rally" lets you really drive -- on and off track. Head
off-road and you'll feel the tight turns of doing a donut in the dirt,
or loss of traction as you slide over ice or grass. Lose control and
you might experience a gut wrenching barrel roll or spectacular wipe
out. This is skill-driving for those with endurance and a sense of
competitive adventure. Rest up!
Warner Inc. (NYSE: TWX), develops and publishes interactive consumer
entertainment products that span across platforms from location-based
and video arcade games, to video game cartridges and computer platforms
including: Sega(TM) Genesis(TM), Sega (TM) 32X(TM), Sega (TM) Game Gear
(TM), Super Nintendo Entertainment System(R), Game Boy(TM), Sony
Playstation(TM), Atari (R) Jaguar(TM), 3DO(TM), CD-ROM for IBM(R)
and compatible computers and Macintosh(R) and interactive TV applications
for entertainment and gaming markets.
NOTE: All product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of
their respective owners.
CONTACT: Tracy Egan, Public Relations Manager of Time Warner Interactive
Games Division, 408-232-3213
May 11, 1995, Thursday - 09:04 Eastern Time
HEADLINE: TIME WARNER INTERACTIVE DEMONSTRATES COMMITMENT TO HOCKEY WITH 'WAYNE
GRETZKY AND THE NHLPA ALL-STARS(TM)';
New Hockey Title Shown on Four Systems at E3 Tradeshow
BODY:
Today at the E3 Tradeshow, Time Warner Interactive, Consumer Games Division
(TWi) demonstrated their new "Wayne Gretzky and the NHLPA All-Stars(TM)" title
on four systems at the Los Angeles Convention Center, South Hall, in Suite #309
.
Viewed for the first time were versions for the PC CD-ROM, Atari (R)
Jaguar(TM), and Super NES(TM). A final version for the Sega(TM) Genesis(TM)
was available and will ship May 26, 1995. LOS ANGELES, May 11
"Wayne Gretzky and the NHLPA All-Stars" is a result of TWi's dual license: a
n
exclusive three-year contract with Wayne Gretzky, all-time NHL scoring leader
and four time Stanley Cup winner, and a license with The National Hockey League
Players' Association (NHLPA) that brings professional hockey players' names,
profiles and statistics to the game.
"The sports market is very competitive -- we're going for winners, by pullin
g
together the best technology, licenses, and talent," commented Mark Beaumont,
Senior Vice President Product Development and Marketing at TWi. "We have a lot
of experience creating sports titles and we're going out strong with 'Wayne
Gretzky and the NHLPA All-Stars.'" Beaumont noted, "With two years of research
and development on top of our three-year Gretzky exclusive, we've set
the foundation for a winning line-up."
"Wayne Gretzky and the NHLPA All-Stars" looks and plays realistically becaus
e
professional gameplay was captured on video and in 3D rendered animations. To
capture the real movements and character of Wayne Gretzky, Gretzky himself was
filmed for use in the CD versions skating, passing, blocking, and scoring. The
title features digitized film footage of NHLPA players to accentuate critical
moments like face-offs, blocks and goal scoring. Video footage was taken,
digitized and imported into a computer software package where character
outlines or animated "skeletons" were constructed to recreate true movements
and actions.
The title features over 600 professional hockey players including 26 North
American teams and six International All-Star teams. Battery back-up lets you
track wins and stats, trade players, edit team line-ups and names, and go for a
full 84 game season with playoffs. Designed so that with just three pushes of
the button you're on the ice, "Wayne Gretzky and the NHLPA All-Stars" puts you
at center-rink for a unique close-to-the-action perspective. Video clips of
referees appear to keep order during play and digitized audio announces
penalties and goals. Player animations are 20% larger than images in
competitive hockey games and details such as backwards skating action and the
sounds of puck slaps and stadium music add to the realism.
Time Warner Interactive, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Time Warner Inc.
(NYSE: TWX), develops and publishes interactive consumer entertainment products
that span across platforms from location-based and video arcade games, to video
game consoles and computer platforms, compatible computers, and interactive TV
applications for entertainment and gaming markets.
NOTE: All product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their
respective owners. CONTACT: Tracy Egan, Public Relations Manager of Time
Warner Interactive Consumer Games Division, 408-232-3213
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| menu ("Please enter 1 or 2:"), enter "2" to log in as a visitor. At |
| the next menu, enter "2" again to explore the system. You will then |
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8-Bit Computers Support Area
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Michael Current
This month's CAIN Newsletter brings you FIVE news announcements from various
8-bit Atari vendors and developers.
#1: Atari 8-Bit Support From Richard Gore (developer/vendor)
#2: A Fine Tooned Engineering Update (developer)
#3: New Atari 8-bit software from Computer Games Plus (vendor)
#4: F.R.E.E., the new graphic adventure from Bertrand Le Roy (developer)
#5: Another Fine Tooned Engineering Update (developer)
Enjoy!
8-Bit News #1
----------
Date: 30 Mar 1995 07:58:05 -0600
ATARI 8-BIT SUPPORT FROM RICHARD GORE
-------------------------------------
My list of software for sale has now got quite long, so to save space
and bandwidth I will just give a list of what I have got along with
their prices, then if you need any further information you can simply
e-mail me at chmrig@leeds.ac.uk and I will supply the information.
My range of commercial software:-
JAWBREAKER #4 ($9) disk, tape, Rambit tape 16k
MOUSEKATTACK #4 ($9) disk, tape, Rambit tape 48k
ARENA #5 ($11) disk, 64k XL/XE
BUBBLE ZONE #5 ($11) disk, 64k XL/XE
SUPER PRINT-LAB XE #6.95 ($16) disk, 128k XE
GTRACKER #6.50 ($15) disk, 64k XL/XE
BLACK LAMP * #4.95 ($11) disk, 64k XL/XE
TUBE BADDIES * #4.95 ($11) disk, 64k XL/XE
* available from 15th April 1995, advance orders are being taken.
Special offer (1); buy both Jawbreaker & Mousekattack in one pack for
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ only #6.95 ($15).
Special offer (2); buy both Tube Baddies & Black Lamp on one disk for
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ only #9.50 ($20).
Ex-stock, shrink wrapped commercial software. Limited stocks. You are
advised to check stock levels before ordering:-
Disks: SUMMERGAMES #5.25 ($11)
DROPZONE #5.25 ($11)
SOLAR STAR #5.25 ($11) also known as Sun Star
CYBORG WARRIOR #5.00 ($10)
HALLEY PATROL #2.50 ($6)
ROMS: GATO #6.50 ($14)
DESERT FALCON #6.50 ($14)
HARDWARE: YORKY 256k plug in memory upgrade for 800XL. Plugs into PBI
-------- port, no soldering is required. Supplied ready for use with
all RAM chips, manual and a disk of support software.
Last few units, priced at #50 ($90) plus p&p.
Prices in UK pounds (#) include p&p to UK, overseas add #2 for p&p,
payable in pounds sterling or UK cheques, IMO, Postal Orders.
Prices in US dollars ($) include shipping to USA, but payment must be
in US$ cash, sorry no cheques (checks).
For further information or to order contact Richard Gore at
79 SPROTBROUGH ROAD, SPROTBROUGH, DONCASTER, DN5 8BW, ENGLAND
Tel. no. (01302) 784642
E-mail: chmrig@leeds.ac.uk
Coming soon GTracker XL utilities, Golf Tour '95 and more.......
8-Bit News #2
----------
Date: Sun, 9 Apr 95 07:17:19 -0500
From: F Tooned <ftooned@delphi.com>
Subject: Sweet 16
Hi All,
Just made it back from Canada... A well needed vacation I might
add!! Sometimes it's better to just get out in the field and talk to
people directly about what features a product should or shouldn't have.
As everyone well knows, The Sweet 16, MIO II, and MARS 8 have encountered
design problems, changes, delays, etc... I only hope that everyone can
understand that even though they might be "separate" products, they all
need to operate together, and not duplicate features (if possible).
I didn't expect the MARS 8 to be finished in the past few weeks,
and that was accomplished by changing the SIMM on board to address '816
memory as opposed to banked-memory. There will be a jumper on-board to
select whether the SIMM is active or not. The MARS 8 will also work with
internal memory upgrades such as Rambo, Newell, or Wizztronics.
With the '816 memory going inside the computer now, I have opted
to not include a socket on the MIO II. This way owners of Black Boxes
and original MIO's will be able to use the memory without have to but an
MIO II. For those of you that don't want a MARS 8 fear not, as Atari
Classics will be featuring an upcoming article on how to add '816 memory
to the PBI.
On another note, it has become obvious that the need for a high
speed serial port is high for the Atari 8-Bits. I was toying with the
idea of incorporating one into the MIO II, but that tends to conflict
with the original goal of providing a "low-cost" IDE interface. Not to
mention that people shouldn't have to purchase an MIO II to have a high
speed serial port. Well, let's just say that the MIO II won't have a serial
port, but... I will be making such a device available very soon. No details
are available at present, but it will be soon, and it will be extremely
cool...
Catalogs are being prepared, and will be shipping as soon as the
MIO II's and MARS 8 goes into production. It will be very difficult to
reach anyone here by voice for a while, but I always read E-Mail, and
will be active here and on the FTe area on Genie.
Mike
8-Bit News #3
----------
Date: Fri, 14 Apr 1995 21:18:01 GMT
From: aturco@netcom.com (Art Turco)
Subject: GAMES FOR SALE - NEW
New Atari 8 bit software
COMPUTER GAMES PLUS
1839 E. Chapman Ave.
Orange CA. 92667
phone (714) 639-8189
fax (714) 538-1707
email aturco@netcom.com
Who are we? We have been Atari dealers since 1980. We started with
Atari 8 bit. Our first ads were in Antic and Analog magazines, and in the
beginning we were solely a mail order company. We now have a retail store too.
The merchandise listed here is all NEW unopened inventory that
has been in our stock since release. These titles have had various
price reductions through the years, and we have again reduced them
for this list. The prices reflect quantity on hand. The more expensive
titles are probably our last copies.
We hope you find something of interest.
$15 -disk- Anti Sub Patrol (Rocklin)
5 -cart- Basic Computing Language (cart only) (Atari)
30 -cart- Basic XE (OSS)
20 -disk- Battle Of Antietam (SSI)
5 -disk- Blade Of Blackpool (Sirus)
3 -cass- Blue Max (Synapse)
5 -disk- Boulder Dash (First Star)
5 -disk- Bruce Lee (Datasoft)
15 -disk- Checkers (Odesta)
15 -disk- Cosmic Balance II (SSI)
15 -disk- Crossfire (On-Line)
20 -cart- Demon Attack (Imagic)
10 -cart- Donkey Kong (Atari)
10 -disk- Drelbs (Synapse)
5 -disk- Dropzone (Microdata)
2 -cass- Eastern Front (Atari APX)
18 -disk- Eastern Front (Atari APX)
3 -cart- ET Phone Home (Atari)
5 -disk- Fort Apocalypse (Synapse)
10 -cart- Gateway To Apshai (Epyx)
10 -disk- Gunslinger (Datasoft)
20 -disk- Gettysburg (SSI)
5 -disk- Hard Hat Mack (EA)
2 -disk- Instedit (Atari APX)
5 -disk- Invasion Orion (Epyx)
5 -cart- Miner 2049er (no box) (FREE with any $15 total purchase) (Big 5)
10 -cart- Miner 2049er (with box) (Big 5)
25 -disk- Mirax Force (fabulous high speed British game) (Tynesoft)
5 -cart- Missile Command (Atari)
15 -disk- Movie Maker (EA)
10 -disk- Murder On The Zinderneuf (EA)
5 -cart- Oil's Well (Sierra On Line) {great game}
3 -disk- One On One (EA)
10 -disk- Panzer Grenadier (SSI)
5 -disk- Pacific Coast Highway (Datasoft)
10 -disk- Pinball Construction Set (EA)
5 -disk- Preppie (Adv. Int) {like Frogger}
5 -cass- Principles Of Accounting (Atari)
25 -disk- Party Quiz (Suncom) {inc 4 controllers-great party game}
10 -disk- Racing Destruction Set (EA)
1 -cass- Rescue At Rigal (Epyx)
15 -disk- Rebel Charge At Chickamauga (SSI)
10 -disk- Return Of Heracles (FREE with any $40 total purchase) (Quality)
3 -disk- Sands Of Egypt (Datasoft)
25 -disk- Scott Adams - all 12 text adventures plus hint book
10 -book- Scott Adams - hint book for 12 adventures
15 -disk- Scott Adams - Saga 2 Pirate Adventure (graphic version)
10 -disk- Scott Adams - Saga 3 Mission Impossible (graphic version)
10 -disk- Scott Adams - Saga 4 Voodoo Castle (Graphic version)
10 -disk- Scott Adams - Saga 6 Strange Odyssey (Graphic version)
10 -disk- Sea Dragon (Adventure International)
10 -cart- Shamus (Synapse)
15 -disk- Shiloh (SSI)
5 -disk- Snooper Troops - Case 1 (Spinnaker)
1 -cart- Super Breakout (Atari)
10 -cart- Submarine Commander (Thorne EMI)
2 -disk- Timewise (Atari)
1 -cass- Trivial Pursuit (Domark)
3 -disk- Ulysses & Golden Fleece (On-Line) {early Sierra}
3 -docs- Universe Products Guide (Omnitrend)
1 -cass- Upper Reaches Of Apshai (add-on for Temple Of Apshai) (Epyx)
3 -disk- Upper Reaches Of Apshai (add-on fro Temple Of Apshai) (Epyx)
10 -disk- Video Vegas (Baudville)
10 -disk- Wargame Construction Set (SSI)
10 -disk- Warship (SSI)
10 -disk- Wizard & Princess (On-Line) {adv. #2 by Ken & Roberta Williams}
10 -disk- Worms (EA)
5 -disk- Zaxxon (Datasoft)
10 -disk- Zeppelin (Synapse)
10 -book- Technical Reference Notes (400/800) {massive, over 1" thick}
25 -hard- Atari 1027 LQ Printer {never opened, but sold as is}
2 -misc- vinyl cover for 1010 recorder
2 -misc- vinyl cover for 600XL
power supplies
3 - CO16353 9v dc
3 - CO10472 9v dc
3 - 901017 20v ac
3 - CO17539 9.5v ac
Atari 5200 games
5 - Real Sports Football
10 - Countermeasure
payment: you can pay by check or charge card (Visa or Mastercard). If you
are going to send a check please send email first and we will confirm that
the titles you want are still in stock. We will then hold them for one week
for your check to arrive. Please expect a two week delay for check clearance
before your order is shipped.
If you prefer to pay by charge card you can call your order in or send the
charge card info by email. If you are going to use email we need the full
card number and the expiration date. And, of course, give us your shipping
address and phone number.
There is a single shipping charge of $5 on all orders within the United
States. If you are outside the USA we will quote you actual shipping once
we can confirm your order. We can ship anywhere.
COMPUTER GAMES PLUS
1839 E. Chapman Ave
Orange CA 92667
phone (714) 639-8189
fax (714) 538-1707
email aturco@netcom.com
For anyone in Southern California who would like to visit our shop, the hours
of operation are noon-6pm Tue-Fri and noon-3pm on Sat.
8-Bit News #4
----------
Date: 14 Apr 1995 10:56:19 +0200
From: bleroy@ccr.jussieu.fr (Bertrand LE ROY)
Subject: The DEMO version of F.R.E.E. is available! NEW!NEW!NEW!
F.R.E.E. is a new graphic adventure game.
It features a hundred full-screen graphics 15 beautiful drawings, five disk
sides filled with text and images, a menu and windows based user interface
(95% of the game can be played with the joystick), automatic mapping, etc.
And you can have the first two disk sides of F.R.E.E. for free (ha!ha! Very
funny) Just send a mail to bleroy@moka.ccr.jussieu.fr or fabien@ssnet.com Or
look for it at your favorite FTP site. I will try to spread it as fast as I
can, but your help is welcome. As the Sirius Cybernetics Corporation
commercials say: SHARE AND ENJOY!
The complete commercial version is also available for $20 or 100 french francs
or the equivalent in your currency (but of course we prefer dollars or
francs) from:
Fabien Royer
3211 Society Drive
CLAYMONT, DE 19703
USA
or:
Bertrand Le Roy
72 rue des Landes
78400 CHATOU
FRANCE
If you want to use F.R.E.E. with PC X-former, please say so because for the
moment you can only use the first disk: you can't swap disks 'on the fly' and
F.R.E.E. for the moment uses only the first drive.
But I am working on a special version that accepts to use any present drive,
and this will enable you to use F.R.E.E. with PC X-former 2.5.
For this I need one or two weeks (I have other activities, sorry). Thanks for
your patience.
Of course, the 'normal' version is AVAILABLE.
Should I put the binary uuencoded disk images of the DEMO in this newsgroup?
Bye. I hope that you will enjoy F.R.E.E.
8-Bit News #5
----------
Date: Sat, 15 Apr 95 09:06:22 -0500
From: F Tooned <ftooned@delphi.com>
Subject: What happened to the phones at FTe??
Hi All,
My lease has expired, and I'm going to be shuffling things around
here at FTe for the next few weeks. (I had completely forgot about the
lease running out...) The phones will be off, until things get resituated.
I'll be sending out the catalogs once the "new" info is available.
Not to worry! I'll be checking in here at least once a week, to
keep tabs on the situation.
Man, I've gotten hammered here with E-Mail over the past two
weeks! Thanks for taken the time to request product info... I was beginning
to think that there was only a few people still out there. I mean, I've
gotten more mail in the past two weeks than I have in the past 4-5 months.
I may not be able to make an appearance at the Sacramento Show,
due to the very recent changes...
Once again, Thanks for the support! It's gonna be a really cool
summer for the Atari 8-Bits!!
Mike
8-Bit Commentary
----------------
Is it true? Will May/June 1995 (Volume ** 15 ** Number 3) be the last issue
of Current Notes, the longest running Atari-oriented magazine ever? Please
say it isn't so...
Until next month,
-Michael Current
16/32-bit Support Area
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Mark S. Smith
Towers II - Plight of the Stargazer
~~~~~ ~~ ~~~~~~ ~~ ~~~ ~~~~~~~~~
Review by Mark Stephen Smith (msh@dl.ac.uk)
~~~~~ ~~ ~~~~ ~~~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~
At last the long awaited sequel to Towers has finally arrived for the Falcon.
Towers II continues the role playing formula ut unlike its previous
incarnation, movement is now completely free thanks to the use of a 3D texture
mapped environment. Control has also be changed to make it easier to do things
and all game controls are available simply by using the mouse with some
keyboard shortcuts included.
Introduction
~~~~~~~~~~~
Shipwrecked on Lamini you eagerly await the completion of repairs to your
craft. No news seems to spread on this island and no contact seems to be made
with anyone outside the island bringing the question of how they manage such
wealth.
After being invited to the sheriffs office you discover the Lord Daggan a man
who once held one of the seats on the high council has resigned his position
for things he deemed more important and retired to his tower. Strange things
then seemed to happen in the tower and in the village, when questioned Daggan
went mad and burnt down several villages houses, thankfully harming no one.
At this point it was decided he was mad and must be stopped, none who were sent
to stop him ever returned. Thieves have been spotted leaving the tower with
large bags of money and one who was caught and questioned revealed many strange
and seemingly impossible tales, that due to what had occurred had to be
believed.
You have been asked to help, by sending in one man you would have the advantage
as that would never be expected. You are given some pictures and descriptions
of some of the things you may encounter. The reward in return for this help is
anything you find in the tower you are free to keep, and when you return a
small keep will be built for you, and you'll always have a home on Lamini.
It is now up to you if you think you can help.
Getting Started
~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~
The file is available in zipped format and requires one High Density disk.
Once decompressed you have to decide were to install the program to.
Installation is simple and only requires the partition and directory to be
chosen. The game requires a hard disk with around 4 Megabytes free, and
requires 2 Megabytes of memory.
Once installed the game is loaded and after the initial credits you are given
three options to choose from. The choices are:
Introduction - Several pictures accompanied by text reveal the story so far.
Incarnation - Start a new game. (See below for a full description).
Continuation - Can only be selected once a save has been made, choosing one of
the previously saved games will allow you to load that save.
Selections are all made by using the mouse.
Starting a new game (incarnating a character)
~~~~~~~ ~ ~~~ ~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~ ~ ~~~~~~~~~
When selected you will be greeted with a picture of the four characters
available for use in the mission ahead, each have their own strengths and
weaknesses, although Gerand is recommended for the beginner. He's weak
magically but his high hit points and strength in battle means you are likely
to survive longer. Merton is the hardest character to start with, a master of
magic but only able to inflict small amounts of damage in battle and weak when
attacked. In between are Tasler and Andros who have a mix of both fighting and
magic skills. I chose Tasler for my adventure, giving me the best of both
Worlds.
Selecting a character you will get a selection of random statistics generated
for that character. The statistics are in the following areas:
STR - Strength
INT - Intelligence
WIS - Wisdom
DEX - Dexterity
CON - Constitution
Values range from 9 to 20 and if you are not happy with your statistics
choosing the character again will generate new numbers for you. Once you have
chosen your character and you are happy with their statistics you are ready to
begin the game and select accept for that character.
The Game
~~ ~~~~
Starting the game you will be greeted with a main play screen, all the action
in the game takes place on this screen. There is a picture of your character
which is used for examining or consuming objects. The face can be flipped
over to view a bodily inventory on which you can place objects such as
clothing, weapons and other special objects on the appropriate part of the
body.
Underneath this is a holding area which holds four items although this can
be extended by placing objects such as bags into one of the boxes. At the top
of the screen are two bars, the green one is your health, and the blue is your
mana. When hit your health bar decreases and turns grey, when the whole bar is
grey you have been killed. When using spells your mana decreases and the bar
turns grey, mana will return with time and can be quickly re-generated by
sleeping. Also at the top next to these you will find a compass which is
invaluable for finding you way around.
Below the compass is the spell canvas on which spells are placed when they have
been learned. It is empty to start with. Next to this is the main screen
in which all the action takes place, and below that is the message canvas were
all the messages are displayed during the game.
In the bottom right hand corner you will find the following 5 icons:
Fist - Gives you your statistics
ZZZ - Sleep. Restores your characters health and mana.
Map - Automatically generated map of areas explored.
Disk - Menu containing load, save, resume the game, restart, and quit
options.
Note - Game volume adjustment.
Moving the hand over the screen you can choose these icons, move objects around
and select spells. Pressing the right mouse button takes you into the main
play area were you control your characters movement. When in movement mode
pressing "F" changes to full screen mode where the whole screen is taken up
with your 3D environment. The right mouse button is used to toggle between the
movement and manipulation screens, and full screen can be toggled on/off with
"F".
Movement is easy, pushing the mouse up in movement mode will make the character
move forwards, pushing is back makes you move backwards, and pushing it to the
side rotates your character respectively to the left or right. It is not
possible to sidestep but you can walk and rotate at the same time. The control
is sensitive to how strong you want the action to be, so if you nudge the
cursor up from the centre of the screen you will slowly walk forwards, if
however you push the cursor up as far as you can you will run forwards, this
applies to all movements.
At first this can be a little tricky to control as you in the panic of
retreating from a fight often find yourself over turning, bumping into objects,
and having some difficulty straightening up. However with a little practice
control becomes easier (although not perfect).
To strike you press the left mouse button, if you have a shield holding the
mouse button after striking will hold up your shield. To cast a spell firstly
you select the spell from the spell canvas and then you hold down both the
left and right mouse buttons to cast the spell. Casting spells can be a little
hit and miss and will depend upon your characters statistics, luckily failed
spells don't decrease your mana. Statistics will also decide the strength
and speed of hits, so it is a good idea to try and start out with good
statistics.
Moving around you will find various objects, to collect them you need to move
within range of the object and then switch to the manipulation screen to place
the object using the hand in your inventory. If it is food dropping the
object on your characters face will eat it if he is hungry, or if it is a
scroll doing the same will read the scroll. All magic scrolls are added to
your canvas when read. It is also possible to just place the object back down
on the ground or if you point the cursor higher up to throw the object. This
can be done to attack creatures for instance and a nice touch is the way the
ceramic jugs break when they collide with objects.
Whilst on the manipulation screen clicking the mouse over a character in the
main play area within range will speak to that character. This is important
later on but is not useful against anything that is hostile and attacks you.
It is important not to click on a character to talk to them when in the
movement screen as this will hit them and they will attack you and not talk to
you.
To start out with the game is fairly hard and you will find yourself dying
fairly quickly depending on what character you have chosen. Therefore it is
essential to get a good start and to kill a guard and get a weapon. Once your
in possesion of a weapon your hits are much stronger therefore reducing battle
time. It is generally a good idea to save the game if you accomplish anything,
after a hard battle, or before you do something you are unsure of.
>From personal experience I have found the value of a save, having to redo
entire sections because I made a mistake, forgot to do something, or used an
object up accidently that I needed.
Exploration is a vital key to game success, it is important to be thorough and
to watch out for secret walls carefully, this is where the automatic mapping
system comes in invaluable, showing up the areas you have yet to explore when
you are having difficulty finding the way ahead. Also be careful to speak with
or kill any creatures you meet as they often hold vital information or objects
to your quest.
On route you will find many objects, these range from keys to doors and food,
to gems, magical items and weapons. A fun weapon to use at the start of the
game is the bow. To use this you will also need some arrows but the advantage
of this weapon is that you can attack from a distance therefore keeping
yourself out of harms way. Other weapons include everything from your fist and
a mop, to swords, maces and magic wands.
Also scattered around the tower are various furnishings and other things such
as chains, pressure pads and pits. These all play a part in the many assorted
puzzles throughout the game. To start off with the demo section of the game
contains little in the way of puzzles, mainly consisting of exploring and
fighting, with some small secrets and puzzles thrown in. It is not until you
pass the demo section and enter the full game that it really comes to life.
As you progress the game opens up revealing more interesting mazes and
creatures along with many more puzzles and objects. You find yourself with
tasks to complete to move on to the next section, with each section bringing
new surprises and elements. At the moment I've got a handful of spells and I
look forward to completing my current section as I know the next section is
likely to contain a valuable and interesting object/spell and a new creature.
The game really does have that one more go appeal and it is very easy to lose
a few hours without realising, something I haven't really done since Dungeon
Master on my ST. Even when you are stuck or have to redo a section due to an
error it is hard to get fed up with the game as you often find yourself doing
the same area a second time round much quicker and efficiently. With each new
problem comes the prospect of an interesting solution and whilst not always
obvious the rewards for solving a puzzle or area can be great feeling of
satisfaction.
The game becomes much more structured later on with the many puzzles making the
game feel much more involved than the early demo levels which contain probably
too much wandering and not enough interaction. I can only skim the surface of
the game in this review as I am still making my way through the game and
enjoying the game more and more the further I get. I don't know how far I've
actually managed to get towards facing Daggan but have the feeling the way
ahead is only going to get better and better.
Graphics and Sound
~~~~~~~ ~~~ ~~~~~
The graphics in Towers II are first class, from the opening picture and the
introduction, all the way through the game. All the graphics are in True
Colour and the shading on walls into the distance shows this off. For the most
part most of the wall textures remain the same and can seem a little boring
although they do change later in the game. All the characters you face are
attractively drawn and fully 3D (can be approached from all angles and been
seen properly from that angle). The spells, objects and furniture all look
excellent and my only critism is that they can get a little blocky close up
(especially in full screen mode). This is obviously a memory trade off as more
detail closer up would require bigger objects and more memory, which in turn
would reduce the number of objects available.
The framerate for the Falcon is first class with the game running at around
12 frames per second and a little less in full screen mode (although it isn't
very noticeable). Outside of some demos this is the best I've seen texture
mapping done on the Falcon and those demos were only doing texture mapping and
nothing else.
On the sound front there is an atmospheric sound track throughout which is
fairly pleasing. Whilst you won't find yourself listening to it purposely you
also won't want to turn it off as you tend not to notice it when invloved in
play and it seems to blend into the back of your mind without being obtrusive
to the game. The volume can be altered but you'll probably want to keep it on.
Throughout the game are a large range of sound effects all sampled and clear.
These range from the cutting sound of a knife and a cry of pain, to the subtle
click of a button on the floor. Sound effects accompany most actions such as
casting spells, fighting and opening doors and all play over the background
soundtrack. A good point about the in game sound is that it is in true stereo
which helps you to identify were sounds came from. You can hear the footsteps
of an approaching guard in the distance for instance and detect he's coming at
you from your left.
Gameplay
~~~~~~~
The gameplay is truely excellent and draws you deeper and deeper into the game.
The further you progress the more you appreciate the game as it's complexity
and storyline unfold. Each new discovery adds a boost to the appeal and new
discoveries are never very far away. The range of items, puzzles and creatures
are both diverse and interesting, with each step taking you closer to your goal
unfolding new and interesting things.
The demo section of the game whilst excellent really doesn't do justice to the
depth and interest you'll encounter later in the game. Control is very easy
and lends itself painlessly to this game, the only critism of the control
method I have is movement adjustments can sometimes be a little oversensitive
but for the most part are excellent.
Sound and graphics create an excellent set of surroundings and wonderful
atmosphere making it the closest you'll ever get on an Atari computer to date
to actually being there. At first I had doubts about it being a free movement
texture mapped game as I didn't think the Falcon was up to the job, but this
proved me wrong and is a testiment to the programming skill of those invloved.
Likewise the game has been brilliantly devised and the sound and graphics
superperbly implemented to blend this into what I'd consider the best Falcon
game to date.
I really can't recommend this game strongly enough, and whilst this type of
game may not be to everyones liking I recommend you get it anyway just to prove
what the Falcon is capable of, and to surprise yourself as to how playable the
game becomes.
Overall
~~~~~~
An excellent game which is hopefully the first of many more to come. I cannot
emphasise enough how much I think you should register this game to receive the
manual to play the full game. The game is easily commercial quality and with
such excellent gameplay and that one more go appeal it will be one you can't
put down for months. The game really picks up after the demo section and
should be an essential purchase for everyone who's tried the demo. If you
haven't already tried it I recommend you do. What are you waiting for go out
and get it!
Good Points:
- Excellent gameplay, one more go appeal.
- Brilliant use of the Falcons graphics and sound capabilities.
- Long term appeal.
Bad Points:
- Slightly over sensitive control for beginners.
- Fairly hard for beginners but just right for the average game player.
- Not enough clues to guide you sometimes.
Overall Score
~~~~~~ ~~~~~
Graphics = 90%
Sound = 88%
Gameplay = 95%
Overall = 94%
The manual retails for $24 and is available from us (JV Enterprises) or from:
STeve's Sales (916) 661-3328
B&C Computers (408) 986-9960
Goodman International (0782) 335650
Merlin PD (0453) 882793
JV Enterprises
PO Box 97455
Las Vegas, Nev. 89193
1-800-252-0194
(702) 734-9689
Atari ST FTP Sites Update
-------------------------
Last edit: 18-April-1995
Additions/changes since last list: 8
- ftp.informatik.rwth-aachen.de (Directory change)
- ftp.uni-bremen.de (Replaces wowbagger.pc-labor.uni-bremen.de)
- nibelung.worms.fh-rpl.de (Site removed no Atari section)
- ftp.rz.tu-bs.de (Replaces rzserv3.rz.tu-bs.de)
- ftp.coli.uni-sb.de (Directory change)
- ftp.uni-giessen.de (New site)
- ftp.rz.tu-harburg.de (New site)
- ftp.fu-berlin.de (Replaces pascal.math.fu-berlin.de)
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
()==========================()
// ____/__ __/ ____/ //\\
// / / / _/ // ()
// __/ / ____/ // //
// / / / // //
// _/ _/ _/ Archives // //
// // //
()==========================() //
\\ \\//
()=========================()
(log in with "anonymous" as name, and full name/e-mail address as password)
FTP instructions after this list!
A T A R I S T F T P S I T E S :
-------------------------------------
USA:
---
atari.archive.umich.edu...(141.211.120.11)..../atari/
email server.............atari@atari.archive.umich.edu
cs-ftp.bu.edu.............(128.197.13.20)...../PC/ATARI-ST/
world.std.com.............(192.74.137.5)....../src/atarist/ and /pub/atari/
ftp.std.com...............(192.74.137.7)....../pub/atari/
f.ms.uky.edu..............(128.163.128.6)...../pub2/atari/
CZECH REPUBLIC:
---------------
ftp.dcs.muni.cz.....(147.251.48.3)........../pub/archives/atari/
SLOVAKIA:
---------
ftp.upjs.sk.........(158.197.16.30)........./pub/systems/atari
NETHERLANDS:
------------
nikhefh.nikhef.nl...(192.16.199.1)........../pub/atari/
star.cs.vu.nl.......(192.31.231.42)........./pub/atari/
ftp.twi.tudelft.nl..(130.161.156.11)......../pub/atari/
ftp.icce.rug.nl.....(129.125.14.129)......../pub/erikjan/Atari
FINLAND:
--------
ftp.funet.fi........(128.214.248.6)........ /pub/atari/
FRANCE:
-------
ftp.cnam.fr.........(163.173.128.15)......../pub/Atari/
GERMANY:
--------
alice.fmi.uni-passau.de...(132.231.1.180)...../pub/atari/
ftp.uni-kl.de.............(131.246.9.95)....../pub/atari/ or /pub3/atari/
ftp.uni-erlangen.de.......(131.188.1.43)....../pub/atari/
ftp.tu-clausthal.de.......(139.174.2.10)....../pub/atari/
email server.............mail-server@ftp.tu-clausthal.de
ftp.uni-muenster.de.......(128.176.121.55)..../pub/atari/
ftp.uni-paderborn.de......(131.234.10.42)...../atari/
ftp.cs.tu-berlin.de.......(130.149.144.4)...../pub/atari/
email server.............mail-server@cs.tu-berlin.de
ftp.fu-berlin.de..........(160.45.10.6)......./pub/atari/
ftp.uni-regensburg.de.....(132.199.1.202)...../freeware/software/atari/
vax.ph-cip.uni-koeln.de...(134.95.64.1)...... /pub/atari/
ftp.germany.eu.net........(192.76.144.75)...../pub/comp/atari-st/
email server.............archive-server@Germany.eu.net
ftp.uni-stuttgart.de......(129.69.8.13)......./pub/systems/atari/
email server.............ftpmail@ftp.uni-stuttgart.de
ftp.informatik.tu-muenchen.de...(131.159.0.198)..../pub/comp/platforms/atari/
ftp.informatik.rwth-aachen.de......(137.226.225.3)....../pub/comp/Atari/atari/
ftp.uni-bremen.de.........(134.102.228.2)...../pub/atari_st/
ma2s2.mathematik.uni-karlsruhe.de..(129.13.115.2)........./pub/atari/
reseq.regent.e-technik.tu-muenchen.de..(129.187.230.225)../pub/comp/
platforms/atari/
email server...........ftp-mailer@ftp.informatik.tu-muenchen.de
ftp.hrz.uni-kassel.de....(141.51.12.12)......./pub/machines/atari/
ftp.ira.uka.de...........(129.13.10.90)......./pub/systems/atari/
ftp.thp.uni-koeln.de.....(134.95.64.1)......../pub/atari/
ftp.rz.tu-bs.de..........(134.169.9.44)......./pub/atari/
ftp.coli.uni-sb.de.......(134.96.68.1)......../pub/comp/atari
ftp.inf.tu-dresden.de....(141.76.1.11) ......./pub/atari/
ftp.uni-giessen.de.......(134.176.2.177)....../pub/atari
ftp.rz.tu-harburg.de.....(134.28.240.5)......./ATARI/
UK:
---
micros.hensa.ac.uk (148.88.8.84) ............/micros/atari/
email server......archive-server@micros.hensa.ac.uk
disabuse.demon.co.uk.(158.152.1.44)........../pub/atari/
phlem.ph.kcl.ac.uk...(137.73.4.24).........../pub/atari/
SWITZERLAND:
-----------
ftp.isbiel.ch.....(147.87.2.27)............./atari/
ezinfo.ethz.ch....(129.132.2.72)............/st/
ftp.switch.ch.....(130.59.1.40)............./mirror/atari/
ftp.switch.ch.....(130.59.1.40)............./software/atari/
AUSTRALIA:
---------
closer.brisnet.org.au.....(203.4.149.97).../pub/archive1/ATARIST
FTP "mirror"-sites:('back-door' to other FTP sites when they are too busy
------------------- or there are other problems accessing them!)
mirror.archive.umich.edu...(128.252.135.4) or (128.193.2.13) or
(128.193.4.2) or (128.255.21.233) or (128.255.40.200)
barnone.citi.umich.edu.....(141.211.128.22)...
/afs/umich.edu/group/itd/archive/atari
- (umich.edu, USA)
archive.wustl.edu (128.252.135.4)....../mirrors/archive.umich.edu/atari/
- (umich.edu, USA)
ftp.switch.ch..............(130.59.10.40) or (130.59.1.40)...
/mirror/atari/ - (umich.edu, USA)
src.doc.ic.ac.uk (146.169.2.1)........./packages/atari/umich/
PS!!! 155.198.1.40 is more reliable!!! - (umich.edu, USA)
src.doc.ic.ac.uk (146.169.2.1)........./packages/atari/uni-paderborn
PS!!! 155.198.1.40 is more reliable!!! - (uni-paderborn, GERMANY)
- to find the numbered address of the FTP site, use the following command,
while inside FTP: ftp> !host FTP-address [CR] i.e. "!host cs.bu.edu"
DOWNLOADING FILES, Instructions: [CR]= carriage return/return/enter
--------------------------------
1) Go to the directory where you want the files to be downloaded.
2) ftp [CR].
3) open {ftp address} [CR]. i.e. "open ftp.uni-kl.de" [CR]
OR use the (IP) number address, NOT both!
4) "Name": anonymous [CR].
5) "Password": {full e-mail name/address}. i.e. "hallvart@ifi.uio.no" [CR]
6) use "cd" to access the appropriate directory. i.e. "cd pub/atari" [CR]
7) bin [CR]. (set `binary` transfer mode)
8) hash [CR]. (shows 'hash` signs (#####...) when transferring data)
9) get {filename} [CR]. i.e. "get rename.lzh" [CR]
10) mget [CR] to get several files at once.
i.e. "mget syst12.Z fixdsk.arc icon4.zip" [CR]
11) prompt [CR] to download several files with "mget" without having
to reply "y" for each file when asked "get {filename}?".
12) quit [CR] to end FTP session and go back to UNIX
13) close [CR] to close the FTP site you're currently on, so that another
site can be opened without having to set bin, hash, prompt etc. again.
- bin, hash, prompt will be turned on/off each time it's typed!
- Be sure to check if all modes are set correctly (especially 'bin')!
- stat [CR] or; status [CR] will show all modes and where you are connected.
- Most files are compressed. Use an appropriate program on your computer on
which the programs were intended, or in UNIX .......
- uncompress [CR] if ".Z" file
- uudecode [CR] if ".uu" file
- very often, files are still compressed in another format after
uncompressing .Z and/or .uu.
Use the appropriate decompression program for this.
- ls [CR] lists files (shows all files in current directory).
- pwd [CR] shows path. i.e. /pub/mirrors/umich/atari/utilities
- If down-loading several files with similar names use "*".
i.e. "mget *sys" [CR] (will get f.x.; datasys, lm23isys,
xlinksys etc...) (ALL files with "sys" in their names)
i.e. "mget *.lzh" [CR] (will get f.x.; stest.lzh, dw3.lzh,
xlba.lzh etc...) (ALL files ending with ".lzh")
i.e. "mget * [CR] (will get ALL files in the current directory!)
- If your computer doesn't have a disk drive you can "remote login" to
another computer (use an other terminal's disk drive);
- rlogin {computer name} [CR]. i.e. "rlogin hnoss" [CR].
- You can now access the disk just as if it was on your own machine.
- eject [CR] to eject disk on disk-drives without "eject button"
TRANSFERRING FILES TO MS-DOS DISKS
----------------------------------
Part of this is dependent on you having the GNU msdos-utilities available
at your site. If you don't, ask your local system operator how to transfer
files to/from MSDOS disks.
- mcopy {filename} a: [CR] i.e. mcopy microtcx.zoo a:
i.e. mcopy microtcx.zoo icone.lzh shblr.arc a:
- mdir [CR] to show disk-directory/space left.
- fdformat -d [CR] to format an MS-DOS 3.5" 1.44mMb disk ("-d" for MS-DOS)
- fdformat -l -d [CR] to format an MS-DOS 720Kb 3.5" disk ("-l" for
"low density")
- mcopy a:{filename on disk} {copy filename} [CR] to get a file from
disk to computer. i.e. "mcopy a:dlist.txt test1.zip"
- mdel a:{filename} [CR] to delete a file on disk. i.e. "mdel a:dslist.txt".
- eject [CR] to eject disks from disk-drives that don't have "eject buttons".
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Original idea and list compilation by Hallvard Tangeraas, Oslo, Norway
Now handled by Mark Stephen Smith (msh@dl.ac.uk) with permission from Hallvard
This list may by all means be reproduced and distributed freely, but only
with all data intact.
Copyright (C) 18-April-1995
Portfolio Support Area
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Fred Horvat
News from the Czech Republic
----------------------------
Here's some very interesting and encouraging information about
our beloved Portfolio that I received from Jan Sedlak a little while
back. Who says that noone is supporting our favorite palmtop computer!
------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Jan.Sedlak@pedf.cuni.cz (Jan Sedlak)
Subject: Portfolio lives
To: ap748@cleveland.freenet.edu
>From Portfolio Users and Club in the Czech Republic:
In February we have finished a graphic version of Portfolio BIOS and DOS.
This means that Portfolio can display any character using direct
access to the LCD driver. This means that Portfolio can be used
in countries with extended alphabet (eg. in Czech Republic). We used
similar routines to those used in your PGC and PGX format. The resident
program runs even under ROM aplications.
We hope to implemet other graphic features:
* blinking
* inversion
Portfolio thus will become more PC alike.
Another aim of ours is to make Portfolio display 60*8 characters using
8*4 pixel fonts. This will mean that user will see more of the whole
screen.
There is also a lot of hardware we have designed and we produce:
* FolioDrive - 3,5" floppy disk unit
with included parallel interface and battery pack
It was specially developed for Portfolio and enables to read and write
1.44 MB PC diskettes. No cables more needed. You can run files directly
from the diskette.
* PortWalk - tape recorder interface
Enbles to save and load files onto any tape recoder casettes. It is
very handy, and unlike 8-bit era of "tape recording", this interface
is very reliable thanks to error detecting code.
* 128 KB RAM CARD
Atari cards are very expansive - the RAM card we developed uses one
Low-Low Power chip and CR 2025 lithium battery (plus some diods).
The assumed life expectancy of the battery at least 2 years.
* 25 pin parallel interface
As there are big problems with Atari dealers in Europe, we decided
to produce 25 pin Centronics (Parallel) Interface. It is a bit
smaller than original interface and consumes twice less energy.
*********************************
FUTURE:
If there are enough Portfolio users that will be interested in our
products, we will be able to produce following:
* 3.5 inch FDD unit with parallel interface and internal
128 KB memory chip to serve as cash and B: disk.
* FAX-MODEM module to send and receive fax, modem messages every where
in the world
* 512 KB or 768 KB SRAM module to serve as a data storage medium
* Interface for PCMCIA cards
***********************************
Lynx Support Area
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Barry Cantin
Letter from Edward Castle
-------------------------
Hi All!!
If you haven't guessed I'm a lynx fanatic! I've loved Atari and all
their computers since I got an Atari ST. I went on to buy a Lynx
and have started building up my games collection. I also write
reviews for games (let me know if you want a review for any of the
games I mention at the end of my letter). I have recently
purchased a Jaguar and I am very happy with it. I love my Lynx and
don't want it to suffer the same fate as the Nintendo (total
oblivion), so I have put together this survey and letter to Atari
that I have frequently been posting on the Atari and Lynx
newsgroups. I hope this letter will show Atari that there is
support for the Lynx and to **get their butt in gear!!**. I hope
you have already filled in the survey, if you haven't please do!!
My email address is: pcastle@cherita.win-uk.net.
NOTE! This is not the finished letter! If you have replyed to me
and aren't on the list let me know and I make sure you're put on!
Thanks for your support!
-EDD- Edward Castle (NOT PAUL!!!!!!!!)
*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*
Dear Atari,
I have recently conducted a survey in the Lynx and Atari internet
newsgroups. (*alt.games.lynx* and *rec.games.video.atari.*) Here is a copy
of the survey:
________________________________________________________________
Help Support The Lynx!
Please fill in the following questionnaire and post it back to me before May
1s
the results on 15th May. I will also be sending the results to Atari. Come
on!
them that there still is plenty of support for the Lynx! I will be giving
them
address so they can ask you any questions they wish. If you do not want me to
g
you address, please say. Please Email me.
________________________________________________________________
**What is the best ever Lynx game?**
I think the best ever Lynx game is <insert name of game>.
**What score would you give that game? (As a %)**
I would give it <insert game % here>.
**What game would you most like to see on the Lynx?**
The game I would most like to see on the Lynx is <insert game name here>.
________________________________________________________________
*EXTRA QUESTION*
**What question(s) would you ask Atari given the chance (like this one)?**
The question(s) I would ask Atari are:
________________________________________________________________
**I support the Atari Lynx!!!**
<Place your name here>.
Thanks a lot, lets hope Atari takes some notice of us Lynx game hungry
gamers!
Edward Castle.
________________________________________________________________
The response I have had has been quite pleasing. Here are the results of this
survey:
**What is the best ever Lynx game?**
The best ever Lynx game, voted for by the gaming public is.......
KLAX!!
Close behind it were:
Lemmings, Battlewheels, Shanghai, STUN Runner, Rampart, Blue
Lightning, Chips Challenge, Xenophobe, Crystal Mines II, APB, Dracula the
Undead, Warbirds, California Games and Baseball Heroes.
**What score would you give that game?**
The highest score given was 100%!!!. This was for Shanghai and was given
by Barry W. Cantin.
The second highest score given was 99%!!. This was for Lemmings and was
given by James Bruce Haire and Klax and was given by Gregg Woodcock.
The third highest score given was 98%. This was for KLAX and was given
by Jason Simpson and Edward Barrett.
The second lowest score given was 80%. This was for Klax and APB and
was given by Andrew S. Wheat and was for Baseball Heroes and was given
by Francisco Machin.
The lowest score given was 70%. This was for California Games and was
given by Jordan Ficklin.
The majority of people gave 95% as the score for their favourite game.
The average Score was: 94% (although no one actually gave this score).
**What game would you most like to see on the Lynx?**
The games that most people want to see on the Lynx are:
Decent RPG games. (What happened to Guardians: Storm Over Doria? And
where is Eye of the Beholder?)
A Doom style game, both Wolfenstein and AvP came up more than once.
Also mentioned were Doom itself and Dark Forces.
Also mentioned a lot were Classic games Like Tempest, Battlezone,
Asteroids, Pong!!, and Space Invaders.
Some of the others that came up are Primal Rage, (come on, it's going to be
on the Game Boy!!), Super Breakout, Marble Madness, Othello, and Crystal
Mines III, Ikari Warriors, Xevious, Ultra Vortex, Road Rash 3, John Madden
Football.
Here is a list of some of the People who filled in the questionnaire:
Edward Barrett, ad503@detroit.freenet.org
Alyssa Forhan, forhan@mill2.millcomm.com
Andrew Chin, asc@seattleu.edu
Chris Pickett, cpicket@cello.gina.calstate.edu
David Bush, dbush@northnet.org
Gregg Woodcock, woodcock@bnr.ca
Kurt Olsen, KURTO@cc.usu.edu
Jesse Wiens, chinatom@clark.net
Laura Wiens, " " " "
Thomas Scaefer, tom@traveler.rhein.de
Carl Forhan, forhan@vnet.ibm.com
Brian Osserman, osserman@ocf.berkeley.edu
Rob J Batina, rbatina@infinet.com
Eric Lutz, iceman-e@nwu.edu
Jesse Fuchs, fuchsjm@ucsu.colorado.edu
Andy Norman, ange@hplb.hpl.hp.com
Dan Woodard, SA073@getty.onu.edu
Scott McCall, szm+@pitt.edu
Jason Simpson, waxed2@seanet.com
Andrew S. Wheat, tanatoes@netcom.com
Kathy Madison, klm@umich.edu
Steven M Henry, smhenry@vt.edu
Barry W. Cantin, cantin@maf.nasa.gov, or aa852@cleveland.freenet.edu
Frank Gemignani, FOG@ix.netcom.com
Jim Dowling, dowlingj@alf2.tcd.ie
David Poland, LORDJ@kuhub.cc.ukans.edu
Jordan Ficklin, jofickli@nmsu.edu
Francisco Machin, machfro00@dons.ac.usfca.edu
Sam Houston, Not Connected
Jonathan Clarke, Not Connected
Bloke Down Fast Forward (Brilliant Computer/Video Shop), Not Connected
Me, Edward Castle, pcastle@cherita.win-uk.net
If you wish to contact anyone to ask them questions, or just have a chat,
feel free to do so. If you wish to contact Sam Houston or Jonathan Clarke,
please let me know and I will forward any questions, or info to them.
Here are the questions asked by everyone, in most cases I have included their
name next to the question(s), so you can reply by email, or you can send all
the answers to me and I will make sure the varios people get the answers to
their questions that they asked. Questions marked with a * on either side are
ones I feel are important and I would like to have the answers sent to me as
well so I can forward them to the Lynx and Atari news group.
!"!"!"!"!"!"!"!"!"!"!"!"!"!"!"!"!"!"!"!"!"!"!"!"!"!"!"!"!"!"!"!"!"!"!"!"!"!"!"
!
Me, Edward Castle:
1. I once saw a magazine for the Lynx that had reviews, previews, and maps.
I think this mag was for retailers only as I saw it in the aforementioned
Fast Forward. What was it? Can I get some issues of it?
2. In a Telegames leaflet I saw a preview of Guardians: Storm over Doria.
When will this game be released?
*3. When will Eye of the Beholder be released?*
*4. A long time ago I read that with the release of the Jaguar you would re-
release the Lynx. What went wrong?*
5. What happened to the Lynx version of Alien Versus Predator (AvP)? Did
Rebellion scrap it?
6. Would it be possible for you to lend me copies of Lynx and Jaguar games
that I could review, and post the review on the net, then return (or buy)
the games?
*7. What are your current plans for the Lynx?*
Steven M Henry:
*1. Why don't you reduce the price of the Lynx development kits, so people
can program their own Lynx games? The Atari Club in Europe managed to
make an excellent Tetris game. What could it hurt to lower the price and let
people develop and sell games?*
Daniel Cheng:
1. Could you consider making Lynx versions of Jaguar hits (AvP, T2K, IS)?
2. Also, would you please make them multi-player (comlynxable)?
Carl Fohran:
*1. Why aren't you releasing more games games and obtaining more third
party support? The Lynx is generably accepted to be superior in terms of
hardware to the competing portable systems, but people always complain
about the lack of of new/quality games.*
2. Would you develop a Super Lynx adapter for the Jaguar, especialy one
that would have hardware to intertpolate so the picture would not seem
blocky on television.
3. Every store I talk to says the Lynx with 4 games package sells
wonderfully. Why don't you get some more of your titles (all available by
mail order) and accessories, especialy Comlynx cables, into stores?
David Poland:
*1. What are your current plans for the Lynx?*
*2. Will the current games that are finished ever go into production?*
Gregg Woodcock:
*1. When are some of Sega's licenses that you acquired going to show up on
the Lynx?*
2. Why don't you advertise on TV more?
3.Why don't you do more to court gaming magazines, particuarly for the Lynx
(like giving them early evaluation copies of software AND hardware to play
them on)?
Thomas Scaefer:
*1.Why is Atari withholding new games for the Lynx that are awaiting their
releases for months and even years?*
2. Do you consider bringing back the Lynx to the main retailers again or will
the Lynx handheld and games only be available through mail order firms in
the future?
3. Are there any plans at all at Atari concerning the futurew of the Lynx?
>From the customers point of view it looks like you are giving the Lynx too
much suopport for it to die but too little to live.
4. Why did Atari stop signing up contracts with software firms willing to
develope new carts for the Lynx?
The Bloke Down At Fast Foward (I go down there every day, but still
don't know his name):
1. I have read about you retail outsrech plan and was wondering if it only
applied in America. There is quite a market for Jags in England and I would
love to extend my Jaguar range but cannot afford it. This would be a perfect
way. If it is possible could you please send me details through Edward.
"!"!"!"!"!"!"!"!"!"!"!"!"!"!"!"!"!"!"!"!"!"!"!"!"!"!"!"!"!"!"!"!"!"!"!"!"!"!"!
I hope this letter has shown you that there is plenty of support for the Lynx
still (and this is only the people on the net, there are hundreds more that
are connected), so please don't let it die, and keep those games coming! Please
send me a reply with the current status of the Lynx and answers to the
questions, and feel free ask anyone mentioned in this letter any questions
you want.
I own a Lynx 1 and a Lynx II. I have a large selection of games which
include:
Ninja Gaiden, Shanghai, Klax, Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure, European
Soccer Challenge, Basketbrawl, Xenophobe, Chips Challenge, California
Games, Viking Child, Pinball Jam, Batman Returns, Zarlor Mercenary,
Kung Food, Super Squeek, Xybots, Warbirds, Joust, Scrapyard Dog,
Rampage, Gauntlet: The Third Encounter, Gates Of Zendocon, Checkered
Flag, Ms. Pac-Man and Rampart.
Perhaps you can see why I don't want the Lynx to fade away and die like so
many computers, come on, do something to stop this happening!
Edward Campbell-Castle.
Proud Lynx Owner in the UK.
Lynx Commentary
---------------
It's refreshing to see people with enthusiastic attitudes about the Lynx. Ed
Castle is one of those people and if you haven't already I encourage you to
participate in his survey. This is the only way Atari will know how Lynx
owners feel...
Many Lynxes were sold over the past six months, and it's beginning to show up
on the net and everywhere else. It's a great handheld and the best buy in
portable gaming right now.
Not much in the way of NEW games, and even I'm beginning to doubt that we'll
see any more new releases for the Lynx. It's true that Telegames is
about to release Krazy Ace Miniature Golf (which may be out by the time you
read this), but other than that that, it looks very bleak. Atari has four
titles *completed*, but it takes money and resources to put them into
production. Right now BOTH of those are going into the Jaguar, which Atari
(correctly, IMO) sees as their future.
This isn't much consolation to us Lynx fans (unless you're a Jag owner too)
but take solace in the fact that there are over 70 titles available for the
Lynx. Even the early titles, for the most part, hold up well today. If
you're the type of gamer who needs the latest of everything, the Lynx
probably isn't for you. But if you're the type of gamer who just wants some
great games (like "Joust", the best version yet!) at a very good price, then
the Lynx *is* for you.
If you don't want to see the machine go down without a fight, then complain.
That's why Ed Castle has created this survey, which will get sent to Atari
on May 15th. If you care at all about you Lynx, then reply to this -- and do
it SOON.
We'll try to get to the remainder of those Bubble Trouble hints/tips next
month... it's not an easy game on Level 4! Anyone willing to contribute
their own tips and tricks for this, please contact me at
aa852@cleveland.freenet.edu and you will get full credit for your findings.
In the meantime, Lynx up! %^)
Jaguar Support Area
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Len Stys
Jaguar News
-----------
Atari Corporation releases the specs of the Jaguar Virtual Reality headset
at the E3 show in Los Angeles:
Jaguar Virtual Reality - VR Headset Official Specs
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
Head Mounted Display (HMD):
Less than 1 pound. Two degrees of freedom (DOF)
tracking, stereo sound, and 52 degree horizontal by 40
degree vertical field of view. Uses a single 0.7" TFT
active matrix color LCD containing 104,000 pixels.
Optical System:
Custom-designed pupil projection with aspheric acrylic
lenses, beam splitters, mirrors and thin film coatings.
Large exit pupil size of 5mm x 14mm. Can be used by
anyone with an interpupilliary distance between 45mm
and 70mm.
Focus Adjustment:
There is no need for focus adjustment because the
optical system is highly tolerant, projecting a
binocular image, aligned to infinity to both eyes.
Tracking Systems:
"V-Trak" is the fastest tracker ever developed for the
consumer market, with a sample rate of 250Hz and a
lagtime of only 4 milliseconds.
Optional Joystick:
Offers two of six degrees of freedom, allowing greater
control over movements in the virtual world. Jaguar VR
games can also be played with the standard Jaguar
controller.
Docking Station:
Houses "V-Trak" position sensing system, a joystick
interface and high speed communications link to the
Jaguar for transferring audio and visual tracking data.
Atari has been in the video game business for over twenty
years. Today, Atari markets Jaguar, the only American made,
advanced 64-Bit entertainment system. Atari Corporation is
located in Sunnyvale, CA.
###
Internet Jaguar Game Reviews
----------------------------
HOVER STRIKE
------------
From: rjung@netcom.com (Robert A. Jung)
Subject: Jaguar review! HOVER STRIKE
Date: Thu Apr 27 23:29:33 1995
Well, the pictures on the back of the box look nifty, at least. What's the
game itself like? Let's find out...
==============================================================================
HOVER STRIKE
1-2 players
Cartridge
Atari Corp., for the Atari Jaguar
$59.95
OVERVIEW:
The Federation's worst fears have been confirmed: Terrakian pirates have
taken over the distant colony world, slaughtering and enslaving the populace.
A rescue armada has been assembled, but are kept at bay by the Terrakian
atmospheric cannon and defense network. A plan using the new HS709 armored
hovertank is devised. Dropped behind enemy lines, the pilot must use it to
destroy Terrakian installations and ships, working up to the cannon itself.
Only then can the rescue force arrive and save the day.
Okay, it's a fairly hackneyed and generic sci-fi storyline, but there it
is. As expected, HOVER STRIKE casts you as the pilot of the hovertank, to
blaze through the Terrakian forces on the ground and in the air. There are 30
missions in various terrain and visual conditions, divided into groups of six.
Find powerups to rearm and refuel your hovertank, or recruit a second player
to join in as the gunner. A tank is destroyed when it takes too many hits or
runs out of energy, and the game ends when all are lost. Finally, the
cartridge offers three difficulty levels and the ability to save a game in
progress.
GAMEPLAY:
HOVER STRIKE is similar to X-WING and CYBERMORPH in that it's an action
game for thinkers. It is not enough to simply point and shoot, as this
cartridge requires good mental juggling to keep abreast of the current
situation. For example, some missions are dotted with baited traps that must
be sprung, while others pit you against gigantic mazes of mountains or the
pull of the tide. The pace of the game reflects this mental emphasis, and
firefights are often separated by quiet lulls. Some will welcome the diverse
complexity, but there will be those who bemoan the pauses in the combat.
The entire Jaguar controller is used, with buttons for weapons select,
target locks, braking, thrust, and firing. While the controls are responsive,
piloting requires new skills. Since the tank hovers off the ground, it moves
and steers depending on the thrust applied, while enemy fire and aspects of
the terrain can change the course vector. It's similar to ASTEROIDS' thrust-
and-turn controls, and can be learned after a few minutes of practice. The
effort is worth it; able players can perform complex maneuvers like banking
off a hill while strafing the enemy in a rapid retreat.
Game difficulty and mission diversity are reasonable. The first set of
missions are fairly straightforward, but the challenge builds up in later
sets. While engagements can quickly become chaotic, your tank can take a good
number of hits, and the availability of powerups is fair. In a two-player
game, the gunner can aim all over the screen and have quicker access to the
weapons. With coordination between the driver and the gunner, the hovertank's
efficiency is noticeably increased, without relegating either player to a
minor role.
GRAPHICS/SOUND:
The graphics on HOVER STRIKE are very good, but fall short of greatness.
On the up side, texture mapping and shading is used everywhere, and night
missions feature an impressive "flare" source-lighting effect. Instruments
and text are all easy to read, though the main radar is a little small. Extra
touches like the minutae on the instruments and an adjustable external view
flesh out the visuals. On the down side, the frame rate could have been
better. It's passable most of the time, but drops slightly when things get
frantic, and turning is fast but choppy. Some areas are short on animation,
like the underground turrets that simply "pop" into view. Finally, textures
are disabled on night missions, which is disappointing.
Fortunately, the music and sounds are free of such discrepancies. Game
effects are a good, healthy mix of weapons fire, sound effects, warning
klaxons, and the voice of your on-board computer. Everything meshes together
well, completely reflecting the current situation. A number of nicely-crafted
ominous tunes play throughout the game, adding to the action without diverting
the player's attention.
HOVER STRIKE is not an action game for players who like their combat
nonstop and uncomplicated. Rather, the challenge of driving a hovercraft and
the measured pace of many of the missions make this a game for folks who want
to exercise their brains along with their thumbs. With nice graphics and
better sounds, this is a very good -- though not totally earth-shaking -- game
for the Jaguar.
GAMEPLAY: 8.5
GRAPHICS: 8
SOUND: 9
OVERALL: 8.5
Rating values 10 - 8 Great! This game can't get much better.
7 - 5 Good. Average game, could be improved.
4 - 2 Poor. For devotees only.
1 Ick. Shoot it.
==============================================================================
--R.J.
B-)
From: taylor@wherry.stsci.edu (None The Wiser)
Subject: Hover Strike Impressions
Date: Tue May 9 15:45:43 1995
Hey Everyone,
Here's my take on Hover Strike - (Jaguar mailing list members may want to
skip it since you've probably already read it)
I really dig this game! In my opinion, it's one of the better Jag
games currently available. I've sunk quite a few hours into it in the
couple weeks I've had it, usually not realizing how long I've been playing.
The low frame rate that's been mentioned is only bothersome when you're
getting tossed around by enemy fire or careening off the walls. In these
circumstances it should be disorienting and tough to aim. I suppose it
would be nicer it it was silky smooth, but a $150 box is going to have
limitations.
The reversed stereo is annoying and troublesome. How does something like
that get through testing?? I've also noticed that when there's a lot
of activity it sounds like the sounds are clipping. It's an ugly crackly,
popping sound.
Otherwise this game's got the goods. The night missions are very cool!
It took me a couple tries to really get the hang of using the flares
effectively though. I also really like the night mission music too. Very
spacey. Landscapes are interesting and require you to employ different
tactics. The enemies look good and provide plenty of challenges. I also
like the type of two player arrangement that was chosen, but have not tried
it. Many times I prefer cooperative type games because none of my friends
have Jags. It's just not that much fun (espcially for them) to kick some-
one's ass over and over and over again. This setup sounds like it will
work well. I can let them be the gunner since the most difficult part of
the game is maneuvering the hovercraft.
Finally I'd like to praise the ability to save between individual missions.
I often don't have time to play games for several hours at once, but want
to play a quick game before going out or to bed, etc. I've been stuck on
the third set of missions in I.S. forever because of that. I'm actually
getting a little sick of playing the first three and then buying it on
Best Defense :). Hover Strike's approach suits me perfectly. I can pick
a mission and finish it with the satisfaction of progressing in the game.
I think they chose the right way to do it.
Well I guess that's all for now.
Patrick
PS: What do you guys think of that galaxy that is displayed during the mission
briefing? To me it's extra cool because it's an actual image from the
Hubble Space Telescope. I happen to work at the Space Telescope Science
Institute! We even got a credit in the manual.
Internet E3 Show Reports
------------------------
From: carcarian@aol.com (CARCARIAN)
>Newsgroups: rec.games.video.atari
Subject: THEA REALM FIGHTERS
Date: Thu May 11 17:27:13 1995
Among the best games at the E3 show.
Jag best: Hoverhunter,Thea Realm,Battleshpere(good job 4play),Ultra
Vortex,Rayman. I can't believe how fast and smooth and ultra cool hover
hunter was, and how clear and smooth Thea Realm Fighters was. How the
hell did Atari get Primal Rage so far so fast. It looks almost done. VR
helmet will sell the Jaguar, its awesome.
From: carcarian@aol.com (CARCARIAN)
>Newsgroups: rec.games.video.atari
Subject: E3 SHOW JUST GOT BACK
Date: Thu May 11 16:23:33 1995
BATTLESPHERE AWESOME
HOVER HUNTER UNBELIEVABLE
THEA REALM FIGHTERS FREAKING AWESOME
RAYMAN AWESOME
WHITE MEN CAN'T JUMP VERY GOOD
HAMMERHEAD EARLY DEMO BUY PRETTY DAMN GOOD
DEFENDER 2000 NEEDS WORK, NO MUSIC WHEN I WAS THERE
POWERDRIVE RALLY AWESOME
BLUE LIGHTENING THE WORST GAME I HAVE SEEN FOR JAG
HIGHLANDER AWESOME
ULTRA VORTEX VERY GOOD
FIGHT FOR LIFE NEEDS ALOT OF WORK
HOVERHUNTER,BATTLESPHERE AND THEA REALM WERE THE BEST
VRHELMET LOOKS GREAT. CAN'T WAIT. HAD ZONE TROOPERS ON
From: joecat@ix.netcom.com (Joe Cataudella)
>Newsgroups: rec.games.video.sega,rec.games.video.3do,rec.games.video.atari,rec.
g
ames.video.sony
Subject: Tronix/E3 DAY 1 (Part 1)
Date: Fri May 12 00:32:03 1995
Temporary E-mail address just for this report - my regular
E-mail address is joecat@phantom.com.
================================================
E3 NEWS from Tronix - [Day 1] Thursday, May 11th 1995
================================================
Part 1
Howdy folks - it's now 6:15 LA time, the first day of E3 has now
come to close. Two words can best describe the first day: Exhausting
and Outstanding. Compared to the Winter Consumer Electronics Show
in Vegas, E3 is a gamer's paradise - yet there's so much to see in
this dense activity of sight and sound - there's no way you can cover even
half of it in one day. The first day of the show is always brutal. You
walk around with a video camera (I have to) in one arm, and 50 lbs
of literature in the other. You can't stop and really enjoy any games
as you're either filming or reorganizing your press kits before your
bags burst open. I'll give you a brief rundown of what I saw just
today - but don't forget, more will be covered (and more extensively)
as the show continues (with less hassle).
The day started with Keynote Speakers - Tom Kalinski of Sega, and
Olaf Olafsen of Sony. Both gave nice presentations of where they
felt the market was going, each ending with a video demo collage of
their 32-bit babies. Both "performances" received a wave of applause.
Kalinski's final words were "It's out there", referring to the sudden
stealth-like release of the US Saturn. Kalinski stated that the Saturn
will have 20 titles on shelves by the end of August. So, what's with
Saturn-Day? Sony's ending comments pretty much brought the
crowd to its knees when they announced a $299.00 price tag on the US
Sony Playstation which will be coming September 9th.
On With the Show!
CAIN EDITOR'S NOTE: The Sega and Nintendo part of this message was edited
out to conserve space.
Jaguar
---------
The Jaguar setup though much small than the others had it's own
healthy crowd - with two Virtual Reality setups at opposite ends
of the booth. This new VR system will be coming out in the late
fall - and will be priced under $299.00. Tomorrow I will get in
line to try it - but from what I can tell from the external displays -
the game people were "immersed" in looked mighty impressive.
It was some kind of 3D space exploration game - looking a bit
like AvP, with lots of detailed polygons. The tile is called Zone
Hunter, and according to one of the heads of this project, this
might very well be the pack in. People who tried on the goggles
stepped off the specially made platforms with smiles on their faces
Another title we might be seeing for this Jaguar add-on is a 90's
Missile Command, VR-style.
As far as games, there wasn't exactly a large explosion of new
titles, but many of the promised titles were finally finished, or much
further along in progress. There were a few monitors that weren't
showing anything, so aside from the list below - more can show up
on tomorrow's report.
*Defender 2000 - Once again, Jeff Minter is king. I can't even begin
to describe the magic surrounding this updated William's coin-op
classic. D2K is chock full of special effects, and simply put - the
hottest Jag-game in Atari's booth.
*BurnOut - 3D motorcycle racing - updated further - and looking
better and better!
*RayMan - Hey, it's almost here - and it'll be worth the wait.
*Flip-Out - Very nice-looking puzzle game...
*Baldies - Looks like another Lemmings-type - not impressive.
*Brett Hall Hockey - too early to tell - but knowing Accloade, don't
count on it knocking your socks off.
*TRF - A new fighting game - in fact, it was displayed on a large
screen as everyone thought it was Mortal Kombat III as they passed.
Looks great!
*Myst - Jaguar CD - like the other 900 versions.
*Highlander - Jaguar CD - looks juicy, though I'll have to look at
it more closely tomorrow.
*BattleMorph - Jaguar CD looks like Cybermorph - but it's unfair to
judge, as I didn't take a crack at it yet.
*Creature Shock Jaguar CD - looks sharper than the PC version!
*Fight For Life - They added more textures to the characters since
the last time I saw it. Still needs works - but improving.
*Vid-Grid - Jaguar CD -Some rock-n-roll-stye puzzle game with full
motion music videos.
*Varuna's Forces - Jaguar CD - looking hot! A space/action adventure
which I will be playing tomorow.
*Blue Lightning - Jaguar CD - Another improvement from the last
time it was on display at WCES.
*Primal Rage - Only had a the title page done.
*Ultra Vortex - Yep, once again it's here - and they've added a lot
more. The final version should be great (damn-well better be!).
* DeathWatch (I think this is the name ) - An immensiely colorful
platform game - though showin in early stages.
See Part 2 (3DO/SONY).... (Give me a few hours - I need to
take a short nap as my eyes are going).
--
~ TRONIX MULTIMEDIA ~ ////Ahead//of//the//Game////
3DO * Jaguar * PC-CDROM * Sega * VISIT THE TRONIX WEB FOR MORE
Nintendo * Sony * Imports * Magazines INFORMATION, VIEWS, PRICES, ETC..
Multi-Format Entertainment Mail Order at http://www.phantom.com/~joecat
From: rjung@netcom.com (Robert A. Jung)
Subject: Rob's Jaguar E3 bits
Followup-To: rec.games.video.atari
Date: Sun May 14 02:19:04 1995
(Note the crossposting. Followups to rec.games.video.atari, thanks B-)
Taking advantage of the generousity of a few good friends of mine, I snuck
into the Los Angeles Electronics Entertainment Expo (E3) for a few hours today
to see what's up with Atari and the Jaguar. I may or may not also have gotten
recorded by AEO's video crew, but that's another matter all together. Herein
a report of what I saw.
(Note: This is not, in any way, shape, or form, a report on the E3 show as a
whole. I didn't have the time or the inclination to see every major player's
booth, and I'm not claiming anything of the sort [hey, I had errands to run and
things to do]. If you want reports on what everyone else was showing, there
are plenty of other USENET reports that will do the job. This message is for
those who want a detailed scrutiny of Atari's area)
Hokay, let's jump into the fray...
* FLOOR SPACE. Yes, Atari had the smallest space of the various console
makers at the show. On the other hand, their space was well used. Sega's
area (which was in the center of the South hall and next to Atari) was the
biggest, but much of the area was open space, big displays, and to redudant
showings. The Saturn area, for instance, had three units running DAYTONA (A
personal disappointment for me -- the resolution's low, the horizon is -far-
too short, and the steering wheel is sensitive as h*ll. Give me RIDGE RACER
on the PlayStation instead), three running PANZIER DRAGOON, etc. Sega also
had a section devoted to different forms of shelving(!) and Sega merchandise,
and massive mock-ups for less-than-stellar games like GARFIELD and VR
TROOPERS. Or look at Nintendo, who wasn't even in the South Hall with
Atari/Sega/3DO/Sony, but in the West Hall with most of the computer firms.
I lost count of how many Jaguar games I saw (I'll have to count after I finish
this message); almost each kiosk was running a completely different title,
with a few networked demo exceptions, which helped Atari cram more games in a
small amount of space. A few games -- RAYMAN, THEA REALM FIGHTERS, WHITE MEN
CAN'T JUMP, and ULTRA VORTEX -- got the "big screen" treatment, with massive
color TVs and a decorated theme area. RAYMAN, for instance, had vines and
plants in the area, and "tree stump" seats for people to sit in.
* JAGUAR VR. This was Atari's "big gun" product, and they made sure everyone
knew it. Atari was handing out VR promotional packets with free photographic
slides (for you magazine publishers) and lots of information, as well as
"Jaguar VR" T-shirts (take the traditional black Jaguar tee, but replace the
blood-red Jaguar logo on the back with a shiny embossed "Jaguar VR" instead).
Two raised diases were set up in the front of the area, where visitors got a
chance to try the Jaguar VR prototype gear. One line was devoted to members of
the press and media, while a second line was for "everyone else." Both lines
were long, though the media got preferental treatment. The hardware is 98%
finished, and final molds of the equipment were on display. The VR system
consists of three parts:
(1) VR goggles. No stereo vision, but otherwise a snug-fitting headset. Works
fine with glasses, too. Adjustable knobs for picture focus and head fit.
Plugs into the expansion port of the Jaguar.
(2) Trigger controller. A lightweight hand-held controller with two buttons: a
"trigger" and an "action" button. Plugs into the Jaguar controller port.
(3) Infrared receiver. Not used in the demo setups, but the final Jaguar VR
set will use an infrared receiver to track the position of your trigger
relative to your helmet.
The software being shown was ZONE HUNTER, a shoot-everything-that-moves
sci-fi game. It was currently running on a dedicated computer (unseen,
possibly an IBM PC). A Virtuality rep I talked to says that work on the Jaguar
game software has begun; the polygon count will probably be lower in the end,
but they expect to make up for it by giving you a larger "virtual world" to
play in.
Yes, I got to try the VR gear. B-) ZONE HUNTER is a simple game: you play a
futuristic space Marine, who walks around, through, and under a high-tech
city, blowing away all sorts of aliens and enemies. Grab powerups for your
gun, avoid damage, and reach your checkpoints before time runs out. Nothing
too complicated, but it was fun to play -- think of it as VR DOOM, if you
want (though not as fast). Graphics were plain polygons with a minimal amount
of texture-mapping; sounds consist of weapons fire and a "radio" voice from
your headquarters.
The prototype VR gear works like a charm, and the tracking of your head and
gun are perfect. For example, I stopped at the end of a hall, spun around,
and blew away a mutant creeping up behind me, and didn't feel any sort of
discontinuity from the game. Suffice it to say that this is a solid product.
I expressed some doubt that the $300 price tag might not make it worthwhile for
players. The Atari rep I talked to quickly contradicted me: a LOT of retailers
and sales representatives think there's a HUGE market for a $450 ($300 headset
plus $150 Jaguar) setup. Atari's very eager to get this out by Christmas 1995
as a result, and I can't blame them.
Final VR note: The current plans are to have at least two VR games available at
the headset's release: ZONE HUNTER and MISSILE COMMAND 3D. I managed to sneak
a peek at MC3D (it wasn't being shown to the general public), but the game was
too early to get a feel for what was going on. At least coding has started...
* NEWS AND MISINFORMATION. Here's a good time to segue into some potpourri of
Jaguar news and whatnot...
>> DOOM to be Jaguar pack-in? Don't be so sure of that, folks. Yes,
Atari was showing new Jaguar packaging, with more colorful box art, more
screen shots, and promotions of the Jaguar CD, Jaguar VR, and JagLink
cables to retailers in private. And yes, the front of the box says "DOOM
included."
But wait! What's that -other- box over there, the one that says "ALIEN VS.
PREDATOR included," then? Turns out that both boxes are marketing
mock-ups. While there are plans to bring back the Jaguar-and-game package,
there is no decision made yet as to what the pack-in will be. DOOM and AvP
are merely used to give retailers a feel for the new box design.
>> Does Atari have a clue? Despite what some people will say, Atari is not
unaware of their situation in the market. They have a good machine for a
good price, but their weakness is in software. They KNOW that.
"So what are they going to do about it?", you ask. Good question. How
does hiring experienced programmers from Sega sound for an answer. You
heard correctly. Apparently, Sega of America recently laid of twenty-five
programmers due to their own downsizing efforts. Atari is currently
interviewing each and every one of those ex-Sega coders, and wants to grab
the best of the bunch to work on Jaguar software.
But wait, there's more. Atari's new Director of Game Development (who was
also hired from Sega, as readers of my April report on the "Dealer
outreach pilot program" may remember) is also acutely aware of the problem
of the small Jaguar game library. Reports are that he's working "very
aggressively" on the development of new games, and he might have been the
leading force behind Atari's increased use of focus groups for new game
development (as reported previously on the net by various sources).
In theory, then, Atari's assembling the pieces necessary to increase the
quantity and quality of Jaguar games in a BIG way. Can they do it? Only
time will tell...
>> What about Christmas 1995? More programmers and better development are
good solutions for the long term, but what about the short? Well, Atari's
E3 line is that they're looking at "50 new games for 1995." Their handouts
and E3 advertising reflect this, with the tag line "50 new games + 64 bits
+ $159 = Do the Math."
Sounds incredulous? So am I. But it gets more interesting. When I asked
an Atari rep about how realistic this goal was, she insisted that it was a
serious goal. Atari is counting 50 titles from themselves and their
third-party developers; "We're actually trying to get more than 50 titles
out, but we admit there's a chance that some of them won't make it in
time."
Well, she seemed sincere, anyway. I'm still doubtful, personally, but I
only report what I hear...
>> Who's Afraid of Sony? Is Atari worried about the $300 Sony PlayStation?
No. Why not? Because it doesn't exist.
Take this with a bag of salt, too, but apparently the $300 PlayStation
announcement is a bit of misdirection from Sony, to recoup some of their
lost thunder from Sega's early Saturn release. The PlayStation will hit
the 'States for $300, but there are reports that it's the WHOLESALE price.
If this is true, then depending on how retail sales go, the PlayStation may
end up costing anywhere from $340 to $380 retail after the dust settles...
Semi-related sidebar: most of the retailers I talked with weren't floored
with Sega's early Saturn release. The feeling is that, at $400, it's still
priced too high for most consumers. The SNES and Genesis are still seen as
the price favorites, and the low-cost upgrades -- the Jaguar and the 32X --
are given better odds for survival. The consensus is also that the Jaguar
is technologically superior to the 32X, and Atari's lack of games is the
biggest thing holding them back (hmmm, sound familliar?).
Okay, enough gossiping. Let's get back to the really interesting stuff, and
talk about peripherals...
* JAGUAR SIX-BUTTON JOYPAD. Yes, it was there, being used to show off ULTRA
VORTEX. It feels about the same as the existing Jaguar joypad, but with the
following changes:
(1) Six buttons under the right thumb. The existing A, B, and C are joined by
1, 2, and 3, which map into the keypad buttons. The buttons are raised and
round, instead of the flushed squares on the existing pad.
(2) Two index finger buttons, which map into the keypad buttons 4 and 6 for
left and right.
(3) Minor mold changes near the keypad area, ostensibly to make removing
overlays easier.
(4) More tactile feedback on the joypad.
For the most part, those familliar with the existing Jaguar controller will
have no problems with this new one. Expect to see it appear in the Fall.
* JAGUAR CD. Everyone seems to be looking at August as a release date for this
peripheral. Why the delay? (Repeat after me) "No software!"
A walk around Atari's E3 floor will confirm that -- NONE of the Jaguar CD
titles shown were finished. Even VID GRID, the so-easy-I-can't-believe-it
title, was running as an unfinished "E3 Demo Version." You could play it, but
there were no provisions to set options yet. Some titles were closer to
completion than others, but every Jaguar CD game was clearly stamped "Work in
progress," and looked like it too.
On the good side, the CD does exist; a few Jaguar CD games were running off
EEPROMS, but most were playing on final-production CD units. I got a quick
glimpse of the Jaguar CD packaging mock-up; there's not much to report, other
than the Virtual Light Machine gets a good amount of promotion, and the box is
printed for international sales (in three languages).
* VIRTUAL LIGHT MACHINE. It's up, it's running, and it looks very spiffy. The
Jaguar keypad is used extensively -- tap a few keys, and you can change the
audio track on the fly. Or press the A button to bring up the CD player menu,
where you can program tracks, fast forward, reverse, adjust the volume, and do
other audio CD features. CD+Graphics flashed by briefly, but nobody had a CD+G
disc to try it on...
It's fun to play with the VLM. Just hold down the asterisk key, tap two digits
(like a television remote control), and you bring up the effect. There seems
to be 81 different visuals (9 categories with 9 variations each), and they're
all entrancing to look at. Some effects effortlessly fade from one to the
other, while others will blink immediately. Some effects are more/less
sensitive to the music than others (this probably accounts for some people
wondering why VLM didn't "react well" to the rhythm of a tune). Other effects
play on different things -- tempo, frequency, reverb, stereo, etc. The idea
is to encourage experimentation, and it does a very good job of it.
And for some reason, I was amused that -- in the tradition of MTV and VH1 --
the VLM will flash a little colored "VLM" logo at the lower-right corner of the
screen. Don't worry, it only shows up when you want it to.
* RELEASED GAMES. Of the Jaguar games shown, only IRON SOLDIER, TEMPEST 2000,
ALIEN VS. PREDATOR, VAL D'ISERE SKIING AND SNOWBOARDING, and DOOM were
already available. No need to discuss them here, though I'm glad that more
space was given to works-in-progress instead of less impressive titles like
DOUBLE DRAGON V or CLUB DRIVE.
Now for the meat of the matter -- the new games. I covered a number of titles
two weeks ago in an article entitled "Jabbin' with Jeff." You may want to dig
that up for reference; some games were almost identical, while others had more
"advanced" showings at E3. Now, in no particular order...
* DEFENDER 2000. I talked about this two weeks ago, in the selfsame "Jabbin'"
message. No need to repeat myself here; the E3 version was the same as the
one shown around Los Angeles for the last few weeks. "Classic" is a
near-perfect clone, while "Defender Plus" is an in-your-face blast-a-thon
with flowing colors and Pixelshatter-esque explosions everywhere. By the
way, Jeff is glad that E3 is over; he wants to get back home and do some more
coding already... B-)
* POWER DRIVE RALLY. Significantly advanced over the version shown two weeks
ago. There are now option screens to configure your car, and more (and better)
sounds throughout. I'm still lackluster on this game myself, but this is
something for Time-Warner Interactive to worry about, methinks.
* PRIMAL RAGE. A very early version. It was clearly running entirely from the
Jaguar memory (the CD wasn't spinning), and only featured the title page: the
PRIMAL RAGE logo, the development team, the background story of the fall of
Earth and the rise of Urth, and a few high score tables. Visually, it's almost
exactly like the arcade, with the only exception being that the screens flashed
by a little too quickly. But then, it's no indication of how the final game
will be...
* [SUPER] BURN OUT. This game's either 99% finished, or it's done already,
and it's simply wonderful. It wants to be a high-speed, no-nonsense
motorcycle racing game and succeeds in spades. One- and two-player options,
flawless controls, crisp voices/sounds/music, incredibly fast graphics with
scaled sprites and texture-mapped features ... if you like racing games, this
is a no-brainer -- buy it. The cartridge saves the best times for each
track, and the difficulty of the computer drones can be adjusted.
* FIGHT FOR LIFE. I've been hearing this game get pounded for months and
months and months, and when I finally saw it today, I was expecting to be
disappointed.
I don't know WHY people are griping; the version of FIGHT FOR LIFE I played
was a respectable polygon fighter, and it's clear to me that the critics are
either playing earlier versions of the game, have an axe to grind, or both.
The texture-mapped polygon graphics are very smooth (if it's not 30 fps, it's
pretty close), while the detailed backgrounds are a blast to look at.
The E3 version had all of the fighters' moves enabled, and a large number of
them were printed for people to use. Francois Bertrand says the final game
will let each player start with five basic moves, and earn more by defeating
opponents. The new Jaguar six-button controller will be supported;
sidestepping is done with the "4" and "6" keys, which map into the left and
right index buttons on the new controller. Regular controls are A to block, B
to punch, and C to kick. I managed to dope out a few moves on my own, and
enjoyed Muhali's "Arabian noogie" attack. B-)
Now, granted, FIGHT FOR LIFE is not quite up there graphically with VIRTUA
FIGHTER on the Saturn or TO SHIH DEN on the PlayStation. But then, this -is- a
four-megabyte cartridge; and after having tried VIRTUA FIGHTER on the 32X (the
closest comparison to FFL, both conceptually and geographically), I honestly
think FFL can hold its own pretty well. Francois says the game should go into
final testing in a month or so; for now, I'd advise people to keep an open mind
about this title.
(Oh, and Francois' next project after FIGHT FOR LIFE is PONG 2000. He is *NOT*
kidding, folks -- he wants to do this. After I left the E3 show, I started
thinking about what could be done with the idea, and there are some
possibilities there...)
* BLUE LIGHTNING. Some folks have been saying this is the "lamest Jaguar game
ever." I wouldn't go that far; BLUE LIGHTNING is a decent attempt to copy
Sega's AFTERBURNER arcade game. The problem is that, after you strip away the
neat FMV intro, the radical music, the animated jet models and pre-launch
sequences, that's what you get -- AFTERBURNER, a fairly dated and simple arcade
game. If this was a cartridge title (without the snazzy music and FMV), it
wouldn't be so bad. But I cannot honestly see buying this on CD, unless it's
at a discount. An Atari rep I collared said that they've only gotten
"positive" responses on it, so I made sure to register a negative response for
the sake of completeness. Time will tell...
* AIR CARS. Now, -this- is a title that can be called "lamest Jaguar game
ever" (or at least at E3). My deepest apologies to Midnight Software, but this
is one gamer's opinion. While the game may have been reworked after a poor
showing at the 1995 Winter CES, the near-final version on the E3 floor didn't
move me in any positive direction. The only real changes that I could spot
were better and more extensive use of Goraund shading; the sense of movement
and terrain height is there. On the other hand, game objects look blocky and
simple (a "tree" was nothing more than an elongated green pyramid stuck on a
brown cube, for example) and things got chaotic pretty quickly (I suddenly
found myself stopped in front of a tank which blew me away after three shots).
The Midnight rep I talked to emphasized the eight-player networking aspect of
the game, but I don't know if people will put up with the title just for that
feature alone.
* BALDY. An unusual puzzle game that looks like a cross between POPULOUS,
LEMMINGS, and TYRANTS. You control the fates of a bunch of bald men who run
around on a series of islands. Your god-like powers let you create and remove
land, assign men to various tasks, direct them to new inventions, and generally
build up a civilization to take over (or destroy) a competing tribe of folks.
I think. There were no instructions for the game that I could find, but so far
the game looks reasonable. I also note that BALDIES will be showing up for
other platforms as well, so expect to hear more of this in the coming months.
* FLASHBACK. US Gold, predictably enough, cheapened out. FLASHBACK looks and
plays like its Super Nintendo and Sega Genesis counterparts. Granted, it's a
reasonable choice given the size limitations of the cartridge format, but I was
still upset.
* BATTLESPHERE. Had the pleasure of running into Scott and Stephanie and
Someone Else (sorry B-) from 4Play, and ended up giving the game a healthy
test drive. The game is currently about two-thirds complete; the graphics
engine is there, there are some sounds, two-player networking was showin, and
the "blow up the other combatants" scenario is in place. Missing are
complete cockpit instruments (only the fore and aft radar were available),
different and more advanced weapons, and the other game scenarios 4Play has
been planning for months. They plan to have the game finished in another
three months, though I would not be surprised (unfortunately) if it took more
than that -- part-time game development is not an easy task.
On the other hand, what was there looked great. Fast, fluid graphics, smooth
scrolling, lovely backgrounds, and a good smattering of detail. The ships
are mostly Goraund-shaded polygon models with a fair use of texture-mapped
sigils and numbers, and they explode into lovely fragments that drift
deliciously. B-) The game reminded me of X-WING and SPACE LORDS, and shows a
lot of potential for the final product. It's clear that 4Play has a high level
of quality and detail (hopefully the AEO video will include Scott's complete
description of the Battlesphere alien races, backgrounds, and ships -- they
have enough fodder for a novella already), and are dedicated to work on the
game until they're completely satisfied. If that's so, then BATTLESPHERE will
be well worth the wait, methinks.
* HOVER HUNTER. Hyper Image's game was also roughly two-thirds done. The
graphics and control engine were complete, though there were no enemies to
combat, and only two planets were available to date. What was there looked
very good; realistic "soft" terrains with COMMACHE-like spot-texture-mapping,
with smooth scrolling and movement and a realistic gradual fading in of
distant features and objects. The biggest problem was that the bitmapped
images (landscape features and other ships) got blocky very fast when you
came close to them. The Hyper Image rep I talked to mentioned that they were
already starting work on updating the graphics engine, using
higher-resolution bitmaps and a better extrapolation algorithm to cut down on
the problem. I wish them the best of luck.
* RAYMAN. Forget Donkey Kong, Mario, or Sonic; Ubi Soft was promoting RAYMAN
in a big way all through E3. Sticker sheets were everywhere, a twenty-foot-
tall inflatable Ray was waving across the street from the Convention Center
entrance, Ubi Soft's RAYMAN advertising (for all systems) was easy to snatch,
and several Rayman cosumed walkers paraded around the show floor.
Oh, the game itself? Like BURN OUT, this game's either finished or Very Darn
Close. Anyone who's followed the progress of RAYMAN will not be surprised
here; luscious-smooth graphics, wonderful sounds, and some interesting twists
on the platform idea. I admit, I didn't give it that much of a look, since I
was more intently after games that have received less attention to date. I
will mention that the early version of RAYMAN on the Sega Saturn looks
identical to the Jaguar version; take that as you will.
* FLIP OUT. From Gorilla Systems. -Vastly- improved over the early and
incomprehensible version I covered in the "Jabbin'" article. The idea is as
follows: you have a grid of colored tiles, which you must position into a
certain pattern. By selecting a square and pressing a button, you "flip" the
piece there into the air, exchanging it for another piece that's already
flying. You have to keep "juggling" the tiles until you get the pattern --
and if you "drop" a tile, you lose a chance. It sounds like a simple puzzle
game, but it can get complicated very hairy. For a challenge, I started at a
higher level (there are about ten levels, each divided into several
sub-stages) halfway through the game. I got five different colors, a rogue
tile that belonged nowhere, and a chaotic pattern to deal with. Needless to
say, I went -splat- pretty quickly.
The graphics are the best thing about this game. Everything is either fully
rendered or animated Claymation figures, from the funny-looking aliens that
cheer your efforts and track your score to the tiles themselves, all with
silky-smooth animation. I imagine this game will be pretty close to
completion; whether it'll catch on with the public is another matter.
* UNNAMED PLATFORM GAME. From out of nowhere, with no name, Visual Design
Studios (I -think- that's the developer) comes out with a cutesy gun-totin'
platform title. You controlled a little warrior cartoon character who looks
somewhat like the "Plok!" video hero and who wields a big gun. He shoots and
punches enemies, grabs various spheres, and leaps on floating platforms and
bottomless chasms in typical platformer fashion. It was a very early game,
but already seemed interesting -- there were several layers of smooth
parallax scrolling, lots of color, and crisp animation. But it's far too
early to tell...
* UNNAMED PROTOTYPE "INTERACTIVE MOVIE" GAME. And speaking of no-named
mysteries that came out of nowhere, Atari was showing (very briefly) a
prototype "interactive movie" for the Jaguar CD-ROM. All I saw was an
extended video clip of a male hospital patient overcoming his nurse and
trying to escape. It was a good demonstration of the clarity of the Jaguar
CD's spooled video, but that's all I could really say about it. The Atari
representative emphasized that this was an early prototype. It's only an
idea under consideration, and may never appear as a final game at all.
Still, there it is.
* PINBALL FANTASIES. No surprises here. This is a straightforward port of the
Amiga pinball game. Good flipper control and ball physics, but the boards
struck me as being a little simplistic.
* RUINER. Like PINBALL JAM on the Atari Lynx, this cartridge from High
Voltage Software is actually two pinball games in one. "Ruiner" is a pinball
game with a nuclear war theme, featuring a horrifically large board that's
two screens wide and five screens tall. "Hell" is a pinball game with a
Satanic/demonic motif, one screen wide and seven or eight screens tall. The
layouts are similar to video pinball games like DEVIL'S CRUSH, though the
number of video-only features is kept to a minimum (I could only find some
flying bats and airplanes to knock over with the ball). Ramps and
"habitrail" tubes are in abundance, taking you quickly from one part of the
board to another, and the keypad is used to nudge the board in any direction
you want. Scrolling is fast and smooth, though the graphics are a bit
"cartoonish" than realistic or frightening, and distinguishing background art
from playfield objects isn't obvious. The music I heard was neither here nor
there, but the game is more complex and interesting than PINBALL FANTASIES in
my opinion.
* VID GRID. Another title (or port, rather) from High Voltage Software. You
arrange tiles of a music video as in a "number puzzle," trying to reassemble
the pieces in the proper order before time runs out. This game has gotten a
lot of complaints in rec.games.video.atari, largely because people felt it
wouldn't be challenging enough to be a "real" video game (whatever that
means). Well, yes and no. It isn't that complex of a game, but it's not
entirely a no-brainer effort, either -- depending on which music video you
choose, you might be led by a number of red herrings and quick-cut fragments
(does this head in the background go in the upper-left corner or the upper-
right corner?). There are nine videos available, and I wonder how long it will
take before they tire on people; you can only listen and watch Red Hot Chili
Peppers' "Give It Away" so many times, after all.
Despite the "ease" of this game, the E3 version was -not- finished. You could
play the game, but the ability to set game options (available in the final PC
CD-ROM version) was missing, and the game was clearly labelled "E3 Demo." I
imagine that being able to reduce the time limit and/or set the puzzle to 36
(or more) tiles will make things much harder in a final release.
* THEA REALM FIGHTERS. Another one-on-one fighting game, from High Voltage
Software (they have a LOT of entries for Atari at E3, if you haven't
noticed). The most notable feature so far is its use of several martial
artists from MORTAL KOMBAT for its visuals. The game as shown was -very-
early; animation was minimal, scrolling was jumpy, and players could beat the
daylights out of each other indefinitely. I would advise giving this title a
few more months before passing any sort of early judgement.
* ULTRA VORTEX. Version 0.96 -- another "almost completely finished" fighting
game, this time from Beyond Games. The E3 version was almost identical to
the v.0.94 I reported from two weeks earlier; I was surprised, though, that
the special move sequences were changed. The scrolling is still a little
jumpy, but (still) doesn't interfere with the game itself. I'm not a big fan
of fighting games, but I was having fun with this on general principles.
Some of the "annihilation moves" were rather comical; for example, Mercury
(the "liquid metal" character) turns into a giant rolling meat grinder and
turns the loser into ground beef...
The Beyond Games representative I talked with said that ULTRA VORTEX should be
out in five or six weeks, which implies to me that the final version is in
production already. Their next project is the highly-anticipated BATTLEWHEELS
2025, a Jaguar update to their original BATTLEWHEELS for the Lynx.
* VARUNA'S FORCES. I wanted to say lots about this innovative CD game; I
especially wanted to talk about how it implements the "control four commando
members separately while seeing what they do" idea. But I can't, since the
E3 version was fairly dated. The FMV opening, mission briefing, and
character psychological profiles were available, but that was it -- the game
itself was unavailable. The Accent Media rep I talked to, howver, was very
optimistic that this game would be available with the Jaguar CD release.
Looked nice, at least.
* DRAGON'S LAIR. Another disappointment. I expected that a port of this
title would be trivially easy, since all ReadySoft had to do was translate
the controller engine. But DRAGON'S LAIR for the Jaguar was apparently a
hastily-thrown demo for the E3 show, with everything running off the Jaguar's
RAM. Only the first sequence with Dirk crossing the drawbridge was
available; you couldn't really play it, however, since there were no visual
cues to guide the player. So Dirk would keep crossing the drawbridge, get
killed, get reincarnated, over and over and over and over... Not surprisingly,
it looked like every other version of DRAGON'S LAIR on the market today.
* BRETT HULL HOCKEY. An early version of the CD-ROM game, but on EEPROMs
instead. Seems promising already -- individual NHL teams, logos, player
names, and stats were available, with a smooth-scrolling rink, scaled
sprites, and digitized graphics. Most interesting feature is the ability to
change the "camera view" of the game. Press Pause, then press 1-9 on the
keypad to change the view from overhead to wide-angle pull-back to everything
in-between. I'm not a hockey fan, but I was impressed with the early effort.
Only -slightly- less impressive than the upcoming hockey game being shown for
the Saturn across the aisle.
* WHITE MEN CAN'T JUMP. Once again, it's High Voltage Software (didn't I say
they get around? B-). Based loosely on the movie, this is a two-on-two
halfcourt street basketball game. Four people could play the E3 showing, but
I couldn't spot the four-controller tap that was used for the job. The game
itself is great. Playwise, it's very reminescent of NBA JAM, but without the
flashy slam dunks and with the need to clear the ball when you have
possession. Passing, shooting, and blocking are easy and effortless, and you
have a number of teams and four areas to play in.
The big thing about this game are the visuals. Take a real basketball court,
and place a camera rail along the center line. Now, as the player play in
half the court, slide your camera left and right, zooming in and out to keep
up with the action. That's what WMCJ does, and it looks very nice. The
frame rate is around 15-18 fps, which is adequate, while the players are a
little blocky in close-ups (it's not as bad as DOOM, however). As reported,
the "street talk" has been removed from the final game, though there's still
a good dose of patter during the action. On-screen messages give warnings
and commentary ("Like a brick!", "Clear it," "Airball!", etc.). Definitely
take a look at this one, folks.
* MYST. Yep, the Jaguar will be getting the incredibly beautiful and very odd
computer adventure game. The E3 demo shown was fairly early; it only flipped
through various scenes from the game, with no actual user interaction or
anything. Not much to say here; it looks like MYST on the PCs and Macs.
* SOUL STAR. Another early demo, this time of Core's Sega CD shooter game.
All that was available at this time was the canned FMV of the opening
sequence. A little exploring with the controller, however, allowed you to
shift the spooled image and/or flipped it along the Y-axis. Cheap fun. B-)
* BATTLEMORPH. Attention To Detail's CD sequel to the original CYBERMORPH.
I suspect that players who liked CYBERMORPH will love BATTLEMORPH, while those
who hated CYBERMORPH won't care for this, either.
Upgrades from CYBERMORPH to BATTLEMORPH include a farther horizon, a fair dose
of texture-mapped graphics, more and larger worlds (the indica promises 60
new planets to explore), new and nastier enemies, undersea and underground
regions, detailed background graphics, and a better/less irritating voice for
Skylar ("Yay!", someone shouts B-). Controllers are the same in both games,
though BATTLEMORPH adds a bank of weapon slots to be filled as you progress
through the game. The combat level is noticably increased, and there are
some nice graphics touches scattered throughout (such as the underwater
shimmering view).
* HIGHLANDER. An animated adventure game based on the movie and animated
series. Think of it as a variation of ALONE IN THE DARK for a good feel.
The CD shown at E3 had lots of areas to explore, but almost no items to find
or people to encounter. Backgrounds are beautiful rendered screens, while
the main game graphics consist of moothly-animated polygons with a minimal of
texture mapping. An FMV introduction based on the animated series was also
shown. Dave Bottomley, the representative from Lore Design, says that while
contracts for HIGHLANDER 2 and HIGHLANDER 3 haven't been signed yet, the
scripts for those games are already done. As with many Jaguar CD games, they
expect to have this ready at the time of the unit's launch.
--R.J.
B-)
From: llamaman@ix.netcom.com (YaK)
>Newsgroups: rec.games.video.atari
Subject: Yak's back from E3, now maybe I can get some coding done
Date: Sun May 14 17:41:57 1995
Well, I just got back from E3, pretty interesting show and a lot of
fun, but I'm glad to get back and get down to a few contiguous days
coding, as life's been a bit fragmented of late, with the two LA demo
runs and E3 and moving house all in the last 3 weeks..
Response to D2K was good, especially considering that we were only
demoing Classic and Plus modes (I have sone 2K stuff running but the
graphics are just untextured renderings at the moment, placeholders to
llet me test the multiparallax stuff). One person didn't like the ship
shape and one person didn't like the psychedelic plasma under the
planety surface, but there's no accounting for taste. Some people
thought it was a bit graphically sparse, until I pointed out that this
was only Plus and it was meant to be that way - the multilayered
background and thangs are for the 2K mode. Everybody lloved the
aurora. Most importantly, nobody bitched about the gameplay.
Good to see plenty new titles coming out for the Jaguar. JagVR was
pretty interesting - BTW the demos outside were running on non-Jag kit,
probably Virtuality's own stuff - but inside, there was the actual Jag
VR running Missile Command 2000. This was a lot of fun to play, being
well suited to VR - it's quite worrying to be looking out across your
peaceful domes, and then look up and see the warheads coming down.
Kamikaze ships circle around before plummeting into your domes, and
you're frantically craning your neck about as they zip past, trying to
get a bead on them. Cool.
Played on the Playstation and Saturn quite a lot, too. Impressions -
Daytona is not nearly as nice as Ridge on the PS - they have a definite
depthcueing problem where you can see the world being built in big
chunks as you drive along. Liked the little driving controller though.
Panzer Dragoon is spectacular, but the gameplay is entirely too much on
rails to have long-term appeal. Kind of like a glorified Space
Harrier. The Psyggies had a nice-looking racing game on the PSX - but
there are *so* many racing games on the PSX... LucasArts are
resurrecting BallBlazer on the PSX, which had me fired up at first, but
on playing the game I wasn't so impressed. It was basically just
original BallBlazer with billboards around the arena and a textured
floor. Mind you it wasn't finished so I shouldn't be too critical.
Anyone llike the idea of VLMVR?
\
(:-)
/
From: gameboy@ix.netcom.com (William Longworth)
>Newsgroups: rec.games.video.atari,alt.atari-jaguar.discussion
Subject: E3 Newz
Date: Fri May 12 04:39:10 1995
Day one of E3 has come and gone, and here are some early impressions...
1.)Groucho Marx...That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard...
(get it, early impressions...har de har har)
Atari
Naturally, these being Atari newsgroups, I will start with the home
town favorite.
Sadly, Atari had the second weakest showing of the major players
(Nintedo grabbed the #1 spot).
Many of the games shown simply lacked the amazing fluidity of their
Saturn and Playstation counterparts. Even 3DO had smoother stuff on
display. Easily the most impressive thing Atari had on display was
their V.R. headset (sort of, it was being run off a dedicated system,
but the developer assured me the Jaguar version would be the
same...hmmmm). Zone Troopers let you run about shooting basically
everything around you in a nice 3-D environment. The coolest thing was
being able to look straight up elevator shafts and see the next floor,
not to mention being able to turn your head and pop off a few rounds in
any direction. Very cool indeed, and it had better be for $300 clams.
The Games:
Fight For Life-
Still needs work, but is much improved over the WCES version. The poly
count has obviously dropped, but the T-mapping is so much better you
won't notice (for the most part). Backgrounds are also very nice. The
biggest news for some will be the improved jumping, which now lets you
leap high in the air or over opponents. Still, the game lacks and
intuitive play mechanic, and many moves execute in an almost comic
manner. For example, when you walk towards and opponent you take these
little baby steps and your upper body remains completely rigid, and the
flip kicks go by in about .1 seconds. To the development teams credit,
though, many of the moves now have a more graceful feel and better
pacing.
WHAT IT NEEDS:
1.)Move the camera in, the characters look tiny much of the time. It
is fine to move back for high jumps, etc., but the view is generally
too far back.
2.)Characters need headbands, belts, ponytails, etc., that move in the
wind and react to jumps and kicks, etc..
3.)Study more human movement. Too often an action doesn't get a proper
reaction. Punches to the head should make the head snap back. Punches
to the gut should cause some degree of doubling over. A super powerful
spin kick should send you flying, spinning wildly as you go (not
realistic, but it sure drives home the point that you got tagged).
ToShinDin is brilliant at this. Characters are in a constant state of
reaction/action. Tag someone in the back as they are charging you and
they stumble forward and fall. Cool moves like grabbing your opponent
and repeatedly slapping them would help too (okay, so that would be a
direct ToShinDin rip-off..so what?).
4.)Change the ground, I hate checkerboards.
Thea Realm Fighters-
I only got a brief look at this one, and my reaction was mixed. The
graphics are generally very good, but the animation seems to lack
smoothness (this is a number-of-frames-per-move problem, not a frame
rate one). Special moves need to be pumped up. The rather dull
fireballs, etc. look anemic next to the glowing fireballs and flashing
sparks of Killer Instinct. Nice moves and a fair number of characters
to choose from. It is worth pointing out that the new controller was
on hand, with the promised six buttons on top and two in front. The
control pad has also been changed to give better tactile feedback.
They still desperately need a joystick, though. Overall very
promising, but that frame count needs to be taken care of pronto.
Ultra Vortex -
Cool game and easily the best fighter Atari has to show (smoother than
Thea, even). Moves are awkward at first, but with very little practice
I was pulling them off with no problemos. The biggest downers are the
ridiculous delays and the music. The music is still pretty good, but I
miss that cool track they had playing way back at the summer '94 CES.
Goes into production in 1-2 weeks. Expect a late June shelf
date...finally.
RayMan -
Gorgeous, as always, and effortless to play. Unfortunately, this one
suffers from the GET IT OUT ALREADY syndrome like Ultra Vortex, not to
mention the playable versions for the Saturn, 32x, and Sony (and maybe
3DO, I didn't check). Sigh...
Rage Rally - A very cool game, but hardly enough to tax even the
Genesis. This one succeeds on playability. Basically finished, but
probably won't see store shelves until late July/early August
SuperBurnOut - See Rage Rally. The scaling is practically hypnotic.
Supposedly out in late June.
BattleSphere - Just buy the freakin' thing when it comes out (early
Fall is the current guess). The potential in this one is clear as
crystal to anyone who tried it. The only title besides the VR stuff to
seriously stand up to the Sony/Sega titles.
Hover Hunter - Gorgeous landscapes, but no game currently. The network
option should make this very tempting indeed. Biggest problem, sprites
are extremely chunky and lack detail. Most look like blobs even at a
moderate distance. This could change since the only sprites which
could be viewed were your ship and the trees.
That's it for this post. More later. Adios!
From: gameboy@ix.netcom.com (William Longworth)
>Newsgroups: rec.games.video.atari,alt.atari-jaguar.discussion
Subject: E3 Newz II
Date: Sat May 13 02:01:10 1995
Now for some takes on CD-ROM titles:
Creature Shock - Once again, Virgin briefly becomes the center of a
"stopped making Jag games" rumour. Clearly, however, Creature Shock is
coming out, though "Demolition Man," the other promised Vrigin title
was no where to be seen. I only got to see bits and pieces, but it
looked just like the P.C. game. This means its another good looking,
mediocre playing title. Oh goody. I love the look, but I can't say I
am looking forward to this one.
Blue Lightning - What a f*cking joke. This game is pure crap. Hey
everybody, we are so powerful we can scale sprites and stuff. Huge
yawn. This is a major dog.
BattleMorph - Yes there is some nice texture mapping, but it still
looks miles worse than Total Eclipse. Of course, you couldn't go
anywhere you wanted in Solar Eclipse either, but the look was still
rather bland (pathetic, actually, next to the Sony and Sega). If it
was a freebie I'd consider it, but otherwise, another yawn. To the
developer's credit, it is very smooth, and the gouraud shading is
better, though some color choices are still a little odd (i.e. more hot
pink landscapes).
Thea Realm Fighters - I already covered this in a previous post, so I
will confine my remarks to one question. Other than music, what is the
benefit in putting this on CD (I think there will be 20 fighters, os
os, so that would be another reason)? The animation is WEAK compared
to just about every other fighting game out there (MKIII and K.I. on
SNES looked smoother). Kasumi Ninja II might wind up being a more apt
title.
SoulStar - just a running demo of a rendered cinema sequence. I like
Core Designs, so I have high hopes. Should look pretty good with all
the rumoured S.G.I. rendered sprites. Strangely enough, I came away
hopeful about this one.
Defender 2000 - Not a CD yet, since a number of elements are missing,
but it did play exactly like the original (big surprise). I still
think the graphics need more punch, but I like the feel so far. Here's
hoping.
Vid Grid - Please, must I review this trash?
Highlander - Very reminiscent of Alone in The Dark. It looked like it
had good potential, but once again, looked rather weak next to the,
ahem...you know.
SkyHammer (formerly Hammerhead) - This actually looked kind of
interesting. It had a reasonably smooth flight engine, and the
texturemapping blows away Metal Head. There's no real game yet, but I
liked what I saw. This one is Jag only, amazingly enough, considering
the same company is putting another title on the Saturn and
Playstation.
Brett Hull Hockey - Why is this on CD? Basically a scaling sprites
game. Might be o.k., the sprites were, as usual, smaller than those on
the Saturn hockey.
M.I.A's, games not on the floor...
Legion's of The Undead, Space War 2000, Tiny Toons, Iron Soldier II,
AvP2, Pinball Fantasies (at least I didn't see it), Dactyl Joust,
Batman Forever, MK III, ....
The Jag will be packed with Doom, now. Just a little late guys, Doom
was hot a year ago. If Atari had packaged it with the system last
Christmas, they would have a much higher installed base now. Christ,
its even going to be on the SNES by Christmas (and it looks o.k.,
amazingly enough).
The CD will be out in August. Who cares, I'll be days away from a
Playstation by then. This should be the Webster definition for
"debacle." I'll still buy Rayman, U.V., BattleSphere, Hover Hunter,
BurnOut (maybe), and Power Drive Rally (maybe), but that might be it
for my Jag.
Titles to seriously consider or just plain BUY -
BattleSphere BUY
Hover Hunter Seriously Consider (the graphics are really well done on
the landscapes)
RayMan BUY (if you like platformers, and don't own any other the
other 20 zillion systems its being made for)
Utlra Vortex BUY (its the only decent fighter coming out)
Titles which look pretty good -
White Men Can't Jump Good (wish it was smoother)
SuperBurnOut Good (wish the sprites didn't look so SNES like)
Power Drive Rally Good (nice FX (weather, etc.), but the graphics
are also SNES-like)
I'd like to say "Hey, hang in there, the Jag has great potential (it
does)," but Sega and Sony had some positively mind blowing stuff on
display. I mean MIND BLOWING. The Jag's best looking efforts were
BattleSphere and the V.R. helmet. One game and an expensive peripheral
do not a counter attack make. Atari needed a big wow and didn't get it
(the V.R. was way cool, though).
Show rankings -
1.)Sony With the announced $299 street list price, Playstation is the
new word in home systems (and it has the games to back it up)
2.)Sega Pricey, which could hurt them, but expect a vigorous push to
get the price down under $300. The software was awesome.
3.)3DO LOTS of games on display (unlike WCES), many of which were
good. Stunning preview of M2, but with no playable demos, it was
impossible to tell if the eye-popping visuals were drawn on the fly or
canned (a 3DO trademark). If an M2 unit can be on the shelves (that's
a 3DO with an M2 built in) for $350 or less (I doubt it), 3DO could be
a big threat.
4.)Atari A decent showing, but they look like they are fading fast.
No wow factor and dismal floor placement (right between Sega's small
city and Namco's Playstation extravaganza) were serious kicks in the
ass.
5.)Nintendo The only player with no next gen system on display.
Killer Instinct was shown for SNES, and some seriously gorgeous dancers
(Actually, there were a lot of stunning examples of feminine
pulchritude on display. Sorry, I apologize to all females out there,
but I am, deep down, a stupid horny gorilla, and I LOVE WOMEN...so sue
me) did a little goofy K.I. number, but they couldn't hide the fact
that this Christmas they were going to eat shit and like it. K.I. was
done very well, though. It was missing some obvious things like the
steam coming off Glacius, the fire off Cinder, the glowing sparks and
other FX, and the backgrounds have suffered a bit, too, but overall, a
very impressive translation (which should tell you something about how
"advanced" the arcade game is). DKC2 was there as well. Yawn.
Jaguar Commentary
-----------------
Len Stys
OK, Atari had a great showing at the recent E3 Show in Los Angeles.
There is no doubt that there will be at least fifty games by the end of the
year because most of the games shown were almost complete. The Virtuality
headset was shown at the show and received praise from just about everyone
that tried the unit. Greg LaBrec did a great job of organizing Atari's
presence at this show. Everyone at Atari did a fantastic job of generating
new excitement of an aging product.
Yes, it was great, but everyone should remember that the E3 show is not
reality. The E3 show is fantasy land. It is a place where company
officials, company employees, press, and dealers go for a few days to get
a feeling of what things might be like in the future. It is not a
glimpse of the future. It is what can happen if everything works out just
right. And everything won't work out just right if company officials
and employees get caught up in this excitement.
Atari has always shown great products at consumer electronic shows.
This is fact. Atari ST computers, ST portable computers, TT computers,
Falcon030 computers, Portfolio palmtop, Lynx color handheld game system,
and the Jaguar 64-bit tabletop game system. But Atari has never done a
very good job at marketing and selling these products in the United States.
I've been excited many of times about the announcement of Atari's products
in the past, but not anymore. This is because I realize that there is
more involved than just announcing a great product. The company must be able
to sell that product. Atari can no doubt talk the talk. But can
Atari walk the walk?
Atari Corporation just released their 1994 Annual Report to shareholders
and some interesting information is within this report. The only major
disappointing news is that Atari is getting rid of Lynx inventory.
It appears that Dean Fox is now the Senior Vice President of Marketing
at Atari Corporation. We can only hope that Atari's marketing under his
supervision results in success for the company.
Atari will be going into the PC game publication business. One of the
first games to be released for the PC is Tempest 2000. Five games are said
to be released for the PC on CD in 1995.
There are 101 Atari employees in the U.S. 58 in engineering and product
development, 18 in marketing, sales and distribution, 5 in purchasing and
production, and 20 in general administration and management.
One thing that I was a bit surprised to read was a bonus that was given
to Sam Tramiel, President of Atari after the Sega deal happened.
He was given a bonus of $250,000. I could not feel comfortable accepting
a bonus when the company I am leading is losing money. I would rather
use the money to hire programmers, marketers, or create promotional
material to help sell the company's only product.
Atari still has a lot of work to do. And perhaps a lot of realizing to do.
The Jaguar distribution is still awful. In the case of the Jaguar, the
grass is greener in Atari's back yard. If you live in California, don't
think for a minute that Jaguar distribution is that great in other parts of
the United States. I drove up to my local Toys "R" Us store and there is a
big banner in front of the store stating that the "Saturn is here!" The
Toys "R" Us store does not even carry the Jaguar.
There is obviously still some managerial problems at Atari. Atari spent
thousands of dollars on advertising the Jaguar CD-ROM in magazines for the
last several months and now the company decides that there is not enough
games for it to be released before for August. The entire CD-ROM situation
is a mess. Plain and simple. Atari's customers feel like fools for
believing that the CD-ROM would be available last year. And the company
literally wasted thousands of dollars on advertising a product that does
not even exist in the marketplace.
So what's the positive news? Yes, Ultra-64 is going to be delayed until
1996. This gives Jaguar some breathing room. The games are coming.
Rayman is almost here and may be the biggest blockbuster game of the year.
Other games like Ultra Vortex and Defender 2000 are sure hits as well.
And lastly, at $399 for the Sega Saturn, the Saturn will most likely sell
slowly this year.
How does the Jaguar's future look? It looks like any of Atari's products
in the past. It looks good if Atari decides to convince consumers
nationwide to buy it. If not, the future of the Jaguar looks grim.
Finally, I'd like to close my commentary by a message that was posted on
rec.games.video.atari that I think makes a lot of sense. The author of the
message states that Atari should lose money now in order to be put in a
position in the future where the company will make money. He also gives
some common sense marketing suggestions. Common sense in marketing? What
a novel idea!
From: jbbjr@aol.com (JBBJR)
Subject: Is Atari Losing Enough Money?
Date: Mon May 22 17:32:59 1995
Why the surprise about financials? Atari said last year they wouldn't make
money until 2nd Q this year.
Why the surprise about sales? Atari hardly had any released software until
a few weeks before Christmas.
Why the surprise about Sega Saturn? I couldn't understand why they were
taking so long to release it here since it was already in Japan.
Personally, I wish Atari would lose a little more money this quarter, to
make sure they the games, programmers, ads, and distribution to make a
presence this fall. Lose money on the hardware to make sales this
Christmas and get the base to support contined game development.
They have the hardware. They have the price. Everyone else will be $100 to
$200 too expensive. There will be one $150, made-in-the-USA 64-bit
machine and three 32 bit Japanese machines.
I hope the marketing people forget the yuppie gadget set this Christmas
(save them for the Jag 3). Go for the kids. Get awarenesss with the
parents. Advertise in Parade and Sunday comics.
Get someone on the morning talkshows to show the VR helmet and talk up
about how Atari is up against the Japanese with not one Japanese software
house supporting the Jag, in spite of all the money they've made off of
the US market. (Talk about trade imbalances and restraint of trade!)
And, finally, most importantly, get those damn promised games out on time.
Atari WWW Support Area
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Mark S. Smith
Atari Web Pages Latest News
~~~~~ ~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~~ ~~~~
Version 1.0
~~~~~~~ ~~~
Date 21/4/95
~~~~ ~~~~~~~
by
Mark Stephen Smith
~~~~ ~~~~~~~ ~~~~~
5th Update
~~~ ~~~~~~
===============================================================================
Foreword
~~~~~~~~
Hello and welcome to the news item on the Atari Web pages. This document
will describe the Atari Web pages as provided by Mark Stephen Smith and will
inlcude a list of the latest updates for the month. Each month I hope to
update this text with the very latest additions and news on the Atari Web
pages.
Hopefully these pages will provide an invaluable service to their users, but
they are still at an early stage and developing all the time. As such any
feedback and support you may have for these pages is more than welcome, it is
infact encouraged. The more input I get from its users the better, as then I
will know what is good and bad about these pages and can change them
approproately in the hope of increasing their value to their readers.
Now on with the show.
===============================================================================
News and Changes
~~~ ~~~ ~~~~~~~
Well since the original description a lot has happened. I'm now involved in
several projects, and submit work to several Internet and diskmag sources for
inclusion. I have also officially took over the maintenance of the Atari FTP
list from Hallvard Tangeraas of which there have been a couple of updates.
New items in this document since the last copy will be marked with **, updates
will be marked with a U. All new items are also listed below according to the
date they were added.
This update is special as it contains the updates from the last two months
rather than one month as is usual for the updates. This is a one off however
and has happened due to the fact that my Web pages had to close down in March
and a new site had to be found before the service was resumed. A new site was
successfully found but I felt there were insufficient updates that month
because of these events and therefore this update is larger containing both
months. Please make a note of the sites new address and update any links or
bookmarks to the Atari pages to the new address. Thank you!
The new items this month are:
21/4/95 -- Nova Graphics Board Announcement
21/4/95 -- Sozobon C Announcement
21/4/95 -- FTP site Announcement
20/4/95 -- Speed of Light v3.8 update
18/4/95 -- Atari FTP list updated
18/4/95 -- Doom Review for Jaguar by Robert Jung
18/4/95 -- ECTS News
18/4/95 -- Kasumi Ninja Moves List
18/4/95 -- Coming soon for the Jaguar title list updated.
18/4/95 -- HENSA Atari TOS Newsletter Volume 8. No.7.
12/4/95 -- Speed of Light 3.7b update
12/4/95 -- Fried Bits Eastern Coding Convention 3 Announcement
12/4/95 -- CAIN Newsletter Volume 2. No.3
12/4/95 -- Apex Media Demo for the Falcon
12/4/95 -- HENSA Atari Falcon Newsletter Volume 8. No.3
12/4/95 -- Raiden Tips for Jaguar
12/4/95 -- Lynx FAQ Updated
12/4/95 -- Jaguar FAQ updated
5/4/95 -- Jaguar Game Cheats
5/4/95 -- Theme Park review for Jaguar by Robert Jung
5/4/95 -- AEO Newsletter Volume 4. Issue 4. in text and ZIP format
28/3/95 -- Jaguar Reviews pages format updated by Holger Kipp
27/3/95 -- Falcon Demo FAQ Updated.
27/3/95 -- 50/60 Hz Jaguar games adjusting to resolution list
27/3/95 -- Iron Soldier Jaguar Review by Holger Kipp
27/3/95 -- Syndicate Jaguar Review by Holger Kipp
27/3/95 -- Cannon Fodder Jaguar Review by Holger Kipp
27/3/95 -- Theme Park Jaguar Review by Holger Kipp
24/3/95 -- HENSA Atari TOS Newsletter Volume 8. No.6.
23/3/95 -- Pages re-open at new site, links being updated.
22/3/95 -- Pages closed down.
17/3/95 -- Given the news these pages must close at Daresbury by the 22/3/95.
15/3/95 -- Portfolio Club
14/3/95 -- Atari FTP List Update
14/3/95 -- Towers II : Plight of the Stargazer
14/3/95 -- HENSA Atari TOS Newsletter Volume 8. No.5
10/3/95 -- Questions and Answers question 15 answered
10/3/95 -- Towers II release announcement
7/3/95 -- Atari Related Links Page
7/3/95 -- Information on viruses
7/3/95 -- CAIN Newsletter Volume 2. No.2
3/3/95 -- Lynx FAQ updated
3/3/95 -- Jaquar FAQ updated
2/3/95 -- Wolfenstein 3D Jaguar Review by Robert Jung
2/3/95 -- Iron Soldier Jaguar Review by Robert Jung
2/3/95 -- Jaguar Bubsy Bobcat (In Fractured Furry Tales) Review by Robert Jung
2/3/95 -- Jaguar Val D'Isere Skiing and Snowboarding Review by Robert Jung
28/2/95 -- AEO Newsletter Volume 4. Issue.3 in text and ZIP format
===============================================================================
What are the Atari Web pages?
~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~ ~~~~~
These are a collection of pages covering all formats of the Atari. In these
pages may be found the latest news, reviews, software for downloading, and
various other information and links to other places of interest to Atari users.
I have tried to make the structure of these pages easy to follow and as
intuitive as possible but there is still a lot of work to be done yet.
===============================================================================
How do I access them and what is the Web?
~~ ~~ ~ ~~~~~~ ~~~~ ~~~ ~~~~ ~~ ~~~ ~~~
First of all I shall look at what the Web is or to use its full name the World
Wide Web. The Web is new way of accessing the Internet, unlike previous
methods where you were required to enter commands into the program you were
using the Web uses a more user driven method of getting around the Internet.
This method is much more graphical than former methods and as such is much
easier to get to grips with.
When using a Web browser (the name given to a program used to access Web pages)
the control method usually consists of a point and click operation. A Web page
will consist of text and graphics which are sometimes highlighted in some way
to indicate that they are selectable and link to more information or a
particular piece of data.
Such a link is reffered to as a hyperlink. In fact the whole system is a
variation on hypertext and uses a script to create each page. Each script is
written to a HTML (HyperText Markup Language) standard which contains the main
body of text in the page and a few command tags for the browser as to how to
format the page and what to do with links, etc.
Web pages may contain text, graphics, sounds, and animations, although the
later two are normally supported through external software. It is also
possible using the Web to gain access to newsgroups, ftp sites, and gopher
services all through the one program. As such this makes this a very powerful
tool for Internet access, and coupled with its ease of use this has suddenly
became the big thing in the recent Internet explosion into the media.
Browsers can handle all properly written HTML scripts but may vary in operation
when scripts are incorrect or contain mistakes. Browsers can be divided into
to distinct types, graphical and text only. Popular graphical browsers include
NCSA's Mosaic and the recent new browser NetScape. On the text side Lynx is
the most popular textual browser (NOTE: text browsers don't show any form of
graphics).
To access the Web you must either use one of the above mentioned browsers on a
machine such as a Sun, PC or Mactintosh, or if you want to access it via your
Atari you will need a copy of the Lynx browser as unfortunately there aren't
any graphical browsers YET for the Atari.
===============================================================================
U Where do I find the Atari Web page?
~~~~~ ~~ ~ ~~~~ ~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~ ~~~~
>From your Web browser choose to open URL and enter the following address:
http://www.mcc.ac.uk/~dlms/atari.html
If you can store a hotlist of addresses or something similar on your browser
then it may be worth including this address for quick access in the future.
Once you've done that you should see my main page so I hope you enjoy it, and
don't forget to write with your thoughts.
(*NOTE*: This is the new site for the Atari Web pages, take note of it!)
===============================================================================
U What you will find in the Web pages every month.
~~~~ ~~~ ~~~~ ~~~~ ~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~
>From the main menu you have several links available to you, some under
miscellaneous and others specific to a particular machine, or collection of
machines. It is now possible to mail me directly from the Web pages, special
thanks also to Frank Charlton for the new Atari Logo. First I will look at
what will be in the Miscellaneous section.
*************************
Atari Related links, Documents, FAQ's and Newsletters
~~~~ ~~~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~
First in the list are "Atari Related Links", these links are to other sources
of Atari information or data (such as files, etc.).
There is a link to many of the major Atari holding FTP sites on the Internet.
Links to several Web pages by different people on the Atari. This will grow as
worthwhile sites come up. At the moment you can visit:
- HENSA to download Atari files (Moderated by Denesh Bhabuta)
- ZFC's Atari Pages by Annius V. Groenink. This has links to various Atari
related places, along with talk of his own work on Edith and his new Drive U
Project. Annius is also working on a version of the Mosaic browser for the
Atari and the best of luck goes to him on that.
- Christer Gustavsson's Atari Gem Programmers Page. Very useful information
for programmers grapling with Gem and the operating system. Also offers help
via his questions answers page. Some links can be found to Atari related
places.
- CAIN Atari Pages. CAIN is the Central Atari Information Network and they
create a newsletter which is updately monthly on all things new to do with
the Atari. There are also links available here.
- Martin Maisey's Atari Pages. Contains information (downloadable) on programs
written by himself for the Atari. Again there are links to other Atari
places.
- Toad Computers Pages. Stockiest and retailer of many Atari goods.
- ST Format Pages. Information and previews of ST Format issues.
**Volker Burggraf Atari Pages (German).
**Desert Star Software Home Page.
**ST Assembler Page
**BSM's Home Page
**ST Beer Mat Page
**The Organised Chaos Licenseware Home Page
**Index of /~jschlich/Jaguar/
**Lynx Pages
**Atari Lynx Page
**Atari Page by Frank Post (Partially German, partially English)
**MiNTOS Distribution and Information Page
**Julian's Atari Page
**Atari Ghostscript
**Atari Page by Robert Krenn
**Simon Gornall's Atari Pages
**Ben Halls Page (KSculpt + Calamus Information)
**"Data Uncertain" Software
**Kay's Home (MintNet)
**CNAM Atari Pages
**EMAGIC Users Page (Covers Atari)
**Helmut's Project contains Atari Links (English and German)
**Eero Tamminen's Atari Pages
**Atari Programmers Page
**The Vulcans Home Page
**Atari Users List
**Impulse Home Page (Demo Crew)
**NPG Home Page (Demo Crew)
**Atari Page by Dirk Klemmt
**Steve's Atari WWW Pages
**The Guitar Reference (For the Atari)
**Musings of an Amateur Hacker
**The Atari Home Page by Martijn Dekker
**Tecnation Sonovista (Falcon based computer)
**Cybercube WWW Page (Atari Products)
**Yak's Zoo
**Atari Jaguar 64-Bit Game Machine Stuff
**8 Bit Atari Page by Ivo van Poorten
**Atari Jaguar Homepage by Christian Svensson (very good and kept up to date)
**Jaguar directory
Documents
~~~~~~~~
Useful documents will appear in here. At the moment there is:
U Atari FTP List by Mark Stephen Smith (essential for the latest news on who
provides Atari FTP sites).
- Atari TOS Desktop Survival Kit by Thomas J Hopper. An essential guide to
getting the most out of your DESKTOP.INF and NEWSDESK.INF files.
- Recommended list of software for the Atari by Denesh Bhabuta. List compiled
by Denesh for me of his best software for the Atari (updates coming soon).
Mostly PD and Shareware, this list contains links to download most of the
software mentioned.
- Information on picture formats by Dave Bagget. Lots of information on the
format of different picture files for the Atari.
**Information on Viruses.
FAQ's (Frequently Asked Questions)
~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~
Useful FAQ's will appear here. At the moment there is:
- Atari ST SLIP FAQ. This is a guide to connecting your Atari to a network.
All you want to know about networks and the Atari.
- Atari CD FAQ. Information on getting and using CD's on the Atari. Regular
updates to this can be found in my pages.
- GDOS FAQ by Gerd Castan. Got a question on GDOS then this is the place to
look.
- MiNTNet FAQ by Christer Gustavsson. Everything you wanted to know about
MiNTNet.
- AtariNOS FAQ by Frank Charlton. Answered questions and information on NOS.
Newsletters
~~~~~~~~~~
Although there may be more to come the following newsletters are updated
promptly as I receive them. These have been re-organised to make it easier to
keep track of. At the moment there is:
U CAIN Newsletter containing the latest Atari news.
U HENSA Newsletter containing the latest updates to the HENSA Atari archive.
U AEO Newsletter containing the latest Atari news.
Newsgroups
~~~~~~~~~
Atari related newsgroups. Send updates. The currently supported news are:
comp.binaries.atari.st
comp.sys.atari.advocacy
comp.sys.atari.announce
comp.sys.atari.st
comp.sys.atari.st.tech
comp.sys.atari.programmer
rec.games.video.atari
alt.games.lynx
*************************
U Questions and Answers
~~~~~~~~~ ~~~ ~~~~~~~
Submit your questions to here and get them included in this page. Answers are
open to anyone who has something valid to say, and help is provided to me on
Programming and Music questions by several knowledgeable sources. Please
support this section, only by your interaction and questions will it survive.
All answers are included in this page for anyone else with the same question
and answers are also sent back to the person who submitted the question for
those without Web access.
If you feel you have an expertise in a particular area concerning the Atari and
would be willing to answer questions on that area when and if I submitted them
to you, then please let me know and you can join the team. Programming and
Music are fairly well covered and I can cover Graphics programs, help with
Technical questions would be appreciated.
**************************
Reviews
~~~~~~
Here I hope to include reviews of Atari products both new an old. So far I
have the following reviews:
- Kobold review by Andy Curtis (ST Format)
- Flash 2 review by Frank Charlton (ST Format)
- Edith Professional review by Frank Charlton (ST Format)
- MagiC review by Andy Curtis (ST Format)
- Stello v2 review by Mark Stephen Smith (Myself)
- Sportster Modem review by Frank Charlton (ST Format)
- Storm Tracker review by Andy Curtis (ST Format)
- Connect review by Frank Charlton (ST Format)
- Zero 5 review by Frank Charlton (ST Format)
- MIDI Grid review by Andy Curtis (ST Format)
There are several reviews on the way by the above mentioned people aswell as
some by myself. This section is now growing well now and Nick Peers from ST
format recently expressed his interest in writing some reviews also.
Again if you feel you would like to submit reviews for inclusion then please
write to me. Please note these pages don't include Lynx and Jaguar Reviews, as
they are contained within their own pages.
**************************
News and Announcements Pages
~~~ ~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~
Latest Atari news, and announcements from the Atari World. Currently contains
the following:
**Nova Graphics Board Announcement
**Sozobon C Announcment
**FTP site Announcment
**Fried Bits Eastern Coding Convention 3 Announcement
**Portfolio Club Announcement
**Towers II release Announcement
- Universal Virus Killer Book Announcement
**************************
Updates and Information on these Web Pages
~~~~~~ ~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~ ~~~~~ ~~~ ~~~~~
All updates and news on the Atari Web pages goes in here. Previews of whats
to come soon are included and new items or updates to the pages are listed
according to date with the most recent being first. Most updates contain links
to the new material for instant access.
Other things to be found in here are the number of accesses to the Atari pages.
At the moment this is not supported.
***************************
This now concludes the Miscellaneous section. Now onto the Other Pages. These
pages are specific to a particular machine, or collection of machines. These
are going to go through some major changes and you can expect a fair number of
changes to be made to these in the next month or so.
***************************
Falcon Page
~~~~~ ~~~~
This will contain information and files relevant to the Atari Falcon, currently
this page is divided into the following areas:
News and Previews
~~~ ~~~ ~~~~~~~~
In here expect to see any news or previews that come my way, whether they be
small descriptions or full features with pictures. At the moment there is:
- Pinball Dreams and Llama Zap News.
- Apex News. This contains some information I got on Apex Media for the Falcon
when I spoke to Douglas Little on the phone a few weeks back. Not very
detailed unfortunately, but I'm waiting on my copy of Apex to give a full
review so expect that to be rectified soon.
- Dextrous News. Small description of some of the features of Dextrous with a
picture. Only at an early stage of development, if I hear more it will go in
here.
- Towers II : Plight of the Stargazer. Pictures and description of this great
looking Falcon only sequel to Towers. Expect the demo soon.
- Towers II : Plight of the Stargazer Update! The latest news on developments.
U Newsletters from HENSA on Falcon section of archive.
Misc
~~~
Miscellaneous information on the Falcon, including:
U Falcon Demo FAQ. List of Demos for the Falcon, including some form of
information on each.
- Compatibility list of games with Falcon.
- Compatibility list of applications with Falcon.
- Falcon Specifications and Information compiled by Rod McCall.
New Software
~~ ~~~~~~~~
The latest Falcon/enhanced software available for download. Major revisions to
be done with updates here. All files now list there size so you can see how
large they are before downloading. At the moment the following software is
included, with more to come:
**Apex Media Demo (Demo version of the animation and art package for the
Falcon)
**Towers II (Shareware game)
- Super Bomber Man (freeware)
- Play MPEG v0.70 by M.D.Griffths (shareware)
U Speed of Light v3.8 (shareware picture viewer)
- Scape a planetary landsacpe generator.
- Digital Tracker demo of commercial version.
- Obsession 1 level demo.
U FOG issue 8 diskmagazine for Falcon.
Other software worth having
~~~~ ~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~~
Software worth using on the Falcon.
- Backward v2.52. For compatibility with the ST. Please send any versions
which are newer than this.
- MultiBlow. Configurable overscan utility.
- Starball. Excellent pinball game (Falcon enhanced).
- Berzerk. Excellent version of Berzerk (Faster on Falcon).
- FOG issue 7 diskmagazine for Falcon.
- FOG issue 6 diskmagazine for Falcon.
****************************
Atari ST/STE/TT/Mega STE Page
~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~
This will contain information and files relevant to all the above mentioned
Atari formats, currently this page is divided into the following areas:
News
~~~
In here expect to see any news or previews that come my way, whether they are
small descriptions or full features with pictures. At the moment there is:
U Newsletters from HENSA on TOS section of archive.
New Software
~~ ~~~~~~~~
The latest (most recent versions) software available for download. Major
revisions to be done with updates. All files now list there size so you can
see how large they are before downloading. At the moment the following
software is included, with lots more to come:
U Speed of Light v3.8 (shareware picture viewer).
- ST Zip v2.6. Latest version of ST Zip.
- Obsession demo. 1 level of this great pinball game.
Other Software worth having
~~~~ ~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~~
Software worth having on the Atari.
- Utopus. Two player shootem' up (STE only).
- Ozone. Good platform/puzzler.
- Starball. Excellent pinball game.
- Berzerk. Excellent version of Berzerk.
****************************
Lynx Page
~~~ ~~~~
All the latest news and reviews on the lynx, along with cheats, etc. This page
is divided in to the following areas:
News
~~~
News on the Lynx and related material. At the moment there is:
- Lynx Summer Steal Deal Extended to the Fall. News of price reductions for a
limited period.
Reviews
~~~~~~
Reviews for just about every Lynx game ever released will appear in here. All
reviews are by Robert Jung. At the moment the following reviews are included:
APB Awesome Golf Baseball Heroes
Batman Returns Basket Brawl Bill and Ted's
BlockOut BattleWheels Blue Lightning
California Games Checkered Flag Chip's Challenge
Crystal Mines II Dino Olympics Dirty Larry:Renegade Cop
Dracula the Undead Double Dragon Desert Strike
Electro Cop European Soccer Chal. Ultimate Chess Chal.
Gauntlet:3rd Encounter Gordo 106 Hard Driven'
Hockey Hydra Ishido : Way of Stones
Jimmy Conners' Tennis Joust Klax
Kungfood Lemmings Lynx Casino
Malibu Bikini Volleyball Ms.Pac-Man
NFL Football Ninja Gaiden
Ninja Gaiden III : The Ancient Shop of Doom
Other Lynx Stuff
~~~~ ~~~~ ~~~~~
Other items of interest to Lynx owners. At the moment there is the following:
U Lynx FAQ
- Lynx Tips and Tricks
New Software Anouncement
~~ ~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~
Currently empty.
****************************
Jaguar Page
~~~~~ ~~~~
All the latest news and reviews on the lynx, along with cheats, etc. This page
is divided in to the following areas:
News and Previews
~~~ ~~~ ~~~~~~~~
All the latest news and preview information I can find related to the Jaguar.
**ECTS News
**Hyper Image page linked to (Makers of Jaguar game Hover Hunter).
- Jaguar CD Specifications
- Rebellion Development News
- Sinister Developments News
- Sensible Soccer News
U Coming Soon!
- Hand Made Software News
Reviews
~~~~~~
A collection of reviews from different sources, hopefully I will be
contributing more to this section myself. This page has been re-formatted
thanks to Holger Kipp. Reviews so far include:
Aliens vs Predator - by Eric S.Boltz
Aliens vs Predator - by Robert Jung
Brutal Sports Football - by Randy
** Bubsy Bobcat (in
Fractured Furry Tales) - by Robert Jung
Checkered Flag - by Robert Jung
** Cannon Fodder - by Holger Kipp
Cybermorph - by Robert Jung
** Doom - by Robert Jung
Dragon: The Bruce Lee
Story - by ?????
** Iron Soldier - by Robert Jung
** Iron Soldier - by Holger Kipp
Raiden - by Robert Jung
** Syndicate - by Holger Kipp
Tempest 2000 - by Robert Jung
** Theme Park - by Holger Kipp
** Theme Park - by Robert Jung
Trevor McFur in Cresent
Galaxy - Jer Howitz
** Val d'Isere Skiing and
Snowboarding - by Robert Jung
Wolfenstein 3D - by Robert Jung
** Wolfenstein 3D - by ?????
There are many more reviews to come.
Other Jaguar Stuff
~~~~ ~~~~~~ ~~~~~
Miscellaneous information on the Jaguar. Information included presently is:
U Jaguar FAQ
- Raiden Tips
- Jaguar Game Cheats
- Kasumi Ninja FAQ
- Ultra Vortex FAQ update for Jaguar
**50/60 Hz, games adjusting to resolutions list
**Jaguar Game Cheats
**More Raiden Tips
**Kasumi Ninja Moves List
Other Jaguar Pages
~~~~ ~~~~~~ ~~~~~
Other pages specific to the Jaguar included in here. Currently there is:
- Atari Jaguar Homepage by Christian Svensson
There are others that will be included, some containing more recent news, but
the one above is the most organised and intuitive one I've came across.
****************************
8 Bit Atari Page by Ivo van Poorten
Not maintained by me these pages cover the 8 bit formats of Atari machines and
are very comprehensive. Nearly everything you could hope to find is contained
within these pages.
****************************
What to expect in the future
~~~ ~~ ~~~~~~ ~~ ~~~ ~~~~~~
Some structural changes are likely to appear in the next months. I have
introduced an announcements page where you can tell the World of anything you
have to announce. Please send news of updates to your programs, Atari stuff
for sale, and any other Atari announcements here (NOTE : Commercial companies
should send information on products to be included in here and in the news
sections).
Also coming soon will be a monthly editorial. In this I will try and sum up
the month past and to give my opinions on how I saw things for Atari at that
time. Hopefully I will be able to look back over many good developments in my
pages and summarise them as they happened.
There is an outside possibility of starting a programmers and/or MIDI section
in these pages but this is as yet undecided. I will judge whether or not to do
this based on the kind of response I have. I do not want to repeat any of the
good work done in these fields however by other Web page writers such as
Christer Gustavsson (Where is the response for these pages?)
More support is needed for the questions and answers pages, although initially
successfull people just stopped posting their questions. Although the odd one
is still coming and answers are still forthcoming. Please support this, it is
of benefit to anyone who uses it.
The Jaguar section should have a lot more news, pictures and reviews in the
future. I have tracked down a fair bit of news and am in contact with a few
companies now and hope to get news from them on there products.
Both the ST and Falcon sections should contain much more news in the future,
along with more of the best PD/Shareware, and PD/Shareware reviews. I should
have several demos hopefully in the near future for games coming out on these
formats.
The Lynx section is to continue to get reviews and I will update the news as
and when I get it. Sorry about the lack of updates recently, more to come.
Expect more links to Atari related pages in the future. There will be more
newsletters, documents, updates to the FAQ's.
Expect further reviews from Andy and Frank, along with myself (watch out for
the Apex Media review). Hopefully I can include more screenshots, and do a few
program tutorials. Nick Peers of ST Format and Holger Kipp have offered to
support these pages with contributions in the future.
Please write with your ideas, critisms, comments, submissions (software, news,
reviews, questions, etc), to me and don't forget that I am now the official
maintainer of the Atari FTP list originally by Hallvard Tangeraas. All updates
to this list should now be sent to me.
Thank you and see you with the updates to these pages next month!
Upcoming Atari Shows
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Mark Leair
<< Computer Shows >>
Updated: 04/30/95
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 guarentee its accuracy. Corrections and
cancellations are therefore requested.
+-----------------+
|Shows at a Glance|
+-----------------+--------------+--------------------------+----------+
| Name | Location | Date |
|--------------------------------+--------------------------+----------|
|1. MIST Atari Fest VII |Indianapolis, IND |07/29/95 |
+----------------------------------------------------------------------+
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
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Mark Leair
<< Voting Booth >>
On occasion CAIN will conduct surveys on various issues affecting the Atari
Community. Results are then published in the following issue of CAIN. There
are now three methods for voting on these issues:
1> Cleveland Free-Net users may use the Voting Booth located on the
Atari SIG. It is option '11' off of the Atari SIG's main menu.
2> World Wide Web users can use CAIN's Virtual Voting Booth -- option
number '2' off of CAIN's WWW homepage. Use the following URL to
get to CAIN's WWW homepage:
http://ace.cs.ohiou.edu/personal/mleair/cain.html
3> Ballots are also excepted by internet e-mail. To vote for this
month's issue place "CAIN Vote 5-95" in the subject line of
the message. Next, cast your vote in the message body by entering
"Yes" or a "No". Send this email to:
mleair@bigbird.cs.ohiou.edu
Last month's issue
------------------
Do you think Atari Corp will resume manufacturing NEW games for
the Atari Lynx?
Results:
47 people voted.
26 (or 55.32 % of the vote) voted "Yes".
21 (or 44.68 % of the vote) voted "No"
This month's issue
------------------
One important aspect of any company's advertising is "word-of-mouth"
advertising. This month's issue attempts to find out how well Atari is doing
with with its "word-of-mouth" advertising.
Do you (or would you) recommend the Atari Jaguar to a someone else?
Please vote "Yes" or "No".
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."
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
THOUGHT OF THE MONTH: Risk it all Atari, what do you have to lose?
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
[C]entral [A]tari [I]nformation [N]etwork Newsletter Apr/May 1995
Copyright (c) 1995 All Rights Reserved No.012
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Central Atari Information Network (CAIN) Newsletter is produced by Cain
Publishing and is no way affiliated with Atari Corporation. Cain Publishing
is made up of the Cleveland Free-Net Atari SIGOps. 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.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
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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