Atari Explorer Online: 4-Dec-94 #0313
From: Bruce D. Nelson (aa789@cleveland.Freenet.Edu)
Date: 12/10/94-10:50:11 AM Z
From: aa789@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Bruce D. Nelson)
Subject: Atari Explorer Online: 4-Dec-94 #0313
Date: Sat Dec 10 10:50:11 1994
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
:: Volume 3, Issue 13 ATARI EXPLORER ONLINE 4 December 1994 ::
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
:: ::
:: ATARI .............. News, reviews, & solutions ............ ATARI ::
:: EXPLORER ............ for the online Atari .......... EXPLORER ::
:: ONLINE ................. Community .............. ONLINE ::
:: ::
:: Published and Copyright (c) 1993-1994 by Subspace Publishers ::
:: All Rights Reserved ::
:: """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" ::
:: Publisher .................................... Michael Lindsay ::
:: Editor ........................................... Travis Guy ::
:: Assistant Editor GEnie......................... Ron Robinson ::
:: Assistant Editor CompuServe................... Albert Dayes ::
:: Assistant Editor Delphi.................. Andreas Barbiero ::
:: Assistant Editor Internet................. Timothy Wilson ::
:: Atari Asylum ... [Closed] ............... Gregg Anderson ::
:: Unabashed Atariophile .............. Michael R. Burkley ::
:: Atari Artist ............................ Peter Donoso ::
:: User Group Coordinator .................. Ron Whittam ::
:: Jaguar Editor ................... Dimitri M. LaBarge ::
:: ::
:: Contributors: ::
:: """"""""""""" ::
:: Eric Michard, Boris Molodyi ::
:: Mark Stephen Smith, Christian Svensson ::
:: David A. Wright ::
:: ::
:: Telecommunicated to you via: ::
:: """""""""""""""""""""""""""" ::
:: GEnie: ST/JAGUAR RT Library 38 ::
:: CompuServe: ATARIGAMING Library 10 ::
:: Delphi: ATARI ADVANTAGE & WORLD OF VIDEO GAMES Libraries ::
:: Fnet: AEO Conference, Node 319 ::
:: AtariNet: AEO Conference, Node 51:1/10 ::
:: ::
:: Internet mailing address: aeo.mag@genie.geis.com ::
:: FTP recent AEO issues from: rahul.net:pub/wilsont/AEO ::
:: Search gopherspace under "aeo" for back issues ::
:: ::
:: World Wide Web: http://www.dl.ac.uk/MISC/ATARI/atari.html ::
:: http://bert.cs.byu.edu/~jaguar/ ::
:: ::
:: Internet subscription service: stzmagazine-request@virginia.edu ::
:: (Internet subscription requests ONLY!) ::
:: ::
:: AEO is also in file format on the Jaguar Mailing List ::
:: ::
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Table of Contents
* From the Editors .................... Too much, not enough and real late.
* Rare Gems ......................................... Quotes worth quoting.
* AvP Team GEnie RTC ................. AEO kicks off our triple conference
converage with the latest GEnie RTC.
* AvP & Atari Marketing CIS Conference ......... Ron Beltramo and assorted
Atari dudes do Q&A on CIS.
* Bill Rehbock RTC ................... Atari's Vice President in charge of
Software Business Development
chats with GEnie Jaguar fans.
* Jaguar Tackboard ..................... Changes in the Development List -
DOOM and AvP Cheats - Offers from
Atari Customer Service - CatBox
to ship & other Jaguar PRs.
* Club Drive Review ................ Go for a spin in the newest amusement
park of the 21st Century - on
Jaguar, of course.
* Surfin' the Jagged Edge ........... The latest Jaguar news & information.
* Jaguars at ToadFest '94 ...... This weekend's Atari dealer show had lots
of people hopping. Check out THREE new
Jaguar games & the CatBox.
* Atari Web Page News ....................... Your one stop World Wide Web
source for Atari pages.
* DA'S Picture Review ................ Boris Molodyi looks over a powerful
image processing program from DA.
* "From a Saved Backup..." .................. Cyberspace: the meeting room
inside your own home.
* The Unabashed Atariophile ................... PD and Shareware files for
_your_ Atari computer.
* Developing News ........................ Toronto Atari Federation '95
New CDs at Systems For Tomorrow
On the CyberCube SKYLINE
Crawly Crypt Collection CD
IAR CD Specials
Speedo 5.0c Available
New Audio CD Master from IAR
Two Volume CD from Suzy B's
TraceTech's Falcon030 ToolKit
* Shutdown ............................ Around the world and up your block.
--==--==--==--==--
||| From the Editors ....... Atari Explorer Online: The Next Generation
||| Travis Guy
/ | \ GEnie: AEO.MAG Delphi: AEO_MAG Internet: aeo.mag@genie.geis.com
-------------------------------------------------------------------
I'm really late in getting this issue of AEO out to everyone, but to
hopefully make up for the delays, I've been able to get ahold of a
complete review of Club Drive, along with a report from this weekend's
Toadfest where THREE (3) new Jaguar games (and the mythic CatBox)
were shown in various stages of completion.
Again, because of the latness of this issue, there's way too much
information inside - the largest issue of AEO ever. There's three
online conference transcripts, the review and show report, Dimitri's
column which is packed with tidbits from the 'nets and the real world,
news on a new World Wide Web Atari page, a review of what sounds like
an amazing image processing program for Atari computers, and
Michael's latest roundup of Atari PD & Shareware files.
There's not enough room for me to blabber on too long - just enough
for me to let you know that things in the World Atari -are- going in
the right direction. Check out the Atari dealer demo videotape for
proof - ordering information is in the Jaguar Tackboard.
Thanks for everyones' patience. Now sit back, and enjoy this
overstuffed issue of Atari Explorer Online. We'll be back before
Christmas with lots more news and reviews for you all.
--==--==--==--==--
||| Rare Gems
||| Compiled by: David A. Wright
/ | \ Internet: centaur@hartford.com
----------------------------------------------------------------
The following are the "Rare Gems (sm)" selections for October 2 to 8,
1994. "Rare Gems" is a service mark (sm) of Rare Breed Noninc. and
David Alan Wright. (Internet: CENTAUR@HARTFORD.COM) Compilation
copyright 1994 by same. All Wright's rights reserved. Each weekly or
monthly collection may be distributed freely as long as this notice is
retained. Multiple collections, such as CD-ROM, print, electronic, and
other publications, may not be distributed without further
authorization. All quotes covered by "fair use" of copyright law. To
be continued... --:Dave
Life has a practice of living you if you don't live it.
--Philip Larkin
Our disputants put me in mind of the skuttle fish, that when he is
unable to extricate himself, blackens all the water about him, till he
becomes invisible. --"The Spectator" by Joseph Addison
"He knows" says Hebraism, "his Bible!" - whenever we hear this said,
we may, without any elaborate defense of culture, content ourselves
with answering simply: "No man, who knows nothing else, knows even his
Bible." --"Culture and Anarchy" by Matthew Arnold
When you can't find anyone else to blame but yourself, it's time to
hire help. --Eileen Mason
Sir Walter, being strangely surprised and put out of his countenance
at so great a table, gives his son a damned blow over the face. His
son, as rude as he was, would not strike his father, but strikes over
the face the gentleman that sat next to him and said "Box about:
'twill come to my father anon."
--"Sir Walter Raleigh" by John Aubrey
Only the free have disposition to be truthful,
Only the truthful have the interest to be just,
Only the just possess the will-power to be free. --W. H. Auden
A man must make his opportunity, as oft as find it. --Francis Bacon
===
The following are the "Rare Gems (sm)" selections for October 9 to 15,
1994. "Rare Gems" is a service mark (sm) of Rare Breed Noninc. and
David Alan Wright. (Internet: CENTAUR@HARTFORD.COM) Compilation
copyright 1994 by same. All Wright's rights reserved. Each weekly or
monthly collection may be distributed freely as long as this notice is
retained. Multiple collections, such as CD-ROM, print, electronic, and
other publications, may not be distributed without further
authorization. All quotes covered by "fair use" of copyright law.
Quotes may be wittier than they appear. --:Dave
Shotgun wedding: A case of wife or death. --Unknown
Books must follow sciences, and not sciences books. --Francis Bacon
Writers, like teeth, are divided into incisors and grinders.
--Walter Bagehot
Dear Mr. Bean: Although we are pleased that you have decided to
become a blood donor, I'm afraid we cannot accept donations by post.
We have disposed of your blood in accordance with the conditions of
the Medicines Act 1709, and your jam jar is returned herewith.
--Highbury Royal Infirmary, "Mr. Bean's Diary" by Driscoll and Atkinson
To be nobody-but-myself - in a world which is doing its best, night
and day, to make you everybody else - means to fight the hardest
battle which any human being can fight, and never stop fighting.
--e. e. cummings
As many languages as he has, as many friends, as many arts and
trades, so many times is he a man. --Ralph Waldo Emerson
Bugs are sons of glitches. --Unknown
===
The following are the "Rare Gems (sm)" selections for October 16 to
22, 1994. "Rare Gems" is a service mark (sm) of Rare Breed Noninc. and
David Alan Wright. (Internet: CENTAUR@HARTFORD.COM) Compilation
copyright 1994 by same. All Wright's rights reserved. Each weekly or
monthly collection may be distributed freely as long as this notice is
retained. Multiple collections, such as CD-ROM, print, electronic, and
other publications, may not be distributed without further
authorization. All quotes covered by "fair use" of copyright law. No
Zoanids were injured in the making of this collection. - -:Dave
We need more silly men. --Frank Black
Our hours in love have wings; in absence crutches. --Colley Cibber
The strongest are those who renounce their old times and become a
living part of those yet to come. The strongest, and the rarest.
--Milovan Djilas
The absent shall not be made heir. --Latin proverb
If life must not be taken too seriously - then so neither must death.
--Samuel Butler
Interviewer: "Can you destroy the Earth?" Tick: "Egad! I hope not!
That's where I keep all my stuff!" --"The Tick" show
I'm a nobody, nobody is perfect, therefore I'm perfect. --Unknown
===
The following are the "Rare Gems (sm)" selections for October 23 to
29, 1994. "Rare Gems" is a service mark (sm) of Rare Breed Noninc. and
David Alan Wright. (Internet: CENTAUR@HARTFORD.COM) Compilation
copyright 1994 by same. All Wright's rights reserved. Each weekly or
monthly collection may be distributed freely as long as this notice is
retained. Multiple collections, such as CD-ROM, print, electronic, and
other publications, may not be distributed without further
authorization. All quotes covered by "fair use" of copyright law. Out
of Gems. Please order more. --:Dave
When a man points a finger at someone else, he should remember that
three of his fingers are pointing at himself. --Unknown
I've got too much time on my hands, and it's ticking away, ticking
away on me. --Styx
The house praises the carpenter. --Ralph Waldo Emerson
The man who does not learn is dark, like one walking in the night.
--Chinese proverb
Mighty rivers can easily be leapt at their source. --Publilius Syrus
There is a scarcity of friendship, but not of friends.
--Thomas Fuller
A really busy person never knows how much he weighs.
--Edgar Watson Howe
===
The following are the "Rare Gems (sm)" selections for October 30 to
November 5, 1994. "Rare Gems" is a service mark (sm) of Rare Breed
Noninc. and David Alan Wright. (Internet: CENTAUR@HARTFORD.COM)
Compilation copyright 1994 by same. All Wright's rights reserved. Each
weekly or monthly collection may be distributed freely as long as this
notice is retained. Multiple collections, such as CD-ROM, print,
electronic, and other publications, may not be distributed without
further authorization. All quotes covered by "fair use" of copyright
law. Not an exit. --:Dave
===
Where most of us end up there is no knowing, but the hellbent get
where they are going. --"The Wolf Who Went Places" by James Thurber
Good actors are good because of the things they can tell us without
talking. When they are talking, they are the servants of the
dramatist. It is what they can show the audience when they are not
talking that reveals the fine actor. --Cedric Hardwicke
Trouble will come soon enough, and when he does come receive him as
pleasantly as possible. Like the tax-collector, he is a disagreeable
chap to have in one's house, but the more amiably you greet him the
sooner he will go away. --Artemus Ward
Distrust interested advice. --"The Fox Without a Tail" by Aesop
The African race is an india-rubber ball: the harder you dash it to
the ground, the higher it will rise. --African proverb
If all pulled in one direction, the world would keel over.
--Yiddish proverb
When one realizes that his life is worthless he either commits
suicide or travels. --Edward Dahlberg
===
The following are the "Rare Gems (sm)" selections for November 13 to
19, 1994. "Rare Gems" is a service mark (sm) of Rare Breed Noninc. and
David Alan Wright. (Internet: CENTAUR@HARTFORD.COM) Compilation
copyright 1994 by same. All Wright's rights reserved. Each weekly
collection may be distributed freely as long as this notice is
retained. No other format may be distributed without further
authorization. All quotes covered by "fair use" of copyright law. This
copy of Univac OS has been unregistered for 52 years. --:Dave
Under Capitalism man exploits man; under Socialism the reverse is
true. --Polish proverb
I live in a constant endeavour to fence against the infirmities of ill
health, and other evils of life, by mirth; being firmly persuaded
that every time a man smiles, but much more so, when he laughs, that
it adds something to this Fragment of Life. --Laurence Sterne
The miniskirt enables young ladies to run faster, and because of it,
they may have to. --John V. Lindsay
For every battle honor, 1000 heroes die unknown. --Unknown
America is so vast that almost everything said about it is likely to
be true, and the opposite is probably equally true.
--James T. Farrell
I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just.
--Thomas Jefferson
We live in a welfare state which seeks to put a floor below which no
one sinks but builds no ceiling to prevent man from rising.
--Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr.
===
The following are the "Rare Gems (sm)" selections for November 20 to
26, 1994. "Rare Gems" is a service mark (sm) of Rare Breed Noninc. and
David Alan Wright. (Internet: CENTAUR@HARTFORD.COM) Compilation
copyright 1994 by same. All Wright's rights reserved. Each weekly
collection may be distributed freely as long as this notice is
retained. No other format may be distributed without further
authorization. All quotes covered by "fair use" of copyright law.
Operators are reclining by. --:Dave
Sitting at the table doesn't make you a diner, unless you eat some of
what's on that plate. Being here in America doesn't make you an
American. Being born here in America doesn't make you an American.
--Malcolm X
Man is condemned to be free. --Jean-Paul Sartre
A fanatic is one who can't change his mind and won't change the
subject. --Winston Churchill
Money is better than poverty, if only for financial reasons.
--Woody Allen
Every journalist has a novel in him, which is an excellent place for
it. --Russell Lynes
I thought about being Born Again, but my mother refused. --Unknown
It's a Zen thing. You wouldn't understand. --Unknown
--==--==--==--==--
||| AvP Design Team RTC Transcript
||| Courtesy: GEnie Atari RoundTable
/ | \ Internet: jaguar$@genie.geis.com
-----------------------------------------------------------------
=========================================================================
(C) 1994 by Atari Corporation, GEnie, and the Atari Roundtables. May
be reprinted only with this notice intact. The Atari Roundtables on
GEnie are *official* information services of Atari Corporation. To sign
up for GEnie service, call (with modem) 800-638-8369. Upon connection
type HHH (RETURN after that). Wait for the U#= prompt.Type XTX99437,GENIE
and press [RETURN]. The system will prompt you for your information.
=========================================================================
Jaguar Real Time Conference on GEnie
Hosts - Charlie Townsend and Lou Rocha
Nov. 30, 1994
Guests: Dan McNamee, Don Thomas,
James Grunke and Purple Hampton
ALIEN vs PREDATOR
& other Jaguar Games
<[Traffic Cop] ST.LOU> I will direct traffic tonight. Charlie Townsley
will be your host. Dan McNamee, James Grunke and Don Thomas will be in
live mode all the time. Try not to trip over each other, eh guys :-)
OK Charlie, take it away.
<[Charlie/Host] ARCHIVIST> Who, Us, Lou? (Grin)
<[Traffic Cop] ST.LOU> :-)
<[Charlie/Host] ARCHIVIST> Good Evening everyone, and welcome to this
Special Edition of the Games RTC for the Atari. We're here tonight
instead of the usual Saturday night to bring you some special guests
from Atari Corp. directly, and discuss the Jaguar, it's future, and
what has to be THE hottest game out for it right now: Alien vs.
Predator! I'll ask our special guests to introduce themselves in just
a minute, but first I'd like to explain a little bit about how an RTC
works for those of you who have never attended one before.
Because this is a formal RTC the room will be kept in 'listen only'
mode for most of the night. In order to ask a question of our guests
just /RAISE your hand and we will let you talk in turn. We will have
at least an hour for this RTC, possibly longer if our guest don't get
worn out, so we will try to get to everyone. Please, only ask one
question at a time and have your question ready to send out when we
call upon you. This will help the conference move much more swiftly.
Thanks! And now lets introduce our guests!
<ARCHIVIST> Ron has given me some introductory text to upload for him.
Shall I start with that directly, guys?
<[Dan @ Atari] D.MCNAMEE> Sure thing.
<ARCHIVIST> OK, here it comes, and it's some HOT news, too!
Hello! (from Ron Beltramo, v.p. marketing)
I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving.
Please accept my thanks for joining us this evening. I am aware that
everyone would enjoy having conferences more frequently on GEnie and
we will review opportunities for more conferences in the future. As
you might imagine, we have been working hard on getting more software
for the Jaguar on the market as quickly as possible. In itself, that
would not be hard if speed was our only concern. By reviewing the
message threads forwarded to me and the results of focus groups and
retailer feedback we are convinced that you want the type of quality
software that features the most immersive and challenging gameplay
that can be created for the 64-Bit Jaguar system. With that in mind,
we have been firm in our resolve to create a new caliber of quality
software. The feedback we are receiving on Alien Vs. Predator,
Wolfenstein 3D, Doom and Tempest 2000 tells me we are on the right
track. As we have all discovered, being patient and committed to this
standard of quality pays off.
This is turning out to be an exciting Holiday Season. As many of you
know, we have started to ship Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story and Doom. We
are shipping these titles as quickly as they come in to us, so make
sure you stay in touch with your retailer if you are looking for these
titles. On the heels of these titles are Checkered Flag, Club Drive,
Iron Soldier, Val D'Isere Skiing, Bubsy, Zool 2 and Kasumi Ninja. Look
for a fast flurry of these titles within the next few weeks. I am
particularly excited about the diversity of these titles as well as
quality. I think this Christmas, there is something for everyone on
the Jaguar. This special conference is in the honor of the hard work
put forth by the AvP team with their successful release of their new
hit. I know people would like some updated marketing scoop, so maybe I
can address that topic quickly before turning the entire focus to
them.
First off, I apologize I cannot be with you live this evening. I am
wrapping up some studio production work for three new television
commercials: one featuring Kasumi Ninja, one for Doom and one for Iron
Soldier. The Doom spot will be finished this week and be on air next
week for a three week blitz leading up to the Christmas holidays. Iron
Soldier and Kasumi Ninja will be completed next week and on air going
into the new year. All three are shaping up to be great ads for three
of the next great Jaguar titles.
Those of you who live near Venture Stores (a chain very similar to
Target with stores mostly in the midwest) have seen their promotion of
the Jaguar in recent circulars. The Jaguar and the Lynx have also been
featured in recent Incredible Universe advertisements. We have also
succeeded in selling an impressive number of Lynx systems on the Home
Shopping Club. Toys R Us has expanded the distribution of Jaguar to
300 stores accross the country. Jaguar is now being launched into
Japan and every Toys R Us Store in Japan will be carrying the Jaguar
this Holiday Season.
Bill Rehbock, v.p. of software business development, has recently
revealed that Primal Rage will be coming to the Jaguar although the
timing for release has not yet been announced.
The long awaited Tempest 2000 Soundtrack on compact disc is expected
in our warehouse within the next 10 days. I think this item makes a
perfect Christmas gift at only $12.99 plus shipping. Contact Don
Thomas, director of customer service to order. He tells me he has
reduced the shipping and handling to just $ 3.50 on this item for
onliners.
The Alien Vs. Predator cinema-quality poster has been such a hit, we
have brought in more. As a matter of fact, EVERYONE that attends this
conference tonight live can receive a postage paid free AvP poster.
The SysOp will keep track of who attends. You must send your U.S. or
Canadian mailing address privately to JAGUAR$ or ATARI to get your
poster. If you are reading this text after the conference has
concluded, you can still obtain a free poster, however, Atari's
minimum $4.95 shipping and handling fee applies.
The most recent edition of the retailer's Jaguar demo tape is reaching
stores now. Some of you have ordered one for yourselves and are
receiving them. I hope you will feel free to loan that tape out to
friends. <hint> This 40+ minute tape was produced by Greg LaBrec,
director of creative services. It features 30 Jaguar game sequences
plus copies of Atari's Jaguar commercials INCLUDING the popular AvP
spot; all professionally edited, reproduced and labeled. (Greg has
been known to sign a few before they are shipped upon request <g>)
clip below and spread the news!
*************** AVP ON-LINE TRIVIA CONTEST ****************
WIN A JAGUAR or AN AUTOGRAPHED COPY OF ALIEN Vs. PREDATOR!
Atari is proud to introduce another online attraction... It's our
first ever "AvP Trivia Contest"! Here's how it works... Below are five
questions regarding Atari's hit 64-bit Jaguar release of Alien Vs.
Predator. Each question may be answered by A, B, C or D. Entrants must
submit their answers along with their mailing address and daytime
phone number. Entries should be sent directly or through the Internet
to one of the following addresses:
75300.1267@compuserve.com
or
jaguar$@genie.geis.com
Entries will be accepted anytime from November 29, 1994 until
midnight of December 9, 1994. This contest is open to all onliners who
have a North American shipping address (50 U.S. states and Canada) who
have complied with the terms of this contest. BBS users can submit
their entries by sending a private message to the SysOp of CATscan BBS
by dialing 209/239- 1552. Sysops are encouraged to distribute the
details of this contest. The winner will be randomly selected from
all the correct entries. Due to the anticipated volume, individual
replies to entries CANNOT be made. Only one entry per person will be
accepted. Employees of CompuServe, GEnie or Atari are ineligible.
To make things REALLY easy. You WILL find the answers within the text
of the November 29th AvP conference on CompuServe or the November 30th
AvP conference on GEnie.
Here are the questions:
1) Alien Vs. Predator by Atari for the 64-bit Jaguar
interactive multimedia system features the ability for
the player to become any one of three characters. What
are those characters?
A. Ripley, an Alien and a Navy Seal
B. An Alien, a Predator and a Marine
C. A ship's navigator, a cook and a doctor
D. None of the above
2) Which film studios produced the Alien and Predator
films?
A. Warner Bros. and Twentieth Century Fox
B. Disney Studios and Twentieth Century Fox
C. Twentieth Century Fox and Twentieth Century Fox
D. Universal Studios and Twentieth Century Fox
3) Alien Vs. Predator is a virtual world challenge which
is described in the manual to be:
A. a tactical simulator depicting the events following
the fall of Camp Golgotha Colonial Marine Training
Base.
B. a reenactment of events created by a supercomputer
based on the ultimate terrestrial war Alien vs.
Predator.
C. a dream sequence of space mining personnel aboard
their own contaminated ship.
D. a hypnotic recall of the nightmarish events
experienced by marines on a recent war mission where
germ warfare was used against them.
4) An effective tool to be used while playing Alien Vs.
Predator is the H.U.D. which offers status displays.
What does H.U.D. stand for?
A. Heads-Up Display
B. Helmet Ultra-Diatometer
C. Heated U-light Diagnostics
D. Hampered Utility Detector
5. One of the many obstacles to avoid is referred to as a
Facehugger. A Facehugger is which of the following?
A. A creature that attaches itself to the face of its
host.
B. A helmet instrument used by the Predator that injects
a poison into anyone else who may attempt to use it.
C. A "gripping" gas that stretches the skin of the face
until it tears.
D. None of the above.
***********************************************************
Whew! <g> There is still another Jaguar, AvP and three T-shirts to be
given away by your host this evening during this conference.
I know people are anxious for more titles as soon as possible. I also
know we all have a lot of questions regarding networking, voice/modem,
CD-ROM, VR Helmets and more. I assure you we are anxious to release
news about these products as soon as we can. I urge everyone to stay
tuned to the Atari/Jaguar areas of GEnie and CompuServe for the news
as soon as we can post it.
Now, finally, to the topic at hand and Alien Vs. Predator...
Regards,
Ron Beltramo
<ARCHIVIST> Whew! Sorry, that was a long one. I'll give you all a
minute to read back in your capture buffers before we go on.
Of course, the full text will be posted as a file in the Library as
part of this conference transcript, so you won't miss anything! In the
meantime, those of you with Questions ready can now /RAISE your hands
to get in the queue. We'll call upon you in turn.
Don, how about you introduce yourself now, and tell us all what you
do at Atari? I'm sure there are many people here who have never met
you....
<[D.Thomas] ATARI> My name is Don Thomas and I am the Director of
Customer Relations at Atari. I am responsible... for a grreat number
of things, but tonight, I am here to benefit from having the AvP team
here as guests!
<ARCHIVIST> hehe. Ok, it's great to have you here, Don!
<[D.Thomas] ATARI> Thanks.
<ARCHIVIST> Dan, it's nice to see you again, too! Could you introduce
yourself to the folks, and any guests you have with you?
<[Dan @ Atari] D.MCNAMEE> Sure! Hi all, I'm Dan McNamee. I've been
with Atari for almost 7 years now. (In March) I've been an Atari fan
for years. I started with the original Pong machine MANY years ago,
and worked my way up through the line. I've held many positions in
Atari, starting in Tech Support and worked my way up (I think <G>) to
test.
<ARCHIVIST> Aha! So, those of us addicted to games now know who to
bribe for a job as Tester. :-)
<ARCHIVIST> James, I'm glad to have you back. Could you introduce
yourself, and don't you have a guest sharing the terminal with you
tonight?
<JAMES-GRUNKE> Hiya, I'm James Grunke, director of audio, just
starting my fourth year at Atari. Purple will be joining me here soon
as he is fighting his way through traffic from the airport....
<ARCHIVIST> hehe. Does he have the Pulse Rifle or the Flamethrower?
(Grin)
<JAMES-GRUNKE> ....and yes, I am guilty of the Barney voice in AvP. I
was hoarse from the death screams... ga
<ARCHIVIST> Well, I'm sure we'll all be happy when Purple Hampton
joins you. As the Producer of Aliens vs Predator, I'm sure people will
have many questions for him.
<[D.Thomas] ATARI> An answer to one of the AvP trivia questions is:
Twentieth Century Fox and Twentieth Century Fox
<ARCHIVIST> hehe. Thanks Don! Everyone write that down, now!
<ARCHIVIST> OK, Lou, lets get to the questions. Can we have our first
up to the mic, please?
<[Traffic Cop] ST.LOU> Sure can... here's Mike Lyda.
<[mike] M.LYDA> AvsP is excellent!!! Was/Is there a grenade launcher
in the game? Are there any hidden rooms/weapons in AvsP?
<ARCHIVIST> OK. Anyone at all can take that one, I think ...
<[Dan @ Atari] D.MCNAMEE> No the grenade launcher did not make it into
the game, unfortunately. There are no hidden weapons (other than the
extra pulse rifles) or rooms (other than the blocked off ones that can
only be reached by airducts)
<[Traffic Cop] ST.LOU> Next we have Pat Fletcher who is STumped!
Pat...
<[STumped] P.FLETCHER4> I have encountered an awful lot of negative
feelings about Atari among your distributors (eg. Electronics
Boutique). Does Atari have a plan to raise its public image?
<[D.Thomas] ATARI> I'll take this one ... You are correct that Atari
has been down before our rise back up now and we are working hard
already to improve that by many means. We are, as we speak, working on
another of many direct mailings to our dealers which include posters,
videos and other pop items...
We also have people in the field making a lot of direct contacts at a
lot of corporate offices. We absoluttely need to continue worrking on
it and I think we are going in the right direction.
<ARCHIVIST> I think the incresed ads mentioned in Ron's text will go a
long way toward helping Atari's image.
<JAMES-GRUNKE> <and we have a lot of great new titles on the way
which will make them happy>
<[Traffic Cop] ST.LOU> Carlos from FL is next.
<[Carlos] C.CUENCA1> Hello, I would like to know how is "Fight for
Life" is progressing..?? Is this the last version of the name or could
it change..?? Any release date..??
<JAMES-GRUNKE> I am working on the theme song for the game Joe Vitale
(Eagles, James Gang, CS&N) wrote the song for me on spec (meaning see
if it's right and we may use it)... and it rocks. It is titled "fight
for Life" and you should hear it on the Jag. The guys who work for me
(Paul Foster, Hans-Martin Krober, and Nate Brenholdt have been
developing the sound system to the point where we are able to take a
tune like this and integrate it into the game. The programmer,
Francois, is doing magic to the intro sequence and I'll let you wait
til the game ships and see what I'm talking about.
<ARCHIVIST> James, the Tempest 2000 sound track had enormous
popularity and I now it's being released as a CD. Do you have any news
on this, and do you see any other really impressive sound tracks in
the current crop of games?
<JAMES-GRUNKE> The CD is printing as we speak the sales have
surprised me (good work, Don) and we will work the record in certain
markets although the Techno market is small, it is great PR.
<[D.Thomas] ATARI> FYI, we are taking pre-orders <g>. Details in
header from Ron. An answer to another AvP trivia question is: An
Alien, a Predator and a Marine
<ARCHIVIST> Hey, keep it up and BillBoard may have to start a new
chart! :-) Ok, next up to the mic ... Howie Frankle! Take it away,
Howie!
<[howie] H.FRANKEL2> As of today, what games are in production, and
When is KN due out??
<[Dan @ Atari] D.MCNAMEE> Checkered Flag, Club Drive, Zool 2 Val
d'Isere Skiing & snowboarding, Kasumi Ninja and Bubsy. I thinks I
nailed them all. ;-)
<ARCHIVIST> I've heard a lot of good things about Val d'Isere. I
think it will surprise many people. Thanks Howie!
<[Dan @ Atari] D.MCNAMEE> Val d'Isere is pretty cool. It makes me
want to go skiing. <G>
<[D.Thomas] ATARI> There's a sample of Val d'Isere on the retailer
video.
<JAMES-GRUNKE> Val d'Isere is awesome!!!!
<[Dan @ Atari] D.MCNAMEE> Oops! I forgot Iron Soldier. Sorry!
<ARCHIVIST> Next up is our Coco-Sysop! Welcome, Alan!
<[Allen/Jag!] COCO-SYSOP> Was AvP programmed mainly using the 68xxx
processor? IE, every game system ever has had games 2 years after
launch that blew away initial launches. Shall we expect that here?
<ARCHIVIST> Hmmm. I'd think that's more a question for Purple, but can
anyone here answer it?
<[Dan @ Atari] D.MCNAMEE> AvP uses all the chips in the system. It was
heave on the 68K early on.. but was optomized out over the rest of the
system as development progressed.
<JAMES-GRUNKE> <Purple has arrived!!!>
<[Dan @ Atari] D.MCNAMEE> Yea!
<ARCHIVIST> Great! Thanks Dan! Ah, good news! James, pull a chair up
for Purple and ask him to introduce himself, please. :-)
** <[Purple and J] JAMES-GRUNKE> was <JAMES-GRUNKE>.
<ARCHIVIST> Welcome to GEnie, Purple!
<[Purple and J] JAMES-GRUNKE> Ola! I just flew in from the airport and
boy... never mind... Hi, I'm Purple the Producer for AVP and have been
with Atari for just over two years.
<ARCHIVIST> Glad to have you here, Purple.
<[Dan @ Atari] D.MCNAMEE> brief and to the point. ;-)
<ARCHIVIST> hehe. The IMPORTANT point, Dan! (remember it, folks....)
let's move right along to our next questions. Kodoger is up next!
<[KODOGR] J.DAMISCH> So, I am just dying to ask. Is the Jag CD gonna
be just a straight CD player like the Sega CD, or is Atari gonna beef
up the spec on this one? Also, how fast is the CD player on this puppy
gonna be?
<[Dan @ Atari] D.MCNAMEE> The JagCD and play audio CDs, which VLM
makes an impressive light show for. It also plays CD+G disks.
<[Purple &] JAMES-GRUNKE> It's a double speed drive, lots of
throughput.
<ARCHIVIST> Thanks Dan! Next up is Tim Steed. Welcome to the Atari RT,
Tim!
<[Tim Steed] T.STEED1> I work at a national software retailer, and am
VERY happy to have the Jag as part of opur lineup. Any idea when we
can see the demo tape?
<[D.Thomas] ATARI> Tim... We are shipping them as fast as we can. In
fact just today we placed an order for more and more will be arriving
tomorrow. Send me E-Mail with your store location later and I'll make
sure you have one on its way.
<ARCHIVIST> Great! Thanks, Don. Tim, that's the ATARI address for
your E- Mail later.
<[D.Thomas] ATARI> Yes.
<[D.Thomas] ATARI> An answer to another AvP trivia question is:
Heads-Up Display.
<ARCHIVIST> Don, we've been hearing rumors in the BB's about the new
Sega Machine's CD and the Jaguar CD being related somehow. Any
comments? or is this just an off the wall rumor?
<[D.Thomas] ATARI> I have no knowledge regarding cross technology in
that way.
<[Purple &] JAMES-GRUNKE> Boing!
<[Dan @ Atari] D.MCNAMEE> Other than Phillips being the inventor of
the CD? <G>
<ARCHIVIST> OK, thanks! Next up is Jon Huetel. Take it away, Jon
<[Jon] J.HUETTEL> I am relatively new to AvP (I don't even have a Jag
system yet) and have only played the coin op version. How similar is
the coin op version and the Jag version? Did you guys develop the coin
op version or licence it out?
<ARCHIVIST> Ah, here's one for Purple ....
<[Dan @ Atari] D.MCNAMEE> I think Purp can get this one. <G>
<[Traffic Cop] ST.LOU> ... Purple motors up to the keyboard..... :-0
<[Purple &] JAMES-GRUNKE> The coin-op version was developed by Capcom
and is NOTHING like the Jaguar version. The coin-op is sort of a final
fight type of game while the Jag version is an [immersive] experience
if you haven't seen the Jag version yet, go out and see it.
<ARCHIVIST> Jon, AvsP is a first person game, unlike the arcade.
Certainly, ask your dealer for a demo at least!
<ARCHIVIST> OK. Now we have Bruce up at the mic. Bruce, what's your
question, please?
<[Bruce] STARISLAND> Where can I find a Jaguar, and how much do they
cost?
<[D.Thomas] ATARI> Bruce, The Jaguar is $249.99 and you can find it at
Toys R Us (300 locations), The Wiz, Babbages, Venture Stores, Good
Guys, Incredible Universe, et al and thousands of single location
gaming stores.
<ARCHIVIST> Don, being in Toronto, I'm interested. Is the TRU
distribution North America wide or just in the US at present?
<[D.Thomas] ATARI> Canada...
<ARCHIVIST> ... the home of the proud, yes .... (G)
<[D.Thomas] ATARI> Distribution there is handled by a firm that
escapes me at the moment but we will be more focused as time goes on.
<ARCHIVIST> OK, It's Beamscope in Canada. I'll bug my local TRU
manager. :-)
<[D.Thomas] ATARI> Thank you. I knew you'd help me there. <g>
<ARCHIVIST> Dan, last night you released a cheat; got any goodies for
us tonight?
<[Dan @ Atari] D.MCNAMEE>
ALIEN VS. PREDATOR CHEAT CODES PART II:
1. Press PAUSE
2. Press OPTION
3. Press 6
4. Press 1 + 3
5. Press the following sequence: "B", "A", "9", "A", "9", "A", "*",
"OPTION", "6", "#", "*" , "*", "OPTION", "2", "OPTION".
YOU WILL HEAR A SECOND PREDATOR LAUGH TO CONFIRM!!!!
PART II Function Keys:
This second code gives you all of the functions listed in Part 1 of the
code but the main function of the second phase of the cheat is that you
will never run out of energy or ammo as the bars will replenish
themselves as long as you have something from the start (meaning if you
don't have any smart-gun ammo when you activate the cheat, you still
won't have any once it's turned on... at which point you use the ammo
replenish function as described in cheat code part 1...)
OPTION + A Raises you a level in the base
OPTION + BLowers you a level in the base
OPTION + 5Toggles Cheat Mode On / Off
Happy Hunting!!
<[Dan @ Atari] D.MCNAMEE> Dat's it!
<[James] JAMES-GRUNKE> Cool!!!
<ARCHIVIST> Heeheeh. I can see those pencils scribling now ...
<[D.Thomas] ATARI> An answer to another AvP trivia question is: A
creature that attaches itself to the face of its host.
<[James] JAMES-GRUNKE> People should know that Dan is lead tester for
AvP... he is the man.
<[Dan @ Atari] D.MCNAMEE> Thanks. I couldn't have done it without the
excellent help and input from Lance Lewis, though.
<[James] JAMES-GRUNKE> Lance is an animal...
<ARCHIVIST> OK, now we have Sir Fransys up who is still, I hope,
sailing smooth ...
<[Sir Fransys] K.DRAKE> I understand the CatBox will be the only way
to link three or more Jags but is Atari doing a DSP cable (The Doom
manual mentions JagTalk) for quickie two player only linking? Still
Sailing!
<[D.Thomas] ATARI> Unless anyone else has more information, we are
still awaiting some finals on that to release.
<ARCHIVIST> But there will be a two station cable? It's in the plans?
(personally, I'm waiting for a CatBox, but ....)
<[D.Thomas] ATARI> Sure it is and I have been asking daily for info.
It's coming soon.
<ARCHIVIST> OK, great Don. Now we have Stephen Weigel. Welcome to the
Atari RT, STephen!
<[Stephen] B.WEIGEL> How come Mortal Kombat 2 didn't appear on the
Jaguar like DHGF said? FaceHugger
<[D.Thomas] ATARI> Which list? Oh, like... sorry. MK2 and other
unannounced properties are always possibilities pending agreements
with the companies that own them. In the meantime, we have several
great fighting games that will compete with MK2 very well.
<ARCHIVIST> Hehe. thaks Don. that's nice Grist for the rumor mill....
:-) Joel is here with a question we're all waiting to hear ...
<[joel] J.FOGELSON2> With the sudden resurgence of the lynx is retail
outlets, will Atari be producing any new games for the unit?
<[D.Thomas] ATARI> Yes, we plan to continue looking at how well the
Lynx is doing... We are and will remain focused on Jaguar now and
until we get the ball rolling at a great pace before going back to
look at Lynx projects.
<ARCHIVIST> I know there were a lot of people happy to see the lynx
back in wide distribution. It's certainly good to see it riding the
coat tails of the Jaguar
<[D.Thomas] ATARI> I think that's a big key as to how the others did
it... now we can too.
<ARCHIVIST> Certainly with Sega Game Gear it is. BAH on it...
<[D.Thomas] ATARI> :)
<ARCHIVIST> Clay Halliwell is next up to the mic
<[Clay] E.HALLIWELL> Two questions... 1st-- How the heck do you
pronounce "Val d'Iser"?
<ARCHIVIST> hehe. Clay, you should have stayed awake in French class.
(grin) pronounce it 'SLEEPER HIT' and keep your fingers crossed, Clay.
<[D.Thomas] ATARI> how to pronounce Val d'Isere... SKIING GAME. <g>
<[Traffic Cop] ST.LOU> "val dizair....."
<[Clay] E.HALLIWELL> A lot of Jag developers on the nets have been...
noting, that with their homemade JagNet cables, Doom has a net error
every 15-20 minutes. Will the "official" cable fix this?
<ARCHIVIST> Dan, perhaps you can answer this?
<[D.Thomas] ATARI> It is true that the 100% solid networking is NOT
complete and it is not clear as to whether that will be resolved
simply by the cable. However, the errors are not fatal, the game is
still a lot of fun and we will have more solid info soon...
<[Dan @ Atari] D.MCNAMEE> Oops... I was checking on dinner. ;-) I see
Don got it, though.
<ARCHIVIST> heeh. it's OK, Dan.
<[Traffic Cop] ST.LOU> Is the pizza box melting in the microwave?
<[D.Thomas] ATARI> Dan, eat something off your plate for me <g>
<[James] JAMES-GRUNKE> Purple and I have a special GEnie only Trivia
question for you....
<[D.Thomas] ATARI> I think James has a trivia question...
<[D.Thomas] ATARI> While we are waiting. An answer to another AvP
trivia question is: A tactical simulator depicting the events
following the fall of camp golgotha...
<ARCHIVIST> Purple, what's your trivia question? We're all ready for
it....
<[Purple &] JAMES-GRUNKE> The first person who emails me after 9 pm
Pacific tonight with the answer to the following question will win a
Tempest Audio CD... the question is....
What is the name of the sergeant whose grisly demise at the hand of
the predator is described in the ships on-board computer...
<[D.Thomas] ATARI> Wilbur?
<ARCHIVIST> You're not elible, Don. :-)
<[D.Thomas] ATARI> Oh.
<[Traffic Cop] ST.LOU> Not right, either...
<[Traffic Cop] ST.LOU> :-)
<[D.Thomas] ATARI> Oh.
<ARCHIVIST> Well, I know, but I'm going to be too late out of here
tonight, I'm afraid ... Good luck to the rest of you!
<ARCHIVIST> Now we have Mark Santora up to the mic. Welcome Mark
<[mark] M.SANTORA2> Hi Guys. Two Quick Questions... I heard Microprose
put all their games on hold, and if so, what are the chances of them
continuing with them?
<[Purple &] JAMES-GRUNKE> That's a question for Bill Rehebock
<[D.Thomas] ATARI> I'm not sure we have the right people to answer
that one. Bill Rehbock is making deals in Japan. He'd know.
<[mark] M.SANTORA2> OK. Sorry about that then. As far as the CDROM
goes, will there be a pack in game and how are Highlander and
Battlemorph doing? .
<[Dan @ Atari] D.MCNAMEE> I'm hoping to get a look at Highlander
tomorrow. The stills I saw of it look FANTASTIC. Battlemorph is
looking great too! No CD pack-in announced yet. Stay tuned.
<[Purple &] JAMES-GRUNKE> Highlander, which is currently occupying
most of my life right now is coming along great. To describe I have
two words -- Motion Capture-- signed, Purple.
<ARCHIVIST> Sorry, Mark. it looks like we've stumpted our guests on
that one. I'll ask Bill in E-Mail and post whatever reply I get!
thanks for the second question, though.
Purple, could you please repeat the trivia question? Some people got
knocked off-line during the middle of it and we want everyone to have
a chance (BTW, there will be trivia questions at the end of this RTC
for several prizes. Stay tuned, all!)
<[Purple &] JAMES-GRUNKE> Sure, The question is: What is the name of
the Sergeant, whose grisly demise at the hand of the Predator is
described in the base on-board computers...
<[D.Thomas] ATARI> Edgar?
<[Purple &] JAMES-GRUNKE> Remember, no answers until AFTER 9PM Tonight
(California time!!)
<[D.Thomas] ATARI> Oh.
<ARCHIVIST> OK, I was asked to set a firm time for the trivia me so
... I will ask the three trivia questions at 11:00 EST. that's about
15 minutes from now, so those of you who have to get to bed can. :-(
<[D.Thomas] ATARI> Sylvestor?
<ARCHIVIST> The prizes, BTW, are a Jaguar Console, an Alien vs
Predator cartridge, and three cool T-Shirts
<[Traffic Cop] ST.LOU> WOW!!!!!
<[D.Thomas] ATARI> That's an autographed AvP cart! (The manual anyway)
<ARCHIVIST> oops. Thanks Don, that's an important distinction! In the
meantime, back to our questions. Rod Martin is up next!
<[Network 23] R.MARTIN22> What are the chances of any new major
retailers (Target, Wal-Mart) carrying the Jag in the near future? Can
you mention any names? If so, possibly how soon?
<[D.Thomas] ATARI> There's a GREAT chance and we are working with
them. Each retailer has specific minimum requirements, that must be
met. Many of the chains are not know to experiment with new products,
some are. As mentioned before Jaguar is in over half of the Toys R Us
and we recently got in Venture, which is a well known chain like
Target is in other parts of the country.
<[D.Thomas] ATARI> There are some we cannot announce until some ink
dries and a lot more we are working on... <g>
<[Network 23] R.MARTIN22> I figured as much about the minimum
requirements. Any time frame? (Thanks!)
<[Purple &] JAMES-GRUNKE> I have a quick but important announcement
before I go...
I am pleased to tell the loyal GEnie Atari computer users that we have
finalized the C-LAB deal to license the Falcon030 technology for a
pro- audio/Musical instrument workstation. I will be posting further
information to our friends in the Future Falcon topic in Cat 30. Thank
you for your support folks, and my apologies for the off topic
announcement.
<ARCHIVIST> James, that is FANTASTIC news! Really! Thank you for
announcing that here, first, on Atari's Official On-Line Home!
<[Purple &] JAMES-GRUNKE> Anymore questions before we have to go?
<ARCHIVIST> One last question, then the trivia questions. Now up, we
have Travis of AEO mazine, our intrepid reporter/editor
<[Travis] AEO.MAG> Purple, Hi! AvP rocks, but then again, you knew
that before we did. <g> Cheats aside, are there any hidden goodies in
AvP? Like, say, hidden rooms or secret messages. Rebellion did say
that they had planned to have the shutters on Sub Level 4 able to be
opened to reveal a starfield, but that it was scrapped to save space.
Thanks for joining us!
<[Dan @ Atari] D.MCNAMEE> (actually, the opening shutters was MY idea.
<G>)
<[Purple &] JAMES-GRUNKE> We spent all of the room we had on the main
gameplay. Unfortunately that didn't leave any room for any "easter
eggs" per se....
<ARCHIVIST> OK. Now for the Trivia Questions. First up is for a Jaguar
Game Console, the ONLY 64-bit me console on the market today
<ARCHIVIST> Ready, Lou?
<[Traffic Cop] ST.LOU> OK. 90 seconds to type an answer?
<ARCHIVIST> OK, when Lou turns the room live fire out your answers.
Only paying customers are elible for this prize. Rgr, Lou
<ARCHIVIST> The Question: Name Three currently available Jaguar Games!
[Editor's Note: List of answers removed for brevity.]
<ARCHIVIST> Well it looks to me like Tim Steed got it! with Ken Gange
a close second.
Congratulations, Tim! Please send your name and mailing address, in E-
Mail to JAGUAR$
<[D.Thomas] ATARI> Congrats Tim!
<[Dan @ Atari] D.MCNAMEE> WTG Tim!
<[Tim Steed] T.STEED1> I got it? I type so slow.... :) Thanx
guys!!!!!!!!! Yahooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!
<[Traffic Cop] ST.LOU> Well done. Is there more?
<ARCHIVIST> Yes Lou, two more. The next question is for an Autographed
Copy of Alien Vs. Predator! Trivia Question: Name three COMING games
for the Jaguar!
[Editor's Note: List of answers removed for brevity.]
<ARCHIVIST> OK. The winner there was Rod Martin! Congratulations to
Network 23!
<[Dan @ Atari] D.MCNAMEE> Woo Hoo! Congrats Rod!!
<[D.Thomas] ATARI> Congrats!
<[Network 23] R.MARTIN22> Smokin! Thanks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
<ARCHIVIST> It's a great prize, Rod. OK, our last prize of the
evening is THREE cool Jaguar T-Shirts the first three people to answer
this question will win ready?
Trivia Question: Who is the Producer of Alien Vs. Predator?
[Editor's Note: List of answers removed for brevity.]
<ARCHIVIST> Checking, as fast as I can...
<[Traffic Cop] ST.LOU> <drumming fingers......(Charlie always wanted
to be a Real RTC Host. :-) )
<ARCHIVIST> It looks to me like Mike Lyda, Dave Shorr and J.Damisch.
Congrats to you all!
<[D.Thomas] ATARI> Congrats!
<[Dan @ Atari] D.MCNAMEE> Congrats guys!
<[Purple &] JAMES-GRUNKE> Wear 'em well!! Congrats!!
<ARCHIVIST> All winners should send thier info to the E-Mail Address
JAGUAR$
<ARCHIVIST> Are James and Purple still with us?
<[Purple &] JAMES-GRUNKE> for a few more minutes...
<ARCHIVIST> Gents, thank you very much for joining us this evening. I
hope we can do it again sometime soon! It's been a great RTC.
<[Purple &] JAMES-GRUNKE> G'Night all!! eh!!!
<[D.Thomas] ATARI> Thanks. You did a great job.
<ARCHIVIST> Don, Dan, will either of you be staying for a while?
<[D.Thomas] ATARI> If we have some pending ?s
<[Traffic Cop] ST.LOU> Please stay. These folks waited a long time.
<[Dan @ Atari] D.MCNAMEE> I'll be around for a bit.
<ARCHIVIST> That's great! These last questions and then we'll wrap up
a long RTC!
<[Niles] N.KAPLAN3> I have three big q's:
1. What is the status on licenses like Capcom, Konami and Sunsoft?
2. Where are IS and Checkered Flag?
3. What about Blockbuster renting Jag games out?
<ARCHIVIST> ohh ... Three? Well let's have them and Dan & Don can pick
the ones they can answer quickly
<[Dan @ Atari] D.MCNAMEE> 1. Bill is the best person to answer that,
and he isn't around tonight. Sorry.
<[D.Thomas] ATARI> Stand by... I have an answer... Those three have
not announced licensed agreements... we do continue to talk to all of
them.
<[Dan @ Atari] D.MCNAMEE> 2. IS and CF are in production and should
be arriving soon.
<[D.Thomas] ATARI> Blockbuster is waiting for a lot more games to
initiate another push... they thrive on selection.
<ARCHIVIST> Blockbuster IS renting Jag games in some stores
<[D.Thomas] ATARI> CF is in production.
<ARCHIVIST> OK, next up we have Clifton Mothershed
<[Clifton] C.MOTHERSHED> Why does the Alien always face you? And when
will there be other American football games, Besides Troy Aikman, I
heard Atari is working on their own game?
<[D.Thomas] ATARI> Dan?
<[Dan @ Atari] D.MCNAMEE> There wasn't room in the cartridge for
additional faces on the Alien. That was OK, though since the Alien is
a kamakazi attacker. <G>
<ARCHIVIST> hehe
<[Dan @ Atari] D.MCNAMEE> As to football, I think there are some other
titles being worked on. Tom Gillen started a topic to ask for design
suggestions from our customers.
<ARCHIVIST> Yes, that's been a popular topic in Category 26. Lots of
football fans on-line, I guess
<[Traffic Cop] ST.LOU> Next is Bruce Welsch....
<[Bruce] B.WELSCH> Will Atari Display at next year's Gencon? This
year a user group did it using members' equipment, would be nice to
see Atari involved (again). Will there be a D&D type game (dungeon
master)? Played Doom today, died in goo ;-|
<[Dan @ Atari] D.MCNAMEE> I'd LOVE for Atari to send me to work at a
GenCon. <hint> <G> Rebellion is working on a FRPG called Legions of
the Undead. No release date yet.
<[D.Thomas] ATARI> Gencon is an increasingly important show for us. We
have not made a final decision on all 1995 shows, but we do hope to
announce plans soon.
<ARCHIVIST> I'd love to do a D&D RPG .... maybe someday soon ....
Next up to the mic is Allen our Coco-sysop
<[Allen/Jag!] COCO-SYSOP> There are no Atari dealers in my 30,000 pop.
East Texas town. We have K-Mart, Wal-Mart, and Kay-Bee as the only
game dealers. However, we have three places that carry CD-i (one rents
to own it). This is due to Philips having reps in Houston (2 hrs.
south) who come up and work the area. Does Atari have any plans to do
similar things with local/regional reps?
<[D.Thomas] ATARI> Atari has an existing and growing number of
regional representatives. We are focsing attention on regions where
advertising has been planned with key retailers. The pattern of growth
is definitely up.
<[Allen/Jag!] COCO-SYSOP> Is there a Texas rep?
<[D.Thomas] ATARI> In Texas we have...Watt and Company.
<ARCHIVIST> That's good news to hear, Don. Next up is D.Dussias.
Welcome to the Atari RT!
<D.DUSSIAS> Since 3D0 is comming down in price, and people argue that
it is better than the systems out now, what do you think the future of
the Jaguar will be, and any comments on the other "new" machines
coming like Saturn..etc?
<[D.Thomas] ATARI> The 3DO is a system that has it's own unique set of
obstacles to overcome. People who have been following that company
know they have had recent financing and support problems. We believe
we have a lot more flexibility built in the Jaguar while the 3DO is a
nice system, we believe ours is not only better but offers a greater
life cycle potential.
<ARCHIVIST> D.Dussias, there is a LOT of discussion about the 3DO and
other systems in the BB here. Check out Category 26 to join in on the
chat! Thanks! Now coming to an RTC you're in, Harj Hagra!
<[Harj] H.NAGRA1> Is there going to be a sequel to AvP? And do you
have any info on third party releases in production? Also, whatever
happened to the Jaguar Baseball and Basketball games?
<[Dan @ Atari] D.MCNAMEE> maybe. ;-)
<[D.Thomas] ATARI> I think that was a maybe to an AvP sequel?
<[Dan @ Atari] D.MCNAMEE> Baseball and basketball games are also being
worked on.
<ARCHIVIST> Harj, Dan listed several third party games that are coming
out for the Jaguar earlier in the RTC. They'll be in the transcript,
available in the library here very soon.
<[D.Thomas] ATARI> Aside from Brutal Sports, other third party
announcements are pending within a couple weeks.
<[Traffic Cop] ST.LOU> Next we have Tony Wetmore.
<ARCHIVIST> Welcome Tony!
<[Tony] WETMORE> Where's my hockey game?!?! Who cares about stinkin'
baseball, football or basketball!
<[D.Thomas] ATARI> Brett Hull Hockey. I'm checking to see if we know a
when yet.
<[Dan @ Atari] D.MCNAMEE> Hocky is also being worked on. I saw an
early rev and it looks pretty good.
<[D.Thomas] ATARI> I'm told the hockey game looks FANTASTIC!
"incredible" was the word used and it is expected 2nd quarter.
<[Tony] WETMORE> Make sure the hockey game has fights and
bone-crunching checks!! I have more questions, in case you're
interested... Such as: is Syndicate networkable? What about those Sega
licenses?
<[Dan @ Atari] D.MCNAMEE> No on Syndicate. It's a one player game.
<ARCHIVIST> Thats a good Question. Don, there was supposed to be an
annoucement about the licenses from Sega sometime around
Thanksgiving. Do you have any word?
<[D.Thomas] ATARI> Specific Sega titles have not been announced yet. I
haven't heard personally so I don't know if they have been settled
yet.
<ARCHIVIST> OK. thanks Don. We'll all look forward to that
announcement.
<[D.Thomas] ATARI> Me too. <g>
<ARCHIVIST> Next up is Tony Ridley
<[Tony @ Canoe] A.RIDLEY1> My question has to do with the size of the
Jag market. Can you tell us how many Jags are out there? And when a
new title is released, how many of the title usually sell? Brutal
sports for example... how many of that title would be expected to
ship?
<[D.Thomas] ATARI> BIG??
<[Dan @ Atari] D.MCNAMEE> And growing!
<[D.Thomas] ATARI> That privilege is reserved for Sam Tramiel and
Augie Liguori to discuss. Atari has always asked numbers to be
referred to the top dogs. <g> BSF is up to Telegames.
<ARCHIVIST> OK. Now we have Tom McComb
<T.MCCOMB> I got here late and don't know if this was asked... what's
the story on the Voice Modem? What games _will_ support it? Thanks!
<ARCHIVIST> Ah, that's a good question Tom. Hasn't been asked before
<[D.Thomas] ATARI> We had intended to have the voice modem integrated
in mes by now and we are still finalizing that technology. This is a
long term R&D/development investment, and it's to everyone's benefit
to have all the specs 100% from day one. We are there in the lab, but
there are just some tiny little production issues to resolve.
<ARCHIVIST> Don, that's good to hear. I know the Voice Modem is a
very popular concept with the gamers here on-line. We'll all look
forward to it and the games to support it!
<[D.Thomas] ATARI> I agree. We expect the voice modem to be REAL big.
That's why the effort must be in it from the start. (as it is).
<ARCHIVIST> I'm sure you'll both be glad to know that our last
question is coming up now. (G) Joe Mirando gets the privilege! Go
ahead Joe!
<[Joe @ STR] J.MIRANDO1> Any plans (solid or not so solid) for DOOM
II (on CD?) for the Jag? How about a bit higher rez??
<[Dan @ Atari] D.MCNAMEE> That's up to ID. I know we'd love to see it,
though.
<[D.Thomas] ATARI> You're in luck. I shouldn't tell you, but...
<ARCHIVIST> oh do, DO!
<[D.Thomas] ATARI> J Patton is prompting me on this. <g> Sorry for the
tease. Stand by...
<ARCHIVIST> ahhhh. Hehe. Well, we'd all love to see it, I know!
<[Joe @ STR] J.MIRANDO1> That's him... Don the techno-tease! ;^)
<[D.Thomas] ATARI> Doom is already turning out to be the game hit as
we expected. We all know Wolf 3D is continuing to be hot too. It
stands to reason that success breeds success. <g> There are DOOM II
features in Jaguar Doom... FYI.
<[Joe @ STR] J.MIRANDO1> Thanks Don/Dan.
<ARCHIVIST> hehehe. Well, we can all use that kind of success for the
Jaguar!
<ARCHIVIST> Don, Dan, I'd like to thank you both very, very much for
staying with us this long! It's been a long and wonderful RTC!
We've all enjoyed it very much, and hope you'll both join us again
sometime very soon!
Anyway, We're looking forward to the next time we can be together,
with more hot news for the Jaguar! Thank you again, and good night to
you all!
<[Dan @ Atari] D.MCNAMEE> BTW, I'll be back next month with Tom
Gillen.
<[Charlie] ARCHIVIST> Wow! That's great Dan!
[Editor's Note: Tom Gillen RTC on Dec. 14 at 9:00 p.m. EST]
/|\ /|\ /|\ /|\ /|\ /|\ /|\ /|\ /|\ /|\ /|\ /|\ /|\ /|\ /|\ /|\ /|\ /|\
Real Time Conferences in the Atari ST RoundTable are held every Monday
(Desktop Publishing and Graphics) and Wednesday (Open House) night at
10:00 p.m. and a HelpDesk is available every Sunday at 9:00 p.m.
On the first and third Thursday there is a Programmer's RTC at 9:00 p.m.
If you miss a conference, transcripts are made for all formal RTC's
(where there is a special guest) and the programming RTC. You will find
these transcripts in Library 13 - Atari Archives.
Please send your questions, suggestions and comments to RTC$ via
GEmail. Thank you.
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||| AvP/Marketing Conference
||| File Copyright and Courtesy of:
/ | \ Compuserve Atari Forums
-------------------------------------------------------------------
% The Atari Jaguar Video Game conference is beginning
Your moderator is Ron Luks (SYSOP) (1)
(#1,Ron Luks (SYSOP)) 'On behalf of CompuServe and the Atari ...
(#1,Ron Luks (SYSOP)) Gaming Forum, I would like to welcome our...
(#1,Ron Luks (SYSOP)) members to the Atari Jaguar/AvP. conference.
(#1,Ron Luks (SYSOP)) My name is Ron Luks, and I'll be the moderator ...
(#1,Ron Luks (SYSOP)) for tonight's conference.
(#1,Ron Luks (SYSOP)) -
(#1,Ron Luks (SYSOP)) Tonight, our guests include members of the ...
(#1,Ron Luks (SYSOP)) Alien Vs Predator Design team headed by ...
(#1,Ron Luks (SYSOP)) "Purple" Hampton, James Grunke, Atari's ...
(#1,Ron Luks (SYSOP)) Director of Audio, Ron Beltramo, VP of Marketing ...
(#1,Ron Luks (SYSOP)) and other folks from Atari Corp..
(#1,Ron Luks (SYSOP)) -
(#1,Ron Luks (SYSOP)) Later during the conference, we will be giving ...
(#1,Ron Luks (SYSOP)) away a Jaguar Video Game system, a copy of ...
(#1,Ron Luks (SYSOP)) Alien vs Predator autographed by the design ...
(#1,Ron Luks (SYSOP)) team and other prizes. But first, the folks from ...
(#1,Ron Luks (SYSOP)) Atari want to announce a Jaguar Trivia Contest ...
(#1,Ron Luks (SYSOP)) The questions will be listed before this conference ...
(#1,Ron Luks (SYSOP)) begins and the ANSWERS will be given during the ...
(#1,Ron Luks (SYSOP)) conference. (A Conf. transcript will be available ...
(#1,Ron Luks (SYSOP)) for downloading from ATARIGAM later this week ...
(#1,Ron Luks (SYSOP)) in case you miss anything.).
(#1,Ron Luks (SYSOP)) -
(#1,Ron Luks (SYSOP)) I'll be back to give you instructions on how to ...
(#1,Ron Luks (SYSOP)) use the CONVENTION Center software in just a moment ...
(#1,Ron Luks (SYSOP)) But first a few words from Atari Corp. about the ...
(#1,Ron Luks (SYSOP)) upcoming trivia contest.
(#1,Ron Luks (SYSOP)) Tonight, participating at one of the terminals ...
(#1,Ron Luks (SYSOP)) at Atari Corp., we have the following Atari folks: ...
(#1,Ron Luks (SYSOP)) Ron Beltramo, VP of Marketing ...
(#1,Ron Luks (SYSOP)) James Grunke ...
(#1,Ron Luks (SYSOP)) Mike Fulton ...
(#1,Ron Luks (SYSOP)) Purple Hampton, head of AvP design team ...
(#1,Ron Luks (SYSOP)) Dan McNamee ...
(#1,Ron Luks (SYSOP)) Lance Lewis ...
(#1,Ron Luks (SYSOP)) Paul Foster ...
(#1,Ron Luks (SYSOP)) Mike Pooler ...
(#1,Ron Luks (SYSOP)) Hans-Martin Krober ...
(#1,Ron Luks (SYSOP)) Greg Labrec ...
(#1,Ron Luks (SYSOP)) John Mathieson ...
(#1,Ron Luks (SYSOP)) Scott Saunders ...
(#1,Ron Luks (SYSOP)) Don Thomas ...
(#1,Ron Luks (SYSOP)) J Patton ...
(#1,Ron Luks (SYSOP)) and Francois-Yves Bertrand.
(#1,Ron Luks (SYSOP)) (apologies if I missed anyone's name)
(#33,RB-Atari) Hello! (from Ron Beltramo, v.p. marketing)
(#33,RB-Atari) I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving.
(#33,RB-Atari) Please accept my thanks for joining us this evening. I am
(#33,RB-Atari) aware that everyone would enjoy having conferences more
(#33,RB-Atari) frequently and we will review opportunities for more
(#33,RB-Atari) conferences in the future. As you might imagine, we have
(#33,RB-Atari) been working hard on getting more software for the Jaguar
(#33,RB-Atari) on the market as quickly as possible. In itself, that would
(#33,RB-Atari) not be hard if speed was our only concern. By reviewing the
(#33,RB-Atari) message threads forwarded to me and the results of focus
(#33,RB-Atari) groups and retailer feedback we are convinced that you want
(#33,RB-Atari) the type of quality software that features the most
(#33,RB-Atari) immersive and challenging gameplay that can be created for
(#33,RB-Atari) the 64-Bit Jaguar system. With that in mind, we have been
(#33,RB-Atari) firm in our resolve to create a new caliber of quality
(#33,RB-Atari) software. The feedback we are receiving on Alien Vs.
(#33,RB-Atari) Predator, Wolfenstein 3D, Doom and Tempest 2000 tells me
(#33,RB-Atari) we are on the right track. As we have all discovered, being
(#33,RB-Atari) patient and committed to this standard of quality pays off.
(#33,RB-Atari) This is turning out to be an exciting Holiday Season. As
(#33,RB-Atari) many of you know, we have started to ship Dragon: The Bruce
(#33,RB-Atari) Lee Story and Doom. We are shipping these titles as quickly
(#33,RB-Atari) as they come in to us, so make sure you stay in touch with
(#33,RB-Atari) your retailer if you are looking for these titles. On the
(#33,RB-Atari) heels of these titles are Checkered Flag, Club Drive, Iron
(#33,RB-Atari) Soldier, Val D'Isere Skiing, Bubsy, Zool 2 and Kasumi
(#33,RB-Atari) Ninja. Look for a fast flurry of these titles within the
(#33,RB-Atari) next few weeks. I am particularly excited about the
(#33,RB-Atari) diversity of these titles as well as quality. I think this
(#33,RB-Atari) Christmas, there is something for everyone on the Jaguar.
(#33,RB-Atari) This special conference is in the honor of the hard work
(#33,RB-Atari) put forth by the AvP team with their successful release of
(#33,RB-Atari) their new hit. I know people would like some updated
(#33,RB-Atari) marketing scoop, so maybe I can address that topic quickly
(#33,RB-Atari) before turning the entire focus to them.
(#33,RB-Atari) First off, we are wrapping up some studio production work
(#33,RB-Atari) for three new television commercials: one featuring Kasumi
(#33,RB-Atari) Ninja, one for Doom and one for Iron Soldier. The Doom spot
(#33,RB-Atari) will be finished this week and be on air next week for a
(#33,RB-Atari) three week blitz leading up to the Christmas holidays. Iron
(#33,RB-Atari) Soldier and Kasumi Ninja will be completed next week and on
(#33,RB-Atari) air going into the new year. All three are shaping up to
(#33,RB-Atari) be great ads for three of the next great Jaguar titles.
(#33,RB-Atari) Those of you who live near Venture Stores (a chain very
(#33,RB-Atari) similar to Target with stores mostly in the midwest) have
(#33,RB-Atari) seen their promotion of the Jaguar in recent circulars. The
(#33,RB-Atari) Jaguar and the Lynx have also been featured in recent
(#33,RB-Atari) Incredible Universe advertisements. We have also succeeded
(#33,RB-Atari) in selling an impressive number of Lynx systems on the Home
(#33,RB-Atari) Shopping Club. Toys R Us has expanded the distribution of
(#33,RB-Atari) Jaguar to 300 stores accross the country. Jaguar is now
(#33,RB-Atari) being launched into Japan and every Toys R Us Store in
(#33,RB-Atari) Japan will be carrying the Jaguar this Holiday Season.
(#33,RB-Atari) Bill Rehbock, v.p. of software business development, has
(#33,RB-Atari) recently revealed that Primal Rage will be coming to the
(#33,RB-Atari) Jaguar although the timing for release has not yet been
(#33,RB-Atari) announced.
(#33,RB-Atari) The long awaited Tempest 2000 Soundtrack on compact disc is
(#33,RB-Atari) expected in our warehouse within the next 10 days. I think
(#33,RB-Atari) this item makes a perfect Christmas gift at only $12.99
(#33,RB-Atari) plus shipping. Contact Don Thomas, director of customer
(#33,RB-Atari) service to order. He tells me he has reduced the shipping
(#33,RB-Atari) and handling to just $3.50 on this item for onliners.
(#33,RB-Atari) The Alien Vs. Predator cinema-quality poster has been such
(#33,RB-Atari) a hit, we have brought in more. As a matter of fact,
(#33,RB-Atari) EVERYONE that attends this conference tonight live can
(#33,RB-Atari) receive a postage paid free AvP poster. The SysOp will keep
(#33,RB-Atari) track of who attends. You must send your U.S. or Canadian
(#33,RB-Atari) mailing address privately to 75300,1267 to get your poster.
(#33,RB-Atari) If you are reading this text after the conference has
(#33,RB-Atari) concluded, you can still obtain a free poster, however,
(#33,RB-Atari) Atari's minimum $4.95 shipping and handling fee applies.
(#33,RB-Atari) The most recent edition of the retailer's Jaguar demo tape
(#33,RB-Atari) is reaching stores now. Some of you have ordered one for
(#33,RB-Atari) yourselves and are receiving them. I hope you will feel
(#33,RB-Atari) free to loan that tape out to friends. <hint> This 40+
(#33,RB-Atari) minute tape was produced by Greg LaBrec, director of
(#33,RB-Atari) creative services. It features 30 Jaguar game sequences
(#33,RB-Atari) plus copies of Atari's Jaguar commercials INCLUDING the
(#33,RB-Atari) popular AvP spot; all professionally edited, reproduced
(#33,RB-Atari) and labeled. (Greg has been known to sign a few before they
(#33,RB-Atari) are shipped upon request <g>)
(#33,RB-Atari) clip below and spread the news!
(#33,RB-Atari) *************** AVP ON-LINE TRIVIA CONTEST ****************
(#33,RB-Atari) WIN A JAGUAR or AN AUTOGRAPHED COPY OF ALIEN Vs. PREDATOR!
(#33,RB-Atari) Atari is proud to introduce another online attraction...
(#33,RB-Atari) It's our first ever "AvP Trivia Contest"! Here's how it
(#33,RB-Atari) works... Below are five questions regarding Atari's hit
(#33,RB-Atari) 64-bit Jaguar release of Alien Vs. Predator. Each question
(#33,RB-Atari) may be answered by A, B, C or D. Entrants must submit their
(#33,RB-Atari) answers along with their mailing address and daytime phone
(#33,RB-Atari) number. Entries should be sent directly or through the
(#33,RB-Atari) Internet to one of the following addresses:
(#33,RB-Atari) 75300.1267@compuserve.com
(#33,RB-Atari) or
(#33,RB-Atari) jaguar$@genie.com
(#33,RB-Atari) Entries will be accepted anytime from November 29, 1994
(#33,RB-Atari) until midnight of December 9, 1994. This contest is open
(#33,RB-Atari) to all onliners who have a North American shipping address
(#33,RB-Atari) (50 U.S. states and Canada) who have complied with the
(#33,RB-Atari) terms of this contest. BBS users can submit their entries
(#33,RB-Atari) by sending a private message to the SysOp of CATscan BBS
(#33,RB-Atari) by dialing 209/239-1552. Sysops are encouraged to
(#33,RB-Atari) distribute the details of this contest. The winner will be
(#33,RB-Atari) randomly selected from all the correct entries. Due to the
(#33,RB-Atari) anticipated volume, individual replies to entries CANNOT be
(#33,RB-Atari) made. Only one entry per person will be accepted. Employees
(#33,RB-Atari) of CompuServe, GEnie or Atari are ineligible.
(#33,RB-Atari) To make things REALLY easy. You WILL find the answers
(#33,RB-Atari) within the text of the November 29th AvP conference on
(#33,RB-Atari) CompuServe or the November 30th AvP conference on GEnie.
(#33,RB-Atari) Here are the questions:
(#33,RB-Atari) 1) Alien Vs. Predator by Atari for the 64-bit Jaguar
(#33,RB-Atari) interactive multimedia system features the ability for
(#33,RB-Atari) the player to become any one of three characters. What
(#33,RB-Atari) are those characters?
(#33,RB-Atari) A. Ripley, an Alien and a Navy Seal
(#33,RB-Atari) B. An Alien, a Predator and a Marine
(#33,RB-Atari) C. A ship's navigator, a cook and a doctor
(#33,RB-Atari) D. None of the above
(#33,RB-Atari) 2) Which film studios produced the Alien and Predator
(#33,RB-Atari) films?
(#33,RB-Atari) A. Warner Bros. and Twentieth Century Fox
(#33,RB-Atari) B. Disney Studios and Twentieth Century Fox
(#33,RB-Atari) C. Twentieth Century Fox and Twentieth Century Fox
(#33,RB-Atari) D. Universal Studios and Twentieth Century Fox
(#33,RB-Atari) 3) Alien Vs. Predator is a virtual world challenge which
(#33,RB-Atari) is described in the manual to be:
(#33,RB-Atari) A. a tactical simulator depicting the events following
(#33,RB-Atari) the fall of Camp Golgotha Colonial Marine Training
(#33,RB-Atari) Base.
(#33,RB-Atari) B. a reenactment of events created by a supercomputer
(#33,RB-Atari) based on the ultimate terrestrial war Alien vs.
(#33,RB-Atari) Predator.
(#33,RB-Atari) C. a dream sequence of space mining personnel aboard
(#33,RB-Atari) their own contaminated ship.
(#33,RB-Atari) D. a hypnotic recall of the nightmarish events
(#33,RB-Atari) experienced by marines on a recent war mission where
(#33,RB-Atari) germ warfare was used against them.
(#33,RB-Atari) 4) An effective tool to be used while playing Alien Vs.
(#33,RB-Atari) Predator is the H.U.D. which offers status displays.
(#33,RB-Atari) What does H.U.D. stand for?
(#33,RB-Atari) A. Heads-Up Display
(#33,RB-Atari) B. Helmet Ultra-Diatometer
(#33,RB-Atari) C. Heated U-light Diagnostics
(#33,RB-Atari) D. Hampered Utility Detector
(#33,RB-Atari) 5. One of the many obstacles to avoid is referred to as a
(#33,RB-Atari) Facehugger. A Facehugger is which of the following?
(#33,RB-Atari) A. A creature that attaches itself to the face of its
(#33,RB-Atari) host.
(#33,RB-Atari) B. A helmet instrument used by the Predator that injects
(#33,RB-Atari) a poison into anyone else who may attempt to use it.
(#33,RB-Atari) C. A "gripping" gas that stretches the skin of the face
(#33,RB-Atari) until it tears.
(#33,RB-Atari) D. None of the above.
(#33,RB-Atari) ***********************************************************
(#33,RB-Atari) Whew! <g> There is still another Jaguar, AvP and three
(#33,RB-Atari) T-shirts to be given away by your host this evening during
(#33,RB-Atari) this conference.
(#33,RB-Atari) I know people are anxious for more titles as soon as
(#33,RB-Atari) possible. I also know we all have a lot of questions
(#33,RB-Atari) regarding networking, voice/modem, CD-ROM, VR Helmets and
(#33,RB-Atari) more. I assure you we are anxious to release news about
(#33,RB-Atari) these products as soon as we can. I urge everyone to stay
(#33,RB-Atari) tuned to the Atari/Jaguar areas of GEnie and CompuServe for
(#33,RB-Atari) the news as soon as we can post it.
(#33,RB-Atari) Now, finally, to the topic at hand and
(#33,RB-Atari) Alien Vs. Predator...
(#33,RB-Atari) Regards,
(#33,RB-Atari) Ron Beltramo
(#1,Ron Luks (SYSOP)) In addition to the trivia contest just announced...
(#1,Ron Luks (SYSOP)) we will be giving away a Jaguar system...
(#1,Ron Luks (SYSOP)) tonight to a lucky participant.
(#1,Ron Luks (SYSOP)) Before we begin, I'd like to mention a few items of...
(#1,Ron Luks (SYSOP)) instruction and tips for online protocol.
(#1,Ron Luks (SYSOP)) -
(#1,Ron Luks (SYSOP)) To get in line (into the queue) to ask a question,...
(#1,Ron Luks (SYSOP)) type the command /QUE. You will be recognized by...
(#1,Ron Luks (SYSOP)) the moderator when it's your turn to speak.
(#1,Ron Luks (SYSOP)) -
(#1,Ron Luks (SYSOP)) When typing your questions,...
(#1,Ron Luks (SYSOP)) please end each line with "..." to indicate you are...
(#1,Ron Luks (SYSOP)) still typing, and end your question with "GA"...
(#1,Ron Luks (SYSOP)) meaning "GO AHEAD" so that the speaker will know to...
(#1,Ron Luks (SYSOP)) begin his answer.
(#1,Ron Luks (SYSOP)) -
(#1,Ron Luks (SYSOP)) Second, please ask only ONE question at a time...
(#1,Ron Luks (SYSOP)) If you have other questions, get back into the...
(#1,Ron Luks (SYSOP)) queue and wait to be called again.
(#1,Ron Luks (SYSOP)) -
(#1,Ron Luks (SYSOP)) SUGGESTION-- type lots of short lines...
(#1,Ron Luks (SYSOP)) rather than 2 or 3 LONG lines. ...
(#1,Ron Luks (SYSOP)) This is easier for the system and keeps ...
(#1,Ron Luks (SYSOP)) things moving quickly.
(#1,Ron Luks (SYSOP)) -
(#1,Ron Luks (SYSOP)) If you need help with any of the online conference...
(#1,Ron Luks (SYSOP)) facility commands, type /? or /HELP.
(#1,Ron Luks (SYSOP)) -
(#1,Ron Luks (SYSOP)) okay...
(#1,Ron Luks (SYSOP)) now, lets start the questions.
% Moderator recognizes question #1
Karega (4)
(#4,Karega) Hello
(#4,Karega) I just neede to ask
(#4,Karega) a question about...
(#4,Karega) the new Jag2 that is supposed...
(#4,Karega) to be out...
(#4,Karega) can you give us any info onthatGA
(#4,Karega) GA
(#33,RB-Atari) There are a lot of great things our R&D department are working
on.
(#33,RB-Atari) I think most of us know that Jag 2 is a very real one that we are
looking at.
(#33,RB-Atari) We have a long way to go to exploit the power of the Jaguar we
know today,
(#33,RB-Atari) but we will announce new products as soon as we can.
(#33,RB-Atari) GA
(#14,Ranma) Hi
(#14,Ranma) I wanted to know
(#14,Ranma) how long did it take the AvP design team...
(#14,Ranma) to make the game and what are those 12 extra Buttons?..
(#14,Ranma) Ga
(#33,RB-Atari) James, Purples... these are good questions...
(#38,AVP Design Team) Dan: It took about 12 months from the time the test
(#38,AVP Design Team) department started working on the levels.
(#38,AVP Design Team) James - Probably a total of 18 months
(#38,AVP Design Team) GA
(#49,Alan) TuiThis is a general question about the Jag...
(#49,Alan) It's about software development...
(#49,Alan) What sports games are scheduled ofr release...
(#49,Alan) Anything from EA?
(#49,Alan) GA
(#33,RB-Atari) Troy Aikman FB, Charles Barkley Basketball, Brett Hull Hockey
(#33,RB-Atari) Ja Nicholas Cybergolf have all been announced... more to come.
(#16,Alex) IS THE JAG GOING TO...
(#16,Alex) HAVE SOFTWARE FROM
(#16,Alex) JAPAN'S RUMIC SOFT
(#16,Alex) SUCH AS RANMA NIBUN NO ICHI
(#16,Alex) GA
(#33,RB-Atari) Bill Rehbock happens to be in Japan right this moment on a
recruiting
(#33,RB-Atari) mission. We will report his success as soon as we can.
(#33,RB-Atari) GA
(#7,KeNnY) hi...
(#7,KeNnY) well, i was wondering what Karaga was...
(#7,KeNnY) talking about when he said...
(#7,KeNnY) The jag2...
(#7,KeNnY) I have never heard of this...
(#7,KeNnY) What are the differences?...
(#7,KeNnY) ga
(#33,RB-Atari) I think Karega was the askers name... we need to invite some
questions regarding
(#33,RB-Atari) the guests of honor.... <g>
(#33,RB-Atari) GA
(#53,Tom A Langworthy) Hi.
(#53,Tom A Langworthy) I'd first like to say good job on the game...
(#53,Tom A Langworthy) Is there gonna be a AvP2?
(#53,Tom A Langworthy) Ga
(#38,AVP Design Team) Purple - there could be.... :)
(#38,AVP Design Team) no announcements yet Ron GA
(#48,justin) can you play regular computer cd-rom games
(#33,RB-Atari) "Regular" computer games are not compatible on the Jaguar so we
can
(#33,RB-Atari) "unleash" 64-bit power! <g>
(#33,RB-Atari) GA
(#51,Cyrus Lendvay) Are there any easter eggs in AVP??
(#51,Cyrus Lendvay) If so, what are they?? :-)
(#51,Cyrus Lendvay) GA
(#38,AVP Design Team) James - As soon as purple is done typing <very slowly>
there may
(#38,AVP Design Team) well be... :)
(#38,AVP Design Team) ga
(#33,RB-Atari) NOTICE: One of the trivia question answers is:
(#33,RB-Atari) Twentieth Century Fox and Twentieth Century Fox
(#20,Brian) Hi, I heard you made a contract with Sega..
(#20,Brian) that you'll share infos...
(#20,Brian) Does this mean only technical stuffs or...
(#20,Brian) games too?
(#20,Brian) GA
(#33,RB-Atari) I understand that there are up to 5 games per year... the
technical stuff
(#33,RB-Atari) is mostly existing material from the older systems. The data
share does
(#33,RB-Atari) not regard Jaguar or Lynx specific secrets.
(#33,RB-Atari) GA
(#32,david) DOES THE JAG COME WITH A GAME
(#32,david) GA
(#38,AVP Design Team) James - Comes with Cybermorph ga
(#2,Amol) hello
(#2,Amol) When will the jag Cd come out?....
(#2,Amol) how much will it cost?
(#2,Amol) GA
(#33,RB-Atari) The Jag CD is expected by the end of December or early January.
The cost has
(#33,RB-Atari) been announced to be $199.95.
(#33,RB-Atari) GA
(#27,Jay) hi
(#27,Jay) The Jag 64 bit Jag.....
(#27,Jay) is the processer and machine itself......
(#27,Jay) 64 bit, and plays 64 bit games.......
(#27,Jay) or is it 32bit machine playing 64bit games?
(#27,Jay) ga
(#33,RB-Atari) The Jaguar has TWO CPUs that are 64 bit and 5 total. The system
addresses
(#33,RB-Atari) memory in 64-bit chunks and information travels on 64-bit
highway...\
(#33,RB-Atari) It IS a 64-bit machine. Correction: 3 of the 5 are 64-bit.
(#33,RB-Atari) GA
(#85,Matthew Kaplan) Hi.
(#85,Matthew Kaplan) I'd like to say how good a game
(#85,Matthew Kaplan) AvP is. Now it is done, what is Rebellion's plans
(#85,Matthew Kaplan) for the future? GA.
(#38,AVP Design Team) Dan- Legions of the Undead, Hammerhead.... GA
(#38,AVP Design Team) James - Purple just finished typing a little treat... let
us know
(#38,AVP Design Team) when your ready for a text file.... :)
(#1,Ron Luks (SYSOP)) okay. We're ready for a treat. Is this the easter egg?
(#1,Ron Luks (SYSOP)) GA
(#38,AVP Design Team) James - uplaod in roughly 1 minute <to reach minimum safe
(#38,AVP Design Team) distance....>
(#38,AVP Design Team) Simulation loading...
(#38,AVP Design Team) James.... "c'mon.... anytime...."
(#33,RB-Atari) ALIEN VS. PREDATOR
(#33,RB-Atari) Cheat Codes Part I
(#33,RB-Atari) This is the first of two parts of a cheat code. Best used for
when
(#33,RB-Atari) playing as a Marine. Below a re a few definitions:
(#33,RB-Atari) Hold= Whenever it says "hold" a certain key, you must do so
(#33,RB-Atari) throughout the entire process.
(#33,RB-Atari) Press= Whenever it says "press" a certain key, just press the key
(#33,RB-Atari) and move on.
(#33,RB-Atari) To Activate the code do the following from within the main game
(#33,RB-Atari) screen:
(#33,RB-Atari) 1. Hold PAUSE
(#33,RB-Atari) 2. Hold OPTION
(#33,RB-Atari) 3. Press the "1" and "3" Keys
(#33,RB-Atari) 4. Hold the "2", "5", "7", and "9" keys together
(#33,RB-Atari) YOU WILL HEAR THE PREDATOR LAUGH TO CONFIRM THAT
(#33,RB-Atari) THE CODE HAS BEEN ACTIVATED!!!
(#33,RB-Atari) This code enables the following functions:
(#33,RB-Atari) SECURITY CLEARENCE
(#33,RB-Atari) Press OPTION + 6 To Raise Security Level
(#33,RB-Atari) Press OPTION + 9 To Lower Security Level
(#33,RB-Atari) MOTION TRACKER
(#33,RB-Atari) Press OPTION + 8 To toggle tracker on/off
(#33,RB-Atari) WEAPON ACCESS:
(#33,RB-Atari) Press OPTION + 1- 4 To access Marine Weapons (1=shotgun,
(#33,RB-Atari) etc...)
(#33,RB-Atari) ALL WEAPON RECHARGE:
(#33,RB-Atari) Hold OPTION + Press "1", "2", "3", "4" at same time
(#38,AVP Design Team) Purple - ....whew... :)
(#33,RB-Atari) That was from Purple... he asked for some help <g>
(#33,RB-Atari) GA
(#38,AVP Design Team) Purple - before just now, only two people had that info...
:)
(#38,AVP Design Team) ga
(#1,Ron Luks (SYSOP)) okay. Thanks!
(#1,Ron Luks (SYSOP)) Now, back to the question queue.
(#72,Bob Vila!) Hi guys...
(#72,Bob Vila!) My question concerns 3rd party deveopers...
(#72,Bob Vila!) and quality control...
(#72,Bob Vila!) Is there any?...
(#72,Bob Vila!) Meaning: Can just anyone develop a game for the Jag...?
(#72,Bob Vila!) And when's Primal Rage And Assault due to be released?
(#72,Bob Vila!) GA
(#38,AVP Design Team) James - and they have to be registered devlopers
(#38,AVP Design Team) ga
(#33,RB-Atari) YES, anyone can develop, BUT they have to meet minimal technical
qualifications (#33,RB-Atari) In other words, we do not steer potential
developers away UNLEss the softwa
(#33,RB-Atari) Right, to become registered means they meeat minimal
qualifications, but we
(#33,RB-Atari) welcome all developers. Primal Rage has been announced recently
by Bill Rehbock,
(#33,RB-Atari) we have not gotten a target release date yet. Assault is by
Midnite and we hope
(#33,RB-Atari) to see it 1st quarter.
(#33,RB-Atari) GA
(#81,jack) Nice to meet you. I would like to know why the jaguar....
(#81,jack) controllers are so big...GA
(#33,RB-Atari) The Jaguar controllers have been selected from many models. We
were told
(#33,RB-Atari) they are very easy to hold and ergonomic for a 17 plus joypad
controller. <g>
(#33,RB-Atari) GA
(#18,Mike Pooler-Atari) Ours seemsbig because some of the other's are so puny :)
GA
(#33,RB-Atari) NOTICE: Another answer to one of the trivia questions.
(#33,RB-Atari) Heads-Up Display
(#89,Carlos Cuenca) HHow many game do you think will come before the xmas
day..??
(#33,RB-Atari) We are still counting 20.
(#33,RB-Atari) GA
(#36,miki) what is that about jag2??? GA
(#1,Ron Luks (SYSOP)) Miki-- theres nothing we can say about the JAG2 at this
time. Sorry.
(#47,Mr. Vedder) Hello
(#47,Mr. Vedder) Why is it so hard to find a Jag in stores? GA
(#33,RB-Atari) In some areas it may be. We are constantly expanding the number
of storess
(#33,RB-Atari) we are in. You will notice in my introductory text that we are in
ventures
(#33,RB-Atari) now as well as EB, Toys R Us, Babbages, The Wiz, Goodd Guys, etc.
More to
(#33,RB-Atari) come.
(#33,RB-Atari) GA
(#1,Ron Luks (SYSOP)) okay...
(#1,Ron Luks (SYSOP)) last question before the prizes...
(#40,Josh Houghton) Will the Jag CD-ROM come with a game? GA.
(#33,RB-Atari) We are looking at several possibilities and will be making a
formal
(#33,RB-Atari) announcement soon.
(#33,RB-Atari) GA
(#33,RB-Atari) NOTICE: Another answer to one of the trivia questions.
(#33,RB-Atari) An Alien, a Predator and a Marine.
(#1,Ron Luks (SYSOP)) To recap:...
(#1,Ron Luks (SYSOP)) 20th Century Fox and 20th Century Fox (1)
(#1,Ron Luks (SYSOP)) HEads up Display (2)
(#1,Ron Luks (SYSOP)) Alien, Predator, Marine (3)
(#1,Ron Luks (SYSOP)) Tactical simulator (4) and...
(#1,Ron Luks (SYSOP)) Creature that hugs the face of its host. (5)
(#1,Ron Luks (SYSOP)) We've sent a representative off to the ...
(#1,Ron Luks (SYSOP)) Atari Gaming Forum CO area to access the CompuServe ...
(#1,Ron Luks (SYSOP)) software that generates random numbers. ...
(#1,Ron Luks (SYSOP)) We will award tonight's prize based upon ...
(#1,Ron Luks (SYSOP)) these random numbers and your CIS logon number.
(#1,Ron Luks (SYSOP)) -
(#1,Ron Luks (SYSOP)) But first, to be eligible for the Jaguar Game ...
(#1,Ron Luks (SYSOP)) system drawing, you must be able to answer the ...
(#1,Ron Luks (SYSOP)) following skill-based question: ...
(#1,Ron Luks (SYSOP)) "What best describes the Jaguar Video Game ...
(#1,Ron Luks (SYSOP)) System: 8-bit? 24-bit? or 64 bits?" ...
(#1,Ron Luks (SYSOP)) (TYPE YOUR ANSWER NOW).
(#1,Ron Luks (SYSOP)) -
(at this point, everyone in the audience type in "64" or
"64 bits" or some variation. edited out for brevity.)
(#1,Ron Luks (SYSOP)) okay folks...
(#1,Ron Luks (SYSOP)) Looks like we'll do a random number drawing of everyone
who..
(#1,Ron Luks (SYSOP)) answered correctly "64 bits"...
(#1,Ron Luks (SYSOP)) Our rep is drawing a random number now...
(#1,Ron Luks (SYSOP)) in the Atari Gaming Forum software.
(#1,Ron Luks (SYSOP)) The winner is job 74...
(#1,Ron Luks (SYSOP)) Roger E Pedersen!!!!
(#1,Ron Luks (SYSOP)) Congrats on winning the Jaguar Game system.....
(#1,Ron Luks (SYSOP)) Now,, lets award an autographed copy of...
(#1,Ron Luks (SYSOP)) Alien vs Predator...
(#1,Ron Luks (SYSOP)) The winner is job 60...
(#1,Ron Luks (SYSOP)) Tom J.
(#1,Ron Luks (SYSOP)) Congrats...
(#1,Ron Luks (SYSOP)) Now we have 3 T-shirts to give away...
(#1,Ron Luks (SYSOP)) The first number is:...
(#1,Ron Luks (SYSOP)) Job 43....
(#1,Ron Luks (SYSOP)) Michael Giaquinto!
(#1,Ron Luks (SYSOP)) next winner is:...
(#1,Ron Luks (SYSOP)) job 54....
(#1,Ron Luks (SYSOP)) Josh Willis.
(#1,Ron Luks (SYSOP)) and the third winner is:....
(#1,Ron Luks (SYSOP)) job 14...
(#1,Ron Luks (SYSOP)) Ranma.
(#1,Ron Luks (SYSOP)) All 5 winners will be contacted via EMAIL within 48
hours...
(#1,Ron Luks (SYSOP)) for your mailing addresses. ...
(#1,Ron Luks (SYSOP)) Prizes will be shipped directly from Atari Corp.
(#1,Ron Luks (SYSOP)) I'd like to thank all our guest from Atai tonight...
(#1,Ron Luks (SYSOP)) including all the folks sitting around the typists
terminals. ...
(#33,RB-Atari) No way. Are we done?
(#1,Ron Luks (SYSOP)) Wanna answer some more questions?
(#33,RB-Atari) Sure.
(#1,Ron Luks (SYSOP)) okay folks...
(#1,Ron Luks (SYSOP)) lets ask a few more ....
(#38,AVP Design Team) we are still here for a couple AVP questions
(#1,Ron Luks (SYSOP)) (lets try to stick to AvP questions please)
(#5,Chuck M.) Thanks, I hate the 'bubble'...
(#5,Chuck M.) In programming AvP, what percentage of the Jag's power was used
(#5,Chuck M.) (IOW, is AvP also a _full_ demonstration of 64-bit usage)?
(#5,Chuck M.) And, were there any interesting features/special effects that
were left out?
(which and why)? Keep up the good work!! Thanks...G
(#38,AVP Design Team) of the Jag while leaving some headroom for climactic peaks
of
(#38,AVP Design Team) action...
(#38,AVP Design Team) ga
(#38,AVP Design Team) Purple - ...we left about 75% of the original design
(#38,AVP Design Team) Purple - in order to get it out ASAP.
(#38,AVP Design Team) ga
(#18,Mike Pooler-Atari) I would say AvP is just the beginning...
(#18,Mike Pooler-Atari) ...as we learn more and more about how to exploit all
the power...
(#18,Mike Pooler-Atari) that's there. Doom has an even more powerful engine than
AvP,
(#18,Mike Pooler-Atari) soo expect more advances in the future. GA
(#34,Kenneth Drake) Hi all!
(#34,Kenneth Drake) I was noticing the absence of music on Doom and AvP...
(#38,AVP Design Team) Purple and James - It was intentional on AVP, and we feel
...
(#38,AVP Design Team) the environmental sounds add more to the game play than
music
(#38,AVP Design Team) ever could.
(#38,AVP Design Team) ga
(#34,Kenneth Drake) In your opinion....
(#34,Kenneth Drake) do you feel that "immersion" type games (first person)
will...
(#34,Kenneth Drake) be more evironmental in the future?
(#34,Kenneth Drake) ga
(#38,AVP Design Team) Purple - I can only hope So!!! I would really like to
see..
(#38,AVP Design Team) .. and take first person games beyond the current
threshold..
(#38,AVP Design Team) .. where the primary action is shooting at things. ga
(#35,Danny) How much time was involved in the creation of AvP?...
(#35,Danny) and how much was actually involved with programming code?
(#35,Danny) ga
(#38,AVP Design Team) Purple - I worked on A.V. P. for close to 23 months,
(#38,AVP Design Team) .. the programming was invloved for about 18 months. ga
(#29,Dana @ STReport) Hi folks, thanks for being here tonight! To Purple and
the "gang"...
(#29,Dana @ STReport) If you had a little more time and a little less
pressure...
(#29,Dana @ STReport) what would you have added to the game, or changed? Also,
how does it
(#29,Dana @ STReport) feel to see _your_ game featured in an Atari Jaguar
commercial? GA
(#38,AVP Design Team) Purple - With any project, you always want MORE to go in..
(#38,AVP Design Team) .. but at some point you MUST pull the reigns and save
those..
(#38,AVP Design Team) ..ideas for that "next" project. The trick is finding a
...
(#38,AVP Design Team) ..balance. And when your Mom calls you up to say she's
seen..
(#38,AVP Design Team) .. your game on TV, it makes all the hard work worth it!!
ga
(#38,AVP Design Team) James - I would have added some more pred..
(#38,AVP Design Team) whispers.... "over here..." :)
(#38,AVP Design Team) ga
(#12,Joe @ STR) Hey there! Has AvP made it into distribution in Japan yet, ...
(#12,Joe @ STR) and has there been any feedback on it? GA
(#38,AVP Design Team) Purple - I've heard unconfirmed rumors of it being in
Japan..
(#38,AVP Design Team) .. but haven't got any definite feedback (yet!). ga
(#11,Dimitri @ AEO) Hi all! Now that you've got AvP behind you...
(#11,Dimitri @ AEO) what games have each of you on the design team...
(#11,Dimitri @ AEO) moved on to, and can you describe them briefly?
(#11,Dimitri @ AEO) GA
(#38,AVP Design Team) Dan - Purple is working on Highlander (based on the
cartoon on USA)..
(#38,AVP Design Team) among other things. I'm working on VLM, and the rest of
the group
(#38,AVP Design Team) are..
(#38,AVP Design Team) working mostly on HoverStrike. GA
(#66,daniel buck) greetz ...
(#66,daniel buck) I have a question about whether or not the jaguar cd ...
(#66,daniel buck) can be played through or hooked up to a PC ...
(#66,daniel buck) -- GA --
(#38,AVP Design Team) The CD is specifically for Jaguar. now back to AVP. GA
(#4,Danny Miskin) I would like to know who designed the gameplay in AvP?...
(#4,Danny Miskin) I think the graphics are very well done, the sound FX's are...
(#4,Danny Miskin) who designed the gameplay in AvP?...
(#4,Danny Miskin) I felt the graphics were very well done...
(#4,Danny Miskin) The sound FXs are great but I thought the...
(#4,Danny Miskin) CPU Characters could have been thought out better OR...
(#4,Danny Miskin) Differently. GA
(#38,AVP Design Team) Purple- The entire team who worked on AVP added to the
design..
(#38,AVP Design Team) .. so it really was a collaborative effort. I assume by
"CPU..
(#4,Danny Miskin) thanks but why don't PRed and ALiens Attack each other
(#4,Danny Miskin) wwhen using the Marine?
(#4,Danny Miskin) GA
(#38,AVP Design Team) .. charcaters" you mean the A.I. .We had some pretty
high..
(#38,AVP Design Team) ..expectations which we met part way, but the intensity
of..
(#38,AVP Design Team) .. the graphics ate into our A.I. processing "budget".
BTW..
(#38,AVP Design Team) in an earlier version of the game, the Aliens and
Predators..
(#38,AVP Design Team) ..DID fight each other, but the problem was that there
wasn't..
(#38,AVP Design Team) .. much left in the base for the Player to fight!!. GA
(#24,Doug) WHAT IS A LIST OF NEW GAMES
(#24,Doug) GA
(#38,AVP Design Team) Purple - I have no information to release (sorry!). ..
(#33,RB-Atari) There are several lists that have been uploaded in the message
bases
(#33,RB-Atari) and libraries.
(#1,Ron Luks (SYSOP)) okay folks...
(#1,Ron Luks (SYSOP)) The moderated conference is ending now...
(#1,Ron Luks (SYSOP)) The floor will be open for a free for all in a second...
(#1,Ron Luks (SYSOP)) If you didnt get your question asked tonight...
(#1,Ron Luks (SYSOP)) please post it in Atari Gaming Forum...
(#1,Ron Luks (SYSOP)) and we'll get you the info.
(#33,RB-Atari) Thank you Ron for as great job.
(#1,Ron Luks (SYSOP)) Goodnight everyone and thanks for coming.
(#1,Ron Luks (SYSOP)) P.s.-- James-- post your special info in Atari Computing
Forum. [g]
% The conference has ended
Thank you for attending
--==--==--==--==--
||| Bill Rehbock RTC Transcript
||| Courtesy: GEnie Atari RoundTable
/ | \ Internet: jaguar$@genie.geis.com
-----------------------------------------------------------------
=========================================================================
(C) 1994 by Atari Corporation, GEnie, and the Atari Roundtables. May
be reprinted only with this notice intact. The Atari Roundtables on
GEnie are *official* information services of Atari Corporation. To sign
up for GEnie service, call (with modem) 800-638-8369. Upon connection
type HHH (RETURN after that). Wait for the U#= prompt.Type XTX99437,GENIE
and press [RETURN]. The system will prompt you for your information.
=========================================================================
Saturday Night Real Time Conference
29 October 1994
Host - Walter S. Wilson
Guest Speaker - Bill Rehbock
Be sure to stop by on Saturday, 05 October 1994 for our next Gaming RTC!
========================================================================
<[Wally/Sysop] ST.WALLY> Howdy, and Welcome to this special Gaming
Real Time Conference! I'm glad you all could
make it. Please, make yourselves
comfortable, and we'll get started in a
couple more minutes.
<[Wally/Sysop] ST.WALLY> On behalf of the Atari ST and Jaguar
Roundtable, I welcome all of you to this
special Gaming Real Time Conference.
Tonight it gives me great pleasure to
introduce to you Mr. Bill Rehbock, of the
Atari Corporation.
Bill Rehbock, formerly Director of Technical
Services with Atari, has been an instrumental
figure in Atari's newest system, the Jaguar.
His new job as Vice President of Software
Business Development, of course, meant a
newer position for him within Atari. It is
certainly a pleasure to have him aboard for
tonight's Real Time Conference!
<[Bill@Atari] B.REHBOCK> Thank you to Darlah and Wally for inviting me
here tonight.
I'll be happy to field most questions you'd
like to throw out.
We're just in the process of releasing the
last batch of Atari-published Christmas
titles for the year. We still are targeting
30 titles by the end of the year. My wife is
in the other room playing Theme Park from
Ocean on our Jaguar right now; our 4 month
old son is fascinated by it. (Although he
prefers playing DOOM :-)
A brief introduction... I take care of the
Jaguar Third-Party Licensing Program here at
Atari, I am also Executive Producer for a few
of the Jaguar's games such as Wolfenstein,
DOOM, Fight For Life, Dragon: The Bruce Lee
Story and Val d'Isere Skiing and
Snowboarding.
That said, I'll turn it back over to Wally.
Thanks again!
<[Wally/Sysop] ST.WALLY> Thank you Bill! It sounds like you really
are busy!
<[Wally/Sysop] ST.WALLY> Well, with that, you all can /RAIse your
hands and we'll start!
<[Clint /APE] C.SMITH89> Bill, when is the Jag CD due and has a
decision been made as to if there will be a
pack-in?
<[Bill@Atari] B.REHBOCK> Clint, the Jaguar CD unit is in pilot
production right now. Initial unitswill be
available this year in limited quantity. The
main hold-up has been feature-creep on the
software, but I think we'll see about 6
titles for the CD before the end of January.
We will most likely have a pack-in game, but
the title hasn't been decided yet.
<[Charlie] ARCHIVIST> Bill, it seems Atari has turned to a rather
'closed mouth' attitude in the past few months,
for example Fight for Life and Val d'Isere were
unknown until recently. Is this deliberate on
Atari's part? Is it a reaction to feedback on
the nets about the somewhat 'over optimistic'
release dates for some of the early titles?
<[Bill@Atari] B.REHBOCK> The Release date thing is definitely an
issue, and Fight For Life is a big project
that will blow away the games of the same
genre on other platforms, so we didn't want
to have any details going out too soon. It
is a ruthless industry, you know :-)
<[Charlie] ARCHIVIST> hehe
<[Bill@Atari] B.REHBOCK> With the titles that are in production, and
those that are shipping, it is less of an
issue to keep talking about "titles to be"
when really fantastic stuff is here now.
<J.KANTARJIAN> once the CD unit comes out will there be any more cart
games?
<[Bill@Atari] B.REHBOCK> Absolutely! One of the best things about
Jaguar over 6DO, PSX, and Saturn is the low
entry point. There is still a place for
carts. Third parties will still be compelled
to do carts because the user base will always
be larger than CD units
<[Dimitri L.] AEO.6> Bill, though we have quite a lot of info on
imminent cart games, we don't know much about
what's going on in the CD realm. Can you tell us
what's coming up in regard to titles, and maybe
describe some, like Battlemorph?
[Wally/Sysop] ST.WALLY> That's a Tall order, Dimitri! <Grin>
<[Bill@Atari] B.REHBOCK> Battlemorph is the sequel to Cybermorph, with
textures, plus very cool cinematics where we
get to see just where the heck that little
ball goes to when it leaves the planet. Blue
Lightning is based on the Lynx original, 100%
texture-mapped and loads and loads of scenery
and missions. It also has a way cool
soundtrack.
Readysoft are doing Dragon's Lair and Space
Ace, faithful to the original arcade
versions. We are also working on Chaos
Agenda, the game where you play a goverment
operative that must walk the fine line
between loyalty and doing the right thing.
We also will release Highlander, based on the
animated television series.
There are others, but I think time prohibits
going into detail :-)
<[Fugazi] F.KEYLARD> If Philips makes the CD-ROM, what about potential
CD-I compatibility?
<[Bill@Atari] B.REHBOCK> CD-i does some very quirky things with
hardware. While it's not impossible, it is a
little bit prohibitively expensive for the
consumer right now.
<[Fugazi] F.KEYLARD> Okay, just heard a rumor a while back...
<[Bill@Atari] B.REHBOCK> It can't be ruled out in the future, though.
<[Nathan] POTECHIN> Glad you could make it this evening, Bill and I'm
really glad to see the success of the JAGUAR! I'd
love to hear about some of the games with which
you are personally involved?
<[Bill@Atari] B.REHBOCK> DOOM-Jag, well kicks Sega's 32-X ass. The
16-bit color makes the shading look
spectacular. The Jaguar has 23 levels plus a
secret level, whereas the 32-x version has
less than 15. The DOOM-II textures look great
in the upper levels of the game. Jag-DOOM has
all of the original character animations,
whereas in the 32-x version, most had to be
pulled out because of limitations.
Fight For Life is a 3D One or Two Player
tournament fighting game with full character
texture mapping, morphing, amazingly fast
camera tracking and more flexibility than
Virtua Fighter could ever hope to have. The
title-track for the sound track is "Fight For
Life" by Joe Vitale (he has worked with many
bands including The Eagles and has a few
albums of his own out) and Joe will be
including the song on his upcoming album. It
has been written specifically for Fight For
Life on Jaguar.
Val d'Isere Skiing and Snowboarding will be
out before Christmas and is a 60 frame per
second Skiing/Snowboarding simulation that
allows you to compete or play Freeride, where
you work you way through Val d'Isere
mountain's ski runs in France. Watch out for
snowcats and snowmobiles, though :-)
<[Nathan] POTECHIN> Sounds great. I volunteer to beta TEST all of
them! ;-)
<[Wally/Sysop] ST.WALLY> Man, Bill, you get to work with some great
folks!
<[Nathan] POTECHIN> Seriously though, you make them sound quite
exciting. ;-) Thanks.
<[Nate@HVS] A2PRO.GELAMP> Okay, the burning question....What is the
framerate on the release version of
Checkered Flag?
<[Bill@Atari] B.REHBOCK> I honestly don't know what the frame rate
is. I played it myself and would say it
probably averages at about 18 to 20. It
plays very well, and the features such as
night-driving, weather, etc are
fantastic...Much better than Virtua Racing if
I do say so myself :-)
<[Wally/Sysop] ST.WALLY> Thanks Nate, those frame-rate questions keep
coming up in the RT.
<[Nate@HVS] A2PRO.GELAMP> Okay, the other one...what kind of
production time are you guessing for the CD
titles? 1 week? two?
<[Bill@Atari] B.REHBOCK> CD titles should take as little as a week to
turnaround once release to production.
<[Doug] D.ASHTON1> Can you tell us the games that are in production,
in the order they are planned for release? Any
word on the Tempest soundtrack CD? Also, AvP is
AWESOME!
<[Bill@Atari] B.REHBOCK> DOOM, Club Drive, Dragon, Checkered Flag have
all been released. There is another pile
that is getting released this weekend, but I
don't have word on them. The packaging for
the T2K soundtrack is in its final stages and
I would guess that the soundtrack should be
around in early December.
<[Alkon] B.WILLIAMS64> Hi ! Any word on a CD-rom version of AvP ? if
so, what changes will be made?
<[Bill@Atari] B.REHBOCK> No official word on AVP-CD, sorry.
<[Tony] WETMORE> Hiya Bill... My question is about retail outlets
(not yet) carrying the Jaguar...
<[Tony] WETMORE> For example, recently (yesterday) a Best Buy store
opened in my area, so I decided to go check it out
tonight...What do I see but a kiosk for every
friggin' console in existence, except for the Jaguar
and Lynx. They even had an X'Eye (what IS this
thing?) console kiosk up and running! <sniff>
<[Wally/Sysop] ST.WALLY> Don't pout, Tony. It's getting better!
<[Tony] WETMORE> So, do you have any word on retail outlets which will
(soon!) be carrying the Jaguar/Lynx?
<[Bill@Atari] B.REHBOCK> We currently have over 3000 outlets in the US
carrying Jaguar and others are coming on
board on a weekly basis. We are actively
working with Best Buy as well as ohters and
do intend to keep the penetration
increasing....
<[Tony] WETMORE> Great - thanks!
<[Dimitri L.] AEO.6> Bill, we've all heard about the Sega agreement
and are thrilled by it...From what we know, the
agreement allows Atari to port 5 Sega games a
year over to the Jag. Sam Tramiel said that work
on these had already begun. Can you fill us in
on what games are being chosen to port?
<[Bill@Atari] B.REHBOCK> The details on the titles aren't for public
consumption yet, unfortunately. I think
announcements will be made just before or
after Thankgiving.
<[Fugazi] F.KEYLARD> Will Fight for Life be networkable and/or modem
compatible? This might be a very important
option to many (also, is it a CD-ROM?).
<[Bill@Atari] B.REHBOCK> Fight For Life is a 32 megabit (4 megabyte)
cartridge. We currently haven't planned for
it to be modem-able, but if time permits, we
have made it so it will be reasonably easy to
plug in the support for it.
<[Rob] D.COOKE> Hi Bill! Does Atari Corp. accept independent, outside
game paper designs for those of us not programmers?
Thanks!
<[Bill@Atari] B.REHBOCK> We don't accept unsolicited designs, but we
are interested in new ideas. People should
contact J. Patton or myself for details...
<[Wally/Sysop] ST.WALLY> We're drawing to a close for the formal
portion of the Gaming RTC with Bill Rehbock.
Before I put the room into Frenzy Mode, do
you have any closing words, Bill?
<[Bill@Atari] B.REHBOCK> Thanks to all for your support, and I'd be
happy to come back if Darlah and Wally wish.
The momentum of Jaguar is continuing to
build and I think that we're all going to
look forward to a very Merry Christmas.
(Except Trip Hawkins :-)
<[Wally/Sysop] ST.WALLY> I would like to thank you Bill for making it
here tonight. I also wish to thank all the
attendees for their questions and patience.
In frenzy mode...Now!
<[Wally/Sysop] ST.WALLY> I'd like to remind everyone that the Jaguar
Jaguar Category (Category 26) is OPEN for
business in the Atari ST and Jaguar
RoundTable, on page 475, menu selection 1.
It is a thriving, hustling, bustling place,
and all are welcome!
<DARLAH> Thank you very much for taking the time to join us, Bill!
========================================================
==== This concluded the Formal portion of the RTC ====
==== The following, are some interesting portions ====
==== of the "Open" RTC discussion ====
========================================================
** <[Wally/Sysop] ST.WALLY> Room is now in the talk mode.
<[Alkon] B.WILLIAMS64> Could you give us a list of any titles that
WILL be using modem capabilities?
<[Dimitri L.] AEO.6> Thanks Bill! It was great!
<MIKE-ALLEN> Clap, clap, clap, clap, clap, clap, clap, clap, clap,
clap, clap, clap, clap, clap, clap, clap, clap, clap, clap, clap,
clap, clap, clap, clap, clap, clap, clap, clap, clap, clap, clap,
clap, clap, clap, clap, clap! Well done, Wally!
<[Doug] D.ASHTON1> What is the current status of the voice modem for
the Jag? And the games that will use it? Price?
<[Nathan] POTECHIN> Thanks for coming Bill. Very informative.
<[Clint /APE] C.SMITH89> Is US Gold's Flashback a cart or a CD?
<[Wintermane] J.ZENTZ1> Do you know how big the save game carts for
the cd will be?
<[Charlie] ARCHIVIST> Bill, I hope you'll join us again sometime in
December for a pre-Christmas RTC? It would be great to see you again!
<[Wally/Sysop] ST.WALLY> Bill, I really do appreciate your time, and
hope you'll visit us again in the future.
<[Nathan] POTECHIN> Remember, Category 26 is full of the latest info
on the Jaguar and is the "Center" for Jaguar related news and
information on GEnie. ;-)
<E.BAIZ> thanks Bill....
<[Bill@Atari] B.REHBOCK> The voice modem is in developer production
and will be out 1st quarter '95. The retail price is cast in stone at
$99.95
<[Fugazi] F.KEYLARD> That's the right price point for the voice modem,
bravo!
<[Harj] H.NAGRA1> What games will use the voice modem beside Club
Drive?
<[Bill@Atari] B.REHBOCK> 'Flashback is a cartridge. Still on schedule
for Christmas.
<[Bill@Atari] B.REHBOCK> I don't know what the status of Legions of
the Undead is right now. I'd have to check with the producer.
<[Network 23] R.MARTIN22> What happened to Brutal Sports Football?
Limited release, and now _gone_?
<[Bill@Atari] B.REHBOCK> Brutal Sports Football is on its way in big
quantities. Should be out within a week or two, I think.
<[Bill@Atari] B.REHBOCK> AvP carts: Jillions :-)
<[Nate@HVS] A2PRO.GELAMP> How about Cricket? Or is that even being
SOLD in the US?
<[Harj] H.NAGRA1> Is Atari still only projecting sales of 200,000 for
the Jag?
<[Bill@Atari] B.REHBOCK> Hey, Graham Gooch Cricket is a good game.
<[Dave] D.SHORR> Bill, what's going on with the CatBox; I'd like to
buy one RSN (along with AvP and a Jag:)).
<[Nate@HVS] A2PRO.GELAMP> I hope so, I want it badly!
<E.BAIZ> Yeah, I want my CatBox, also.....
<[*] Travis [*] AEO.MAG> Ginsu, It takes a year to program, and Jeff's
only had time to start. 96 is not inappropriate.
<[*] Travis [*] AEO.MAG> Bill, is it correct that Jaguar Doom's name
will be "Doom: Special Edition"?
<[Die/|\Hard] D.VICHA> Could anyone explain networkability on the Jag?
Does it reuire new hardware (cables, CatBox, etc.)?
<MIKE-ALLEN> Hey - I think we should give Wally a big pat on the back
for his FIRST formal RTC. "He done good!"
<[Bill@Atari] B.REHBOCK> We're waiting for final schematics and
samples of CatBox so we can sign it off for compatibility.
<[Die/|\Hard] D.VICHA> Good job STWally.
<[Network 23] R.MARTIN22> pat pat
<[Rob] D.COOKE> Pat...pat...
<[Nathan] POTECHIN> That's a start, Wally.
<[Nathan] POTECHIN> :-)
<[Wally/Sysop] ST.WALLY> Thanks! It was fun!
<DARLAH> My kids absolutely love Doom.... They remember everything
<[Tony] WETMORE> Everyone: pile on! Bill: do you know of any plans to
create "Demo CDs" for the Jaguar CD, similar to (you know I hate to
say it) the 3DO "Sampler" discs? Also, when WILL the CD be out?
November? December? (I need to budget money, you see...)
<[Ginsu] C.WELLS10> i know, it's just hard to be patient for those
Minter titles =)
<[Bill@Atari] B.REHBOCK> "DOOM" as a title is enough. The fact that
it's on Jaguar makes _everyone_ know it's special :-)
<[Nathan] POTECHIN> DOOM is too violent, Bill. ;-) I prefer the kids
play strategy games. ;-)
<[Network 23] R.MARTIN22> Bill, I do hope that everyone at Atari is
keeping in mind what makes a BAD CD game. Lots of eye candy and
little game action. Please don't let the JagCD games suffer the same
fate!
<[Tony] WETMORE> Travis: does Trip have 4,000,000 friends he can buy
Christmas presents for?
<[Bill@Atari] B.REHBOCK> American McKee at id did a great job of
tweaking many levels just enough to screw you up dead if you rely too
much on your memory of the PC version.
<[*] Travis [*] AEO.MAG> Heh heh heh.
<[Nathan] POTECHIN> Yeah, RPG's. ;-)
<[Dave] D.SHORR> I read something about the 3DO Blaster in STR. Would
I be able to put a Jag card in the same machine without conflicts <g>?
<[Harj] H.NAGRA1> An RPG is out..its called AvP!
<DARLAH> I want Doom on the Jag :-)
<[Harj] H.NAGRA1> About LOTU, I read in a recent U.K mag that you can
look up and down like Dark Forces.
<[Bill@Atari] B.REHBOCK> Williams has no control over MK-2 for
Jaguar. Greg Fishbach at Acclaim does. All I can say is both Kasumi
and Ultra Vortex more than make up for the fact that Acclaim doesn't
have the vision to support Jaguar.
<[Bill@Atari] B.REHBOCK> Ultra Vortex is very early '95. It's very
cool.
<[Tony] WETMORE> Mike: good idea! Has anyone set up a reincarnation
of the Dateline:Atari RTCs that Bob used to do? Maybe with different
cast members from Atari each month, so poor Bill doesn't burn out?
[;-)
<[Harj] H.NAGRA1> Can't you guys at Atari just pay Acclaim some money
and the conversion yourselve?
<[Bill@Atari] B.REHBOCK> Acclaim is in Oyster Bay, New York.
<[Dimitri L.] AEO.6> <towlette to Wally>
<[Doug] D.ASHTON1> Bill, What ever happened to the LYNX version of
AvP? Is is still coming?
<[Rob] D.COOKE> What about the Lynx version of Eye of the Beholder?
<[Tony] WETMORE> Wasn't the rumour going around that Acclaim's license
for Williams' coin-op games was running out sometime soon, so that
Williams' could do what they want?
<DARLAH> One thing I like about the Lynx is portability
<[Bill@Atari] B.REHBOCK> I don't know what the status of AvP-Lynx is.
<[Die/|\Hard] D.VICHA> Don't desert the Lynx!\
<[Network 23] R.MARTIN22> Bill, Regarding the 5 games Atari can port
from Sega. Do they have to be produced by Sega, or just available on
the Sega system?
<[Alkon] B.WILLIAMS64> Maybe SOMEBODY can help us..... there ARE
easter eggs in AvP right? Any hints???
<[*] Travis [*] AEO.MAG> Rebellion has said that there ARE easter eggs
in AvP. Didn't hint at any.
<[Tony] WETMORE> That's one thing that has amazed me about AvP... It
seems that everyone is too busy actually PLAYING the game to look for
"cheats/codes". Not every game that happens to...
<[Bill@Atari] B.REHBOCK> Well, I'm sorry, but I must be going now. I
have to see my wife and son before she puts him to bed :-)
<[Nate@HVS] A2PRO.GELAMP> You mean, like a brightly colored Alien egg
that hatches an easter bunny?
<[Wally/Sysop] ST.WALLY> Please do come again. We are looking forward
to it!
<[Tony] WETMORE> Thanks again, Bill - see ya next month! [;-)
<[Die/|\Hard] D.VICHA> Bye!
<MIKE-ALLEN> Night, Bill. Don't be a stranger!
<[Nathan] POTECHIN> Good typing at you Bill ;-)
<[Alkon] B.WILLIAMS64> Thanks Bill!! Later
<[Rob] D.COOKE> Take care Bill!
<[Bill@Atari] B.REHBOCK> G'night, everyone!
** <[Bill@Atari] B.REHBOCK> has left.
<[Charlie] ARCHIVIST> Hey! I just want to remind you all that this RTC
is going to be a weekly event! That's EVENT as in YOU SHOULD BE HERE!
So I hope to see you all next week. :-)
<[Harj] H.NAGRA1> Yeah I agree AvP is plenty fast. But I read that
Rebellion sped up the 3D engine quite a bit for LOTU. Just imagine an
AvP that ran an 24-30fps..
<[Wally/Sysop] ST.WALLY> That's right! It is a WEEKLY RTC!
<[Harj] H.NAGRA1> Any guests for next week?
<[Charlie] ARCHIVIST> mind you, Bill won't be here next week, but all
this lively chatter will be I'm sure. :-)
<[Wally/Sysop] ST.WALLY> I don't know for sure about next week, but we
are working on stuff...
<[Doug] D.ASHTON1> Wally...do you think you can round up some of the
Jag devs and gett them in the RTC?
<[Wally/Sysop] ST.WALLY> Doug, we are working on that, as well as some
other things. :)
<[Wally/Sysop] ST.WALLY> We'll be posting the info in Cat 26 as it
becomes official!
<[Tony] WETMORE> get that Dan McNamee character off his butt and get
him in here! [;-)
<[Tony] WETMORE> (ooh, he's not here now, is he? <g>)
<[Wally/Sysop] ST.WALLY> We are trying very hard to really turn up the
Jaguar Volume here, so will be doing whatever we are able to get
things _cooking_!
<[Clint /APE] C.SMITH89> We noticed Wally.
<L.CALAMAIO1> Wally---Why not get Thunderbird and Scott to do a Star
Battle Sphere RTC next week?
<[Charlie] ARCHIVIST> we'll probably do a StarBattle RTC closer to
it's release date
<L.CALAMAIO1> Bill did say that more games were being released to
production this weekend...not which ones, though....(G)
<[Tony] WETMORE> Travis: any chance you can call Bill on Monday and
"remind" him to post a list (or give it to you) of all the games
which entered production this weekend?
<[Wally/Sysop] ST.WALLY> Say, anyone familiar with that
softsource/games area where you can download games for $10.00 a year
plus online time?
<MIKE-ALLEN> Wally - I joind Softclub. DOwnloaded two games so far.
--==--==--==--==--
||| Jaguar Tackboard
||| Confirmed information about Atari's Jaguar
/ | \ Compiled from online and official sources
-----------------------------------------------------------------
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
//// Independent Association of Jaguar Developers
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
The IAJD (Independent Association of Jaguar Developers) has started
accepting members on GEnie. The IAJD is a private group where
confidential discussions can be freely held. (Category 64 of the ST
RoundTable is the IAJD meeting place.) Consequently, membership in the
IAJD is limited to Jaguar developers who are registered with Atari
Corp. To apply for membership, send EMail to ENTRY$ on GEnie (or
<entry$@genie.geis.com> if you're not on GEnie). Regular EMail
correspondence with the IAJD should be sent to IAJD$ (again, or
<iajd$@genie.geis.com> if you're not on GEnie).
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
//// Internet Jaguar Mailing List
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Anyone with Internet EMail access can join the discussions on the
Jaguar mailing list. To "subscribe" to the list, send an EMail to
the following address: <listserv@ctrc.fs.saci.org>
Leave the subject line blank. In the body of the EMail, include this
line:
subscribe jaguar-l FirstName LastName
(Where "FirstName" is your first name and "LastName" is your last
name.)
After you've joined the list, send all mail to be read on the Jaguar
list by addressing your letter to: <jaguar-l@ctrc.fs.saci.org>. It
will go to the list server and be sent to the over 250 readers of the
list.
IMPORTANT: If your mail server charges you by the character or by the
letter, please be aware that the Jaguar list can generate dozens, and
up to a hundred EMails in a day.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
//// Jaguar FAQ
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Robert Jung <rjung@netcom.com> maintains the Jaguar FAQ (Frequently
Asked Questions) file, an updated list of Jaguar specs and facts. The
Jaguar FAQ is posted to rec.games.video.atari on Usenet around the
first of every month, and can also be found via FTP, address:
ftp.netcom.com, in Andy Eddy's /pub/vidgames/faqs directory.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
//// Developer / Game List 1.17
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
//// Editor: The following developers, licensees and game titles have
been confirmed to the best of AEO's ability as of December 4, 1994.
Entries in the "S"tatus column reflects any "e"rrors, "u"pdates, "n"ew
titles, new "d"evelopers, or "?"uestionable listings since the last
AEO list. Titles in brackets (e.g. [Cybermorph]) have been completed
and are available in the US.
Expected dates are dates that have been provided by the developer.
Expected Date
or Titles
S Developer/Licensee Rating under development
" """""""""""""""""" """""" """""""""""""""""
20th Centrury Fox
Interactive
u 21st Century Software ? Pinball Dreams
3D Games - Rainbow Warrior
- MORE
u 4Play Q2/95 BattleSphere (could wind up as anything)
Accent Media Productions - Varuna's Forces CD-ROM
u Accolade Q2/95 Brett Hull Hockey
- Charles Barkley's Shut Up and Jam
Acid Software
Activision ? Return to Zork CD-ROM
Alfaro Corporation
Limited
All Systems Go Q1/95 Hosenose and Booger CD-ROM
Q1/95 Video Jukebox (cart multiplexer)
- BIOS Fear CD-ROM
- (IR controller station)
American Laser Games - Mad Dog McCree
Anco Software Ltd. - Kick Off 3 (for Imagineer)
- World Cup
Anthill Industries
Argonaut Software - Creature Shock CD-ROM (For Virgin)
Atari Corp. - Chaos Agenda CD-ROM
u *8* [Club Drive]
*5* [Crescent Galaxy]
n Q2/95 Fight For Life
n - (Football)
u - Al Michaels Announces Hardball 3
- Highlander
u Q1/95 Hover Strike (was Battlezone 2000)
n Q2/95 Dreadnought CD-ROM
- MPEG
- Space War
u Q2/95 Tiny Toons Adventures
MORE
u Attention to Detail Q1/95 Battlemorph: Cybermorph 2 CD-ROM
u Q1/95 Blue Lightning CD-ROM
*7* [Cybermorph]
(For Atari)
Audio-Visual Magic
B.S.A.
Bando Svenska AB
Beris
Bethesda Softworks
Beyond Games Inc. 1995 Battlewheels
u 1/95 Ultra Vortex
BitMotion Software
Bizzare Computing
Black Scorpion Software
Borta & Associates
Brainstorm - [x86 Jaguar Development System]
Brandlewood Computers
Ltd.
Bullfrog Productions Ltd. Q4/94 Syndicate (For Ocean)
Q4/94 Theme Park (For Ocean)
Cannonball Software
Celebrity Systems Inc.
Clearwater Software
Computer Music Consulting
Condor Software
Cross Products Ltd. - [Jaguar Development System]
Cybervision
CyberWare
DAP
Data Design
Delta Music Systems Inc. - Nanoterror
- Droppings
Denton Designs Ltd.
Dimension Technologies
Diskimage
Domark Group Ltd. - F1 Racer
DTMC - Lester the Unlikely
- Mountain Sports
- (Miniature Golf)
Eclipse PRODU Iron Soldier (For Atari)
Electro Brain Corp.
Electrom
Elite
E-On
Eurosoft
Extreme
EZ Score Software Inc.
Factor 5
Flair Software Ltd.
Frankenstein Software
Funcom Productions a/s
GameTek Inc.
Genus Microprogramming
Inc.
Gremlin Graphics Ltd. PRODU Zool 2
- UNKNOWN TITLE (racing) - MORE?
H2O Design Corp.
Hand Made Software PRODU Kasumi Ninja (For Atari)
u Q2/95 Jack Nicholas Cyber Golf CD-ROM
(For Atari through Accolade)
u High Voltage Software Q1/95 White Men Can't Jump (for Trimark)
u - (pinball)
- 'Dactyal Joust
Hisoft
Human Soft Ltd.
d Hyper Image Productions - Hover Hunter
ICD Inc. - Cat Box (AV & comm expansion box)
u id Software ... [Doom]
*8* [Wolfenstein 3D]
u - MORE
i-Space
iThink - (3D simulation)
Imagineer Company Ltd.
Imagitec Design Inc. *6* [Evolution Dino-Dudes]
*6* [Raiden]
- Freelancer 2120 CD-ROM
u PRODU Bubsy
- Dino Dudes 2
? Interplay - BattleChess CD-ROM - MORE?
Jaleco - Cisco Heat
- Bases Loaded
- MORE CD-ROM
JVC Musical Industries - Valus Force
Krisalis Software Ltd. - Soccer Kid
Kungariket Multimedia
d Level 7 Software - (RPG)
n - (Shooter)
Limelight Media Inc.
LlamaSoft *10* [Tempest 2000] (For Atari)
1Q/96 Defender 2000 (For Atari)
- MORE MINTER!
Loricel S.A.
Lost in Time Software
Malibu Interactive
Manley & Associates Inc.
Maxis Software
Media Technology Scandinavia
Merit Industries Inc.
Michton Inc.
u Microids - Evidence
u - Commando
? Microprose - Gunship 2000
MidNite Entertainment Q4/94 AirCars
Q1/95 Dungeon Depths
Q1/95 Assault
Millenium/Teque *7* [Brutal Sports Football] (For Telegames)
Miracle Designs
Nebulous Games
Neon-Buttner
Network 23 Software
NMS Software Ltd.
Ocean Software Ltd. ? Apeshi- (working title)
1995 Lobo CD-ROM
n - Waterworld
Odyssey Software Inc.
-unnamed- - -unnamed-
Photosurrealism - Galactic Gladiators
Phobyx
Pixel Satori
PIXIS Interactive - Neurodancer CD-ROM
Rage Software Ltd. - Rally
Rainmaker Software Inc. - Nerves of Steel
- Virtual Warriors
u ReadySoft Incorporated Q1/95 Dragon's Lair CD-ROM
- Dragon's Lair II CD-ROM
- Space Ace CD-ROM
Rebellion Software Ltd. *9* [Alien vs. Predator] (For Atari)
e PRODU Checkered Flag (For Atari)
u - Legions of the Undead (For Atari)
- Hammerhead
Rest Energy
Riedel Software Prod.
Scangames Interactive
Sculptured Software Inc.
Selgus Limited
Shadowsoft Inc.
u Sigma Designs Q1/95 "Jaguar on a PC" PC card
u Silmarils Q1/95 Robinson's Requiem CD-ROM
Sinister Developments
Soft Enterprises
Softgold Gmbh
Software 2000
Software Creations
Software Development Systems
Spaceball Technologies Inc.
Steinberg Soft-und-
Hardware Gmbh
Tantalus Entertainment
Tantalus Incorporated
Team Infinity
Team 17 Software Ltd.
Tecnation Digital World
Techtonics
Telegames - Casino Royale
- European Soccer Challenge
u Q1/95 Ultimate Brain Games
- Super Off-Road
- World Class Cricket
Teque London Ltd.
Thrustmaster
u Tiertex Ltd. 12/94 Flashback (for U.S. Gold)
Time-Warner Interactive - Rise of the Robots
n - Primal Rage
- Arcade Games Using Jaguar
Titus
Trimark Interactive
Twlight
U.S. Gold Ltd.
u UBI Soft International 2/95 RayMan
u - (Soccer)
u V-Reel Productions Q1/95 Arena Football League
u Q1/95 Horrorscope
Virgin Interactive
u Entertainment Ltd. 1/95 Cannon Fodder
u ... [Dragon] (Pub. Atari)
u 1/95 Demolition Man
Virtual Artistry, Inc.
d Virtual Studio PRODU Val D'Isere Skiing and Snowboarding
(For Atari)
Virtual Xperience - Indiana Jags
- Zzyorxx II
u Q1/95 Burn Out (Pub. Atari)
Visual Concepts
Visual Impact - Hyper Force
Wave Quest Inc.
n Williams Brothers 12/94 Sensible Soccer
u Williams Entertainment 1/95 Troy Aikman NFL Football
u Q1/95 Double Dragon 5: The Shadow Falls
WMS Industries
Zeppelin Games - Center Court Tennis
Pts Stars AEO Ratings
""" """"" """""""""""
10 ***** GAMING NIRVANA!!! - You have left reality behind... for good.
9 ****+ Unbelieveable GAME!! - Your family notices you're often absent.
8 **** Fantastic Game!! - You can't get enough playtime in on this.
7 ***+ Great Game! - Something to show off to friends or 3DOers.
6 *** Good game - You find yourself playing this from time to time.
5 **+ Ho-hum - If there's nothing else to do, you play this.
4 ** Waste of time - Better to play this than play in traffic.
3 *+ Sucks - Playing in traffic sounds like more fun.
2 * Sucks Badly - You'd rather face an IRS audit than play this.
1 + Forget it - ... but you can't; it's so badly done, it haunts you.
0 - Burn it - Disallow programmer from ever writing games again.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
//// New Cheats
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
//// Doom
(All cheats must be enabled during gameplay)
[] Degreelessness Mode: Press PAUSE and *
[] Full Weapons & Health: Press PAUSE and #
[] Level Select: Press PAUSE and number of level you wish to
go to. (Pressing the A button adds 10 to the
level. Pressing the B button adds 20.)
//// Alien Vs. Predator
(All cheats must be enabled during gameplay)
[] The "Hold That Fuji!" Cheat
Press and hold - PAUSE ("PAUSED" appears)
Press and hold - OPTION (HUD screen appears)
Press and release - 1 and 3 together
Press and release - 2, 5, 7 and 9 all together (Predator will laugh)
Release PAUSE and OPTION
Cheats Enabled:
* Security Clearance: Press OPTION and 6 together to raise
clearance level.
Press OPTION and 9 together to lower
clearance level.
* Motion Tracker: Press OPTION and 8 together to toggle Motion
Tracker active and inactive. (Will activate
Motion Tracker if not found.)
* Weapons: Press OPTION and 1 together, OPTION and 2 together,
OPTION and 3 together, or OPTION and 4 together to
toggle weapons 1-4 as active or inactive.
(Predators can use this to permanently access any
weapon. Want to cloak and run around shooting hapless
Marines & Aliens with your shoulder cannon or
smartdisc? You get no points, but you never have your
weapon taken away!)
* All Weapons Recharge: Press OPTION, 1, 2, 3 and 4 all together
for full ammo.
[] The "Banana Stops" Cheat
Press and release - PAUSE ("PAUSED" appears)
Press and release - OPTION (HUD screen appears)
Press - 6
Press - 1 and 3 together
(Reading the "*" key as "STar" and the "#" key as "POund"....)
Press in sequence - B, A, 9, A, 9, A, (banana)
*, OPTION, 6, (stops)
#, *, (post)
*, OPTION, (stop)
2, OPTION (top)
(Predator will laugh)
The following cheats will be active:
* Security Clearance: Press OPTION and 6 together to raise
clearance level.
Press OPTION and 9 together to lower
clearance level.
* Motion Tracker: Press OPTION and 8 together to toggle Motion
Tracker active and inactive. (Will activate
Motion Tracker if not found.)
* Weapons: Press OPTION and 1 together, OPTION and 2 together,
OPTION and 3 together, or OPTION and 4 together to
toggle weapons 1-4 as active or inactive.
(Predators can use this to permanently access any
weapon. Want to cloak and run around shooting hapless
Marines & Aliens with your shoulder cannon or
smartdisc? You get no points, but you never have your
weapon taken away!)
* All Weapons Recharge: Press OPTION, 1, 2, 3 and 4 all together
for full ammo.
* Level Select: Press OPTION and A together to go "up" one level.
Press OPTION and B together to go "down" one level.
(Going "up" means going from Sub Level 5 to Sub
Level 1, to the Predator Ship, the Alien Ship, then
through all airducts and back around to Sub Level 5
again.)
(Predators can use this to wall through otherwise
unpopulated airducts, but cannot leave through the
grates.)
* Cheat Mode: Press OPTION and 5 together to toggle Cheat Mode on
and off. ("CHEAT ON" and "CHEAT OFF" will appear.)
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
//// Offers from Atari Customer Service
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
//// New Dealer Demo Video
Atari has a brand new VHS preview tape and it's better than ever! Over
30 Jaguar titles have been captured on video tape and just in time for
the Holidays. This tape has been meticulously produced under the
direction of Mr. Greg LaBrec using state-of-the-art direct-to-tape
equipment and techniques. The action sequences selected were provided
by the game producers or the guidance of the third party developers.
Okay, okay... forget the hype... it's a darn cool tape and it has a
cool plastic box and label too.
This new edition updates the previously released software preview
videos with exciting captures to show off last minute changes to games
that are now in production. There are incredible sequences featuring
action games such as Iron Soldier and high-resolution fantasy games
such as Rayman by ubi Soft.
Although this tape has been developed primarily for the use of Jaguar
retailers, I have twisted marketings arm and they (actually he) has
finally allowed me to sell copies to our faithful online Jaguar fans.
I told him how everyone wants to see what has been taking so long. I
mentioned that gamers want a good preview of things they are being
asked to spend $50 to $70 on. I assured him people want an update of
what has been going on in the past few months since CES. Now he's
convinced and I have to sell more than three tapes fast or he'll never
believe me again. <g>
Want more info? Here's the video menu...
Approx.
Tape
Pos. SEGMENT AVAIL. IN STORES
===========================================================
:20 TEACHER SPOT
:49 Doom EARLY DECEMBER
2:34 Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story LATE NOVEMBER
4:00 Checkered Flag EARLY DECEMBER
5:45 Iron Soldier MID DECEMBER
7:42 Zool 2 LATE DECEMBER
8:57 Kasumi Ninja LATE DECEMBER
10:25 Club Drive LATE NOVEMBER
11:56 ALIEN VS. PREDATOR SPOT
12:27 Alien Vs. Predator AVAILABLE NOW
15:34 Ultra Vortex (Beyond Games) DECEMBER
17:06 Val D'Isere Skiing and Snowboarding EARLY DECEMBER
18:49 Bubsy LATE DECEMBER
20:05 Double Dragon V (Williams) DECEMBER
21:30 Flashback (US Gold) DECEMBER
22:49 Brutal Sports Football (Telegames) DECEMBER
23:50 Sensible Soccer (Telegames)
25:03 TEMPEST 2000 SPOT
25:34 Tempest 2000 AVAILABLE NOW
26:58 Wolfenstein 3d AVAILABLE NOW
28:06 Cybermorph AVAILABLE NOW
29:20 Raiden AVAILABLE NOW
30:32 Evolution: Dino Dudes AVAILABLE NOW
31:35 Trevor McFur in the Crescent Galaxy AVAILABLE NOW
32:50 Syndicate (Ocean) DECEMBER
33:47 Theme Park (Ocean) DECEMBER
34:35 Air Cars (Midnight) DECEMBER
35:39 Troy Aikman NFL Football (Williams) DECEMBER
36:34 Cannon Fodder (Virgin) DECEMBER
37:43 Dragon's Lair (Readysoft)
38:31 Hover Strike
39:20 Fight For Life
40:00 Burn Out
40:43 Rayman (ubi Soft) DECEMBER
41:52 VLM (Virtual Light Machine) DECEMBER
Okay, okay... here's the deal. The cost is $8.95 plus $4.95 shipping
and handling. That's a total of $13.90 ($14.64 in California) ($15.90
in Canada). Mastercard, Visa and money orders accepted (Checks and
money orders should be made payable to Atari Corporation. NOT IN MY
NAME! <g>. I can ship to any location in North America including U.S.
and Canada. To order, send your order to:
Atari Corporation
P.O. Box 61657
Sunnyvale, CA 94089-1657
OR contact me via Internet or on GEnie:
jaguar$@genie.geis.com
OR contact me via Internet or on Compuserve:
75300.1267@compuserve.com
OR send me private E-Mail (to the SysOp) on:
CATscan BBS ........ 209-239-1552
or fax your request to:
Atari Customer Service Fax ..... 408-745-2088
Because Atari has a committment to fulfill dealer orders first, please
allow up to 14 business days after your order is received before we
ship. Shipping will be via UPS Ground to all North American addresses.
Personally, I'm going to have my tape signed by Greg LaBrec. If you
want him to sign your copy, let me know and I'll see if I can catch
him in a good mood for you! <g>
I also have Alien Vs. Predator posters remaining. There is one for
each shipping and handling fee of $4.95 ($6.95 in Canada). These are
cinema-size posters and I've already heard back from gamers who have
had theirs laminated, mounted and framed.
By the way, you can help a LOT even if you don't want to order the
tape or request a poster by passing this offer electronically to
another Forum, Roundtable or BBS or make a hard copy and give to
friends. Thanks!
--Don Thomas
Atari Corporation
//// Tempest 2000 Audio CD
The Tempest 2000 Audio CD is due in at Atari Corp. very soon! Sixty
minutes of pulse-pounding techno-rave music, this marks Atari's first
ever video game soundtrack. To help get everyone in the holiday mood,
Don Thomas at Atari Customer Service has another special online offer.
Send in your pre-order now, and Don will guarantee you'll get your
copy out of the first run. What the heck, you'll even save on
shipping.
[] Song List
1. Thermal Resolution 3:59
2. Mind's Eye 4:52
3. T2K 5:23
4. Ease Yourself 7:52
5. Tracking Depth 5:04
6. Constructive Demolition 4:05
7. Future Tense 5:54
8. Digital Terror 5:07
9. Hyper Prism 4:26
10. Glide Control 5:12
11. Ultra Yak 4:00
12. 2000 Dub 7:31
[] How Much?
The Tempest 2000 Audio CD is priced at $12.99, and if you order now,
$3.50 for shipping and handling. (California residents, add the 8.25%
state sales tax.) That comes to a total of $16.49. ($17.56 in CA.)
Mastercard, Visa and money orders accepted. (Checks and money orders
should be made payable to Atari Corporation)
Note: This is a special pre-order! The CDs are not in, but are
expected to arrive within two weeks. Please allow 14 days from
the receipt of your order before shipping.
Note #2: If you don't mind waiting an extra day or so for your CD to
go out the door, ask Don really nicely if he can get John
Skrutch and/or James Grunke to personally autograph your CD.
[] Where To?
To order, US Mail your order to:
Thomas' Terrific Tempest Tunes Deal
Atari Corporation
P.O. Box 61657
Sunnyvale, CA 94089-1657
OR contact Don via the Internet on GEnie at:
jaguar$@genie.geis.com
OR via the Internet on Compuserve at:
75300.1267@compuserve.com
OR via private E-Mail (to the SysOp) on:
CATscan BBS ........ 209-239-1552
OR fax your request to:
Atari Customer Service Fax ..... 408-745-2088
The CD is produced by AtariMusic; a division of Atari Corporation. The
executive producer is Mr. John Skruch. The director of audio is Mr.
James Grunke.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
//// Jaguar Press Releases
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
//// CatBox in Production
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CatBox (TM) tames the Jaguar
Black Cat has the right stuff
ROCKFORD, IL -- December 2, 1994
Black Cat Design, Inc., a designer of computer peripherals and
accessories today announced the CatBox, a feature-packed interface
adapter for the Atari Jaguar 64-bit game system, will begin shipping
on December 28th.
CatBox plugs directly into the AV/DSP ports on the back of the
Jaguar. Its custom case measures just 6 X 2.5 X 1.25 inches and
perfectly accents the sleek Jaguar design. CatBox provides all of the
standard connections that Jaguar customers desire. Standard ports
include: S-Video, Composite Video, Left & right Audio Out, Dual Stereo
Headphones, Analog RGB Video, RS-232, CatNet (TM), and pass-through
DSP. All connectors are "industry standard".
Standards are a big part of CatBox and connectivity is the key. The
RS-232 port will connect to standard modems and other serial devices.
CatNet is a differential pair network which uses standard RJ11
telephone wiring to join other Jaguar systems for multi-player games
and other networking possibilities. CatNet supports up to 32 players
and cable lengths over l,000 feet.
Black Cat Design has been actively working with game developers to
ensure communications support. DOOM (TM) from Id Software will be the
first game out with two player support over the RS232 ports using a
null-modem cable. Aircars (TM) from MidNite Entertainment Group is
scheduled to ship about January 30th and will support up to 8 players
over CatNet.
Stereo headphone amplification with volume control provided in the
CatBox provides a clean, crisp sound experience with exceptional
clarity and dynamic range.
An imaginative, well thought out design includes flexibility for the
future. Internal expansion connectors for future add-in cards ensure
that CatBox will be as useful then as it is now. Future products under
consideration include a Midi interface and an internal modem.
Thomas Harker, President of Black Cat Design, explained, "This
product is an unbelievable value. I wouldn't be surprised if all
Jaguar owners upgrade their Jaguar with a CatBox. Tempest and DOOM
sound fantastic with stereo headphones. Adding an RGB monitor really
improves the picture. Playing DOOM or Aircars head to head over the
network is a totally new gaming experience. CatBox adds a new
dimension to Jaguar game play and just makes sense."
CatBox will beging shipping on December 28th at an MSRP of $69.95.
Supplies will be tight so call your dealer and place an order now.
# # # #
CatBox and CatNet are trademarks of Black Cat Design, Inc. Other
trademarks are those of their respective holders.
//// DOOM
Contact: Ron Beltramo David Harrah
Atari Edelman Public Relations
408/745-8852 415/968-4033
For Immediate Release
DOOM CREATORS UNLEASH 64-BIT HELL ON THE ATARI JAGUAR
SUNNYVALE, CA (December 2, 1994) -- Fans of the cult video game DOOM
can now experience what Jay Wilbur, president of Id Software, the
company that created the popular game, describes as "the most powerful
version of the game on any video game system." According to reports
from stores nationwide, the Jaguar version of DOOM is already selling
briskly.
DOOM is an ultra-fast virtual reality showcase that plunges the player
deep into a 3D world filled with legions of gruesome fiends. The Atari
Jaguar is the first 64-bit video game system in the world.
Unlike versions for other video game systems, the Jaguar version of
DOOM
* Offers nine additional levels of play, including improved,
custom-designed levels available only on the Jaguar.
* Exploits the Jaguar's 64-bit power to deliver compelling, realistic
game play. For example, the monsters that populate the Jaguar
version's hellish world are not flat, two-dimensional characters
like they are on other systems, but awesome, three-dimensional
beings. Catch a side-view as they walk around you, or turn-around
and shoot them in the back!
* Uses 65,000 colors - compared to 256 on other systems - for advanced
lighting and shading effects that provide the most immersive,
first-person experience available.
* Allows for two players. Until now, this was only possible on the
personal computer version of DOOM. Although owners of other video
game systems can play their own, more limited version of DOOM, they
cannot play each other. Jaguar fans will be able to link up two
Jaguar systems and either team up against the gruesome fiends or
challenge each other to a death match.
* Offers a special save feature so Jaguar players can go back to the
last completed level and continue their mission through the bowels
of hell.
* Takes advantage of the full size of the television screen.
"We didn't just license the code to Atari, we developed the Jaguar
version of DOOM ourselves," explained American McGee, a game designer
at Id Software, the company that created DOOM. "We streamlined and
improved the graphics and made the game even more compelling," he
added.
The favorable reviews already are beginning to pour in. Video Games
magazine described the game as an "unqualified addiction for those
lucky enough to play it." The reviewer added, "This one could be a
guaranteed system-seller for those considering a Jaguar purchase."
An aggressive marketing campaign will promote the Jaguar version of
DOOM and will include new television commercials and print ads. The ad
campaign will run in December, in time for the holiday shopping
season.
Since its release in November 1993, Atari's Jaguar game system has
been named the industry's "Best New Game System" (Video Games
Magazine), "Best New Hardware System" (Game Informer) and "1993
Technical Achievement of the Year" (DieHard GameFan).
Atari Corporation markets interactive multimedia entertainment
systems, including Jaguar, the world's first 64-bit game system, and
the only video game system manufactured in the United States.
# # #
//// Four New Games
For Immediate Release
ATARI UNLEASHES AN ARRAY OF JAGUAR GAME TITLES
The 64-Bit Jaguar Boasts the Release of Four New Titles
SUNNYVALE, Calif. (November 23, 1994) -- The video game jungle is
rapidly becoming Jaguar territory as Atari plans to enlarge its
current library with the release of four new game titles in November,
including the highly anticipated Doom, the PC cult favorite. "The
Jaguar version of Doom is the best version we've developed for any
video game platform," said Jay Wilbur, president of id Software.
Atari also is releasing three additional titles including Checkered
Flag, Club Drive and Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story.
"These game titles are just the tip of the iceberg of what's to come -
we'll have more than 20 titles available for the Atari Jaguar by
year's end," stated Sam Tramiel, President and CEO of Atari
Corporation. "Our software library will continue to grow rapidly in
the coming months and the coming year with titles designed to
capitalize on the revolutionary technology of the 64-Bit Jaguar
system."
With Jaguar's cutting-edge graphics, 24-bit true color and CD-quality
sound, game players experience the latest in video game technology.
Following is an outline of planned Atari releases for late November
1994:
Game Title Game Category MFG.SRP
---------- ------------- -------
Checkered Flag Formula Racing $ 69.99
Club Drive Driving Simulation 59.99
Doom Action/Combat 69.99
Dragon: The
Bruce Lee Story Fighting/Martial Arts 59.99
Since its release, Atari's Jaguar game system has been named the
industry's "Best New Game System" (VideoGames Magazine), "Best New
Hardware System" (GameInformer) and "1993 Technical Achievement of the
Year" (DieHard GameFan). The Jaguar is the only video game system
manufactured in the United States.
Over 200 third-party developers have agreed to create new titles for
the Atari Jaguar. The November game releases are part of more than 20
games scheduled for availability prior to the holidays. Other Jaguar
titles expected before year's end include Iron Soldier, Kasumi Ninja,
Val D'Isere Skiing & Snowboarding, Zool2 and Bubsy.
Atari Corporation markets interactive multimedia entertainment
systems, including Jaguar, the world's only 64-bit system, and the
only video game system manufactured in the United States. Atari is
headquartered at 1196 Borregas Avenue, Sunnyvale, California 94089.
# # #
Jaguar is a trademark of Atari Corporation. Atari is a registered
trademark of Atari Corporation. Other products named may be trademarks
or registered trademarks of their owning companies.
//// AvP Is A Winner
Contact: Ron Beltramo David Harrah
Atari Edelman Public Relations
408/745-8852 415/968-4033
For Immediate Release
ATARI'S ALIEN Vs. PREDATOR HITS BIG IN STORES
SUNNYVALE, CA (November 22, 1994) -- Atari Corporation today
announced that initial production of its new Alien Vs. Predator game,
launched October 21st in stores around the world, has nearly sold-out.
Atari is working with suppliers to rush additional quantities to
stores in anticipation of increasing pre-Christmas demand for the
game. Alien Vs. Predator utilizes the sophisticated graphics and power
available from the 64-bit Atari Jaguar.
"In less than three weeks, over 50% of our installed base purchased
Alien Vs. Predator," said Sam Tramiel, CEO of Atari Corporation. "This
is the most enthusiastic reception we've ever seen for a game and is
indicative of what a truly great game Alien Vs. Predator really is. We
have also seen a strong increase in sales for the Jaguar system
coinciding with the release of this game and the launch of our
expanded advertising program."
Atari's new Alien Vs. Predator for the 64-bit Jaguar system provides
such realistic graphics and life-like digitized sound effects that it
creates a compelling, first-person perspective. Gamers can choose to
be the Predator, Alien or Colonial Marine as they battle through the
Predator ship, the Marine Training Base or the Alien ship, enjoying
hours of entertainment. Alien Vs. Predator is licensed from Twentieth
Century Fox and is based on the films of the same names.
Key game reviewers have been effusive in their praise for Alien Vs.
Predator. Paul Anderson of Game Informer Magazine stated: "I was
overwhelmed with the cutting edge graphics and the innovative game
play of AVP - no question it's the best Jaguar game to-date."
"Alien Vs. Predator is the best 3-D action game that I have ever
played - the graphics and game play are second to none," wrote Dave
Halverson, editor-in-chief of DieHard GameFan. "If you own a Jaguar,
you must own this game, and if you don't own a Jag, it's time to get
one. More games are on the way!"
Atari plans to release more startlingly realistic games. Games
scheduled for late November release include Club Drive, Dragon: the
Bruce Lee Story and Doom. December releases include Iron Soldier, Val
D'Isere Skiing, Kasumi Ninja, Zool II and Bubsy.
Since its release in November 1993, Atari's Jaguar game system has
been named the industry's "Best New Game System" (Video Games
Magazine), "Best New Hardware System" (Game Informer) and "1993
Technical Achievement of the Year" (DieHard GameFan).
Atari Corporation markets interactive multimedia entertainment
systems, including Jaguar, the world's only 64-bit game system, and
the only video game system manufactured in the United States.
# # #
//// Jaguar Goes To Japan
Contact: Laury Scott/Ron Beltramo David Harrah
Atari Edelman Public Relations
408/745-8852 415/968-4033
For Immediate Release
ATARI JAGUAR STALKS JAPAN
SUNNYVALE, CA (November 21, 1994) -- Atari Corporation today
announced that the Atari Jaguar, the world's only 64-bit video game
system, will now be available at all 25 Toys "R" Us stores and other
selected stores in Japan. Mumin Corporation of Tokyo, Japan, will
handle distribution and sales. Japanese consumers will be able
test-drive the Atari Jaguar Interactive Multimedia System at special
demonstration kiosks in Toys "R" Us stores.
"The Japanese are very serious about their video game systems, and
they will choose the system with the best graphics and most
sophisticated playing environment," said Sam Tramiel, CEO of Atari
Corporation. "We think that if they are given the chance to compare,
Japanese gamers will choose Atari Jaguar."
The launch in Japan marks another significant milestone in building
distribution for the Atari Jaguar system. Introduced in October of
last year, the Jaguar was only available in New York and San Francisco
during last year's important holiday shopping season. Today, the
Jaguar is available throughout the United States, Canada, Europe and,
now, Japan.
"We have the best game system in the business, hit games like Alien
Vs. Predator and the soon-to-be-released Doom, and we are expanding
our distribution," Tramiel added. "The momentum for Jaguar is building
every day."
Since its release in November 1993, Atari's Jaguar game system has
been named the industry's "Best New Game System" (Video Games
Magazine), "Best New Hardware System" (Game Informer) and "1993
Technical Achievement of the Year" (DieHard GameFan).
Atari Corporation markets interactive multimedia entertainment
systems, including Jaguar, the world's only 64-bit game system, and
the only video game system manufactured in the United States.
# # #
//// Jaguar Expands in US Toys-R-Us
Contact: Diane Carlini/Marivi Lerdo Ron Beltramo
Edelman Public Relations Atari Corporation
(415) 968-4033 (408) 745-8852
For Immediate Release
TOYS-R-US STOCKS UP ON JAGUAR,
THE WORLD'S FIRST 64-BIT VIDEO GAME SYSTEM
Atari Launches Multi-Million Dollar Marketing Campaign For Jaguar
SUNNYVALE, Calif. (October 10, 1994) -- Toys-R-Us isn't waiting until
late 1995 to offer 64-bit video game systems in its stores. The retail
chain has agreed to stock the award-winning Atari Jaguar in nearly 300
Toys-R-Us stores. The Jaguar is the only 64-bit video game system in
the world.
"Our competitors want consumers to wait until next Christmas to
experience the power of 64-bit video games," said Sam Tramiel,
president of Atari. "But why should they wait when they can walk into
a store and buy the most advanced video game system now?"
The Atari Jaguar currently is sold in approximately 3,000 retail
outlets across the United States with new accounts continuing to sign
up as sales build toward the holiday buying season.
Atari certainly isn't waiting for game enthusiasts to discover the
Jaguar. On September 12, Atari launched an aggressive, multi-million
dollar advertising campaign.
The campaign kicked off with a humorous new commercial in which a
teacher attempts to explain 64-bit technology to a group of dim witted
video game marketers who can't seem to tell her which of three numbers
- 16, 32 and 64 - is larger. The advertising schedule includes
national cable advertising in addition to programming in 19 of the top
spot markets that will deliver more than 300 million targeted media
impressions.
More than 30 Jaguar game titles are scheduled for release leading up
to the holiday season. Expected hits include Alien vs. Predator,
Dragon - The Bruce Lee Story, Doom, Troy Aikman Football, Iron Soldier
and Kasumi Ninja.
Since its release in November 1993, Atari's Jaguar game system has
been named the industry's "Best New Game System" (Video Games
Magazine), "Best New Hardware System" (Game Informer) and "1993
Technical Achievement of the Year" (DieHard GameFan). The Jaguar is
the only video game system manufactured in the United States.
Atari Corporation markets interactive multimedia entertainment
systems, including Jaguar, the world's only 64-bit system, and the
only video game system manufactured in the United States. Atari is
headquartered at 1196 Borregas Avenue, Sunnyvale, California 94089.
# # #
Jaguar is a trademark of Atari Corporation. Atari is a registered
trademark of Atari Corporation. Other products named may be trademarks
or registered trademarks of their owning companies.
--==--==--==--==--
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||| Club Drive
||| By: Eric Michard
/ | \ GEnie: E.MICHARD
-----------------------------------------------------------------
In the year 2098, where do you go on vacation? Club Drive, of course -
the most exciting theme park of the 21st century.
Club Drive was opened just after driving was once again legalized.
Driving had been illegal for safety reasons for more than 50 years,
until Doctor Lawrence Phosphorus' breakthrough discovery.
In his distributive processing study involving safety and smart
materials, the doctor developed algorithms that could be
mathematically proven to be safe. Thus, the driving ban was lifted for
these indestructable vehicles, and Club Drive was born.
Take Old West Exit and chase down your opponent in a fast-paced game
of tag through the main streets of areal ghost town. Get off on
Hairpin Drive and test your wheels in a skateboard park - for cars!
Turn on 2010 Century Court and race through San Francisco. Then take
HO Scale Lane and experience what it's like to be a toy car and race
through your neighbor's house.
It's your chance to do stuff with a car you've never dreamed of!
=-=-=-=-=-=-=
//// The Game
=-=-=-=-=-=-=
It's hard to compare Club Drive to any other game out there. It's a
polygon-shaded 3D racing game, but that's where its similarities to
other games in the genre, such as Virtua Racing, and Hard Drivin',
end.
The game is comprised of 4 gameplay environments. These are Velocity
Park, San Francisco, The Old West, and Jerome's Pad.
Within these 4 areas you can choose from several distinct games.
These include Collect (or Powerball), Tag and Race.
In the Collect game, for 1 or 2 players, you're against either the
clock or another player, driving throughout a small 3D environment in
any one of the 4 worlds. The object is to collect a set number of
rainbow-colored "powerballs" as quickly as possible. They appear to be
randomly placed one at a time. This game, as well as Tag, keeps you in
a smaller play area.
Tag pits you against a second player. You are given a set amount of
time not to be "IT" for. If you're "IT" for that long, you lose. Tag
is played in the smaller play areas.
Finally, there is the "Race" game. This is probably the best game of
the lot. You can drive through some pretty large 3D environments,
racing against the clock or a second player. You can choose the number
of laps (1-6). Each world has a starting and finishing point, and a
lap consists of passing once over each line. The route between these
points is wide open with no real barriers, so you can choose whatever
route you like, in most cases.
Game Options include separate Music and SFX volume settings, car color
setting for each player, engine noise toggle, Fast setting (max speed
over 100 mph), Slow setting (max speed 60 or so), and user selectable
button settings. You can change "Radio stations" by hitting * or #.
There are 6 tunes played throughout the game. Nothing to compare to
Tempest 2000, mainly instrumental tunes with a lot of percussion.
During actual gameplay, you have several different view settings.
This is where the game really stands out.
In the normal Race game, you have the obligatory "Inside of Car" view.
You can also choose from "Camera on a stick" which appears to be a
camera fastened securely 6-10 feet behind your car, always pointing
towards the front of the car. This view often obstructs your view of
what's coming at you.
Then there is the "Chase Camera", which is probably my favorite.
When sitting still, the camera shows a close-up of the top of your
car. As you accelerate in either direction, the camera rotates to
follow the car behind the actual motion. As you speed up, the car
zooms ahead in view. The camera keeps up, but from some distance back.
As you slow down, the camera catches up and zooms in closer.
Sometimes things can get confusing when you're changing directions
quickly or doing a quick 3-point turn, and the camera is switching
back and forth from front view to back view. In this game, at least at
the start, you do a lot of 3 point turns.
The collect and tag games, being in smaller game areas, also allow a
very nice "Drop Camera." This is a fixed camera in each room or area
that shows a long shot following the car while it's within view. When
the car leaves that camera's view, the shot quickly changes to the
next camera where the car is in view. This allows for some very nice
TV broadcast racing type shots. It's a lot like the end of race replay
shown in Virtua Racing. At times, though, you are out of view behind a
couch or piano, or going through a tunnel. It's as easy as hitting
another keypad button to change your view when the current view isn't
optimal.
Speaking of replays, after you finish a race, when the Best Time
screen is shown for that particular race, you are treated to a great
instant replay of the last 1 or 2 laps, using the "Drop Cameras" which
are not user-selectable in Race mode. This is especially effective in
Jerome's Pad, as you can see what amounts to a human's eye-view of a
little matchbox car zooming throughout the house, jumping ramps,
dodging the cat and mouse running around the house. This really helps
you to get a feel for the layout of the individual worlds, and allows
you to see what all of those crazy crashes, donuts, sliding turns and
flying jumps look like to a viewer outside of the car.
Now, some description of the 4 separate worlds.
//// Jerome's Pad
This is probably the most fun of the 4 worlds. Jerome's pad is a
polygon-shaded 1 level small house or apartment. It has a living room
with couch, coffee table, fireplace, piano & bench, 2 bathrooms with
flushing toilets, kitchen with table & chairs, fridge, counter, a
spilled milk carton (for the cat, I guess), cheese wedge on floor.
There is also an entry hall, and a dining room.
Connected to the kitchen is a TV room with another fireplace and
furniture, and a TV which usually shows the same view you see on your
monitor. End tables and stoops have ramps (which look like HotWheels
tracks) so you can drive up on the table or up on a step to the next
room. In the kitchen, you usually will run into an odd-looking polygon
mouse with a cat hot on its tail. Hitting either one will usually cause
you to spin out of control, although you can get away with driving over
the mouse's tail. The cat lets out a loud, good quality yowl when you
hit it, and the mouse squeeks at you. The toilets flush when you hit
them, and doors squeek. There are several routes through the house that
you can choose from when racing between the 2 endpoints.
The smaller area used in the Tag and Collect games must be the
upstairs bedroom. It's just one room with a TV playing Pong, a bed,
bookcase, cabinets, table with ramp, a bathroom with toilet, and tub &
sink. In the bathroom there's a picture of a bunch of odd-looking guys
which I assume are the programmers.
//// San Francisco
The Race segment of San Francisco is probably the most elaborate 3D
city in a racing game yet. You start out at one end of the Golden Gate
Bridge. No flat bridge sections here, like in Virtua Racing Deluxe.
Past the bridge, you enter some nice hilly streets in the actal city.
You have complete freedom of movement throughout the city streets.
There appear to be both commercial and residential sections to drive
through. Everything is modeled from shaded polygons, with houses,
skyscrapers, hilly streets, sidewalks and trees. Watch out for the
trolley slowly making its way throughout the maze of hilly city
streets. Skirting the city, you follow the coast and signs pointing to
the beach. This leads to a tunnel through the hills. Just past the
tunnel, you encounter a very difficult twisting cliff road, with water
far below you. One wrong move and you head careening off the cliffside.
This cliff road goes for quite some time, then does a quick 90 degree
right turn when you reach the coast. The road then follows a beach
until you reach another tunnel. You can head down to the beach to spin
some donuts in the sand, if you want to. Past the tunnel is more beach,
a large grass field, and a long dock which contains the finish line. If
you're playing more than one lap, you need to do a quick 180 and head
back the way you came.
The 2 player Race, Tag, and Collect games in the SF world all take
place in a 2 level parking garage. In the background you see digitised
shots of what I assume is the SF skyline, but you are unable to leave
the garage. Not much to see here, but it's fun to race around a parking
garage at over a hundred miles an hour.
//// The Old West
The Old West Race area starts out in an old west town, and heads
through twisting canyons and old mine tunnels. The canyons have
multiple levels you can drive through. Head up a ridge and there's
another more difficult track 10-20 feet above the main track. This one
is more of a maze and it's easy to get lost if you don't pay attention
the the overhead map view below the main view. At the other end,
there's another old west town and the finish line. The track, I
assume, is supposed to be sand, and you seem to have less traction
than on the SF roadway.
The Tag and Collect games take place just within one of the town
sections.
//// Velocity Park
The Velocity Park Race section resembles a large 3D track, much like
the old ST game - "Stunt Race" I believe it was called. The track
looks like a big roller-coaster track constructed of HotWheels tracks.
This one most resembles the traditional, basically circular or oval
racetrack, though it's all 3D rendered, with banked curves. There's a
digitized city skyline in the background.
The Tag and Collect area of Velocity Park bears no resemblance to the
Race track. It looks like a Skateboard park for cars, with a big
half-pipe on each side, and various ramps and tunnels in the middle.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
//// In Control
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Now, about the actual car controls. The car control takes some getting
used to. The controller is set up with E and W on the D-Pad being
standard left and right turns. NW and NE are "slow turns" and SW and
SE are "quick turns." The buttons control Accelerate, Brake, and
Reverse.
Luckily, you don't appear to have any type of normal transmission, as I
frequently hit full reverse when going full speed forward. It works
like an automatic transmission, normally. Thank goodness for Doctor
Phosphor's amazing discoveries.
At the fast setting, the regular turn is often much too hard,
causing you to spin out of control and end up pointing in the wrong
direction. I haven't really played at slow setting, as it seems much
too slow. It would probably be a good idea for newer players or those
unfamiliar with racing games to use the slow setting until you get the
hang of the controls and learn the basic layout of each area. Fast
setting is really _fast_. The car does 0 to 100+ in 3-5 seconds. Doctor
Whas'hisname sure knows his stuff.
There is also a Pause, and the Option key "rewinds" the game as far
back as you want to go, Unfortunately, it doesn't rewind the clock.
The car seems to cling easily to VERY steep inclines. There are times
when you find yourself climbing an almost 90 degree incline by
accident. At one point, when I found myself sliding down the huge
cliff in the SF race area, I hit full throttle reverse and found
myself backing -up- the cliff at 60 mph or so. This is a very odd
feeling, but it looks really cool in the replay. Most of the time, if
you take a dive off the cliff, your car goes flying and flipping end
over end, so this isn't usually an option.
Two player split-screen has a definite slowdown, but not really enough
to prevent you from playing. What is probably more problematic is the
thin slice of view-angle you see in 2 player mode.... It's a lot
harder to see things in the distance. The Tag game is a lot of fun,
but my friends and I much prefer the 2 player races. Having no set
path to follow, it's a lot easier to sneak up on the other guy and ram
his car broadside. Or, find a shortcut and appear from nowhere far
ahead of your opponent.
The Tag and Collect games restrict you to a much too small of an area
for my taste.
There is no real demo mode on this cart, it just shows a coastline
road scene with a billboard cycling through all of the best times.
This brings up another small complaint about the game. Each Race area
has it's own "Best Times" list saved on the cart. Unfortunately, it
does not differentiate between the different number of laps. So if you
get a really good time racing 1 lap in SF, it will be put ahead of the
top times for 2 or more laps, on the same list. The Powerball game has
only one list for all 4 areas.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
//// The Details
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Some may complain of the lack of texture-mapping, but I've found that
this game really doesn't need it. There is enough detail and variety
in the different environments as it is. With a large city section,
fully furnished house complete with pets, a nicely modeled old west
town with mountains, canyons and old mine tunnels, and a dangerous,
vertigo-inducing twisting mountain cliff road, it certainly provides a
lot of variety. The only complaint is a slight slowdown in the
split-screen mode. In single-player mode it is FAST and FULL SCREEN.
No real jerkiness like you're probably used to in polygon games.
Those who have printed elsewhere that this game could be done just as
well on a 16 bit system are sorely uninformed.
You can choose from 6 different tunes on your "radio", but some of
them were a little too bizarre for me. There is a nice ragtime piano
tune, though. But some wierd funky tune with farting noises and
scratching records? Change it! Quick!
Sound effects are a lot better, with a lot of digitised sound efects,
such as door creaks, cat meows, flushing toilets, and so on. The
engine revving sounds pretty good, and it does help to judge your
speed and status of the car. Add to this screeching tires, jarring
collisions and assorted other sound effects.
The car control takes some time to get the hang of, but once you
master it, it's quite easy to do controlled power-slides and fast
braking turns when racing by at over 100 mph. It helps that the car is
indestructable.
On the negative side, in certain views it's really easy to lose track
of your car when you're flipping about after a jump or minor collision.
When this occurs, the car moves so fast that even the normally quick
frame-rate seems to skip forward too quickly, and you can't tell how
far you've actually turned. For this reason, I prefer to use the
various "outside of car" views.
Over-steering is a big problem when going at high speeds. Often a
slight nudge will cause you to spin out of control. It's easy to send
the car flipping and spinning off course with a slight over-steer. The
fact that this is all shown in 3D out of your default "internal" view
makes the game somewhat frustrating to beginners.
There are also some tight corners you get stuck in at times. I got
stuck once between the railing and bridge, hanging half off a smaller
bridge in the SF area. Had to restart to get free.
This game is a lot of sheer -fun- to play, once you get over the
learning curve with the controls. The large number of different games
and 3D environments to race through provide enough variety. The first
time going through each area, it's fun to discover what's in the next
room, or around the next curve. Each area has several different routes
to travel and explore through, so you can always go back and attempt a
new route to shoot for a better time. 2 player split-screen provides
some exciting 2 player competitive games, without the need of 2 TV's,
Jaguars, Catboxes, and cartridges. There's also at least one secret
area that I've found, so far. A nice little castle on a hill
surrounded by a moat. Who knows how many more secret areas are hidden
in the game?
Fun gameplay and a large variety of options make this an excellent
game. I may be biased as I really -love- 3D polygon games, but it's
really a great game. I played an early version at the SCES, but the
final rendition is a much more polished effort with a lot of
surprises. If you like polygon simulation games or racing games, I'd
definitely recommend this one. I find myself playing it over and over
just to watch the cool drop-camera replay at the end of a race.
The best thing about this game is the total freedom of movement. No
pre-recorded texture-mapped "on rails" action here. Just good, fast
polygon rendering and interesting 3D terrain and obstacles.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
//// Final Ratings
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Title: Club Drive JagNet: No
Design: Atari Corp. Players: One or Two
Published by: Atari Corp. Available: Now (US)
Price: $69US
Here's the summary ratings:
"*" is a whole
"+" is a half
5 stars maximum
Graphics - **** The graphics, in my opinion, are very well done for
a 3D polygon game.
Audio - *** Nice sound effects, with really odd music, makes
this a mixed bag.
Control - *** Easy to get used to, but an analog controller would
make it easier to avoid overcorrecting.
Gameplay - ***** Lots to do, and lots of fun in both doing it and
watching it over again
Overall - **** A great polygon racing game. I'm glad I bought it.
Key to Ratings:
***** - The ultimate in video games. An instant classic. Tempest 2000
quality.
**** - Still excellent, but may have a few small detracting factors.
Enough good points to make it a "must have."
*** - A creditable effort, but sufficient problems to be rated
as average, or slightly above average.
** - Below average. Too many problems to recommend the game.
* - Total garbage. No redeeming factors whatsoever.
--==--==--==--==--
||| Surfing the Jagged Edge
||| By: Dimitri Mark LaBarge
/ | \ GEnie: AEO.6 CIS: 71501,3353 AOL: dimitril
-----------------------------------------------------------------
So... have all of -you- finished your copies of AvP yet? Me, I've
finished the game as the Alien brood and the Predator, but my poor
Marine's still stuck in the @*$#*&!!! level 4 maze. (Should anyone
ask, yes, I am the world's worst follower of mazes.) But enough
yakking, we've got some catching up to do.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
//// What's Coming Up?
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
As I write this, some game sellers have been told by their
distributors that Checkered Flag is set to be released this week.
Combined with the double shot of Dragon and Doom two weeks ago, and
Club Drive last week, that makes this the largest cluster of games yet
due for the system. So what's the word on all of this bounty-in-
miniature?
First, the word on Doom has been nothing short of spectacular. No,
it does not have in-game music, and yes, the modem feature was not
completed in order to have the game ready for the holiday season.
That's where the negatives end.
Doom for the Jaguar, quite simply, looks great. Those 65,000 colors
have improved the game's visual appeal immensely. It's no secret that
the overall resolution was lowered (though, because of the bleed
effect you get on your typical television set, pixellation effects are
rather negated), but what you get is a version that looks like the PC
game - but indescribably more vivid and eerie. The game even features
some of the beautiful new Doom II textures, which come into startling
play in the upper levels.
But eye-candy isn't what you re spending the big bucks on - does it
play well? It plays like the PC version, which for those of you who
have had the "Doom Experience," says a lot. But this game is not a
hacked, shortened version like the 32X's anemic attempt - here's a
comparison of the two versions from Atari's Bill Rehbock:
Jaguar version plays full screen with the Status Bar at the
bottom; 32X version plays in a window with border (about the size
of the PC version with the screen size set to about 4 up from the
smallest).
Jaguar version has all views of enemies present (front, side
angles, back) so that when the enemies fight each other, it is
100% true to the original. It has been reported to me that most
of the enemy animation frames wouldn't fit in the 32X version, so
you just have front views (like Wolfenstein). I don't know how
or if the enemies can fight each other in the 32X version, but I
know you can't finish Jag-DOOM unless you're good at getting
enemies pissed-off at each other :-)
Jaguar version is running in 16-bit (65,000) color, there is no
annoying color-swim caused by having only 256 colors. The shading
when going down dark stairwells is just awesome! 32X version is
only 256 colors.
Jaguar version has 23 levels PLUS 1 secret level. American McKee
at id Software added new levels and tweaked with the others
enough to keep die-hard PC-Doom player off-balance.
Jaguar version has a good number of the new and improved textures
that were done for DOOM II. I don't know if any were used in 32X
version, but I've seen no screen shots that show any.
Regarding sound/music: John Carmack at id made the creative
decision to use all available voices for the digitized sound
effects during gameplay. I think that you will find that it
sounds like there's _a_lot_ more going on in JagDOOM than in
other versions (wait until you get to level 23 :-). It was a
creative license that we gave id and a decision that I agreed
with. The full soundtrack from the PC version plays during the
end-of level tally screens.
Jaguar DOOM is very much written by id to be as cool of a DOOM
experience as you can get.
Not only is JagDoom better than the 32X version, it's not an exact
clone of the PC version, either. (Though it's got the cool stuff, like
different types of armor, medikits, berserker packs, and the trusty
BFG-9000!) Many of the level have been tweaked by Id's vicious staff -
just enough to kill those overconfident Doomheads out there - and
there are brand new, Jaguar-specific levels to bring this game into a
whole new gaming level. And yes! Hook your friend's Jag up to yours
and engage in a friendly game of total Deathmatched carnage! If
action-packed first-person games are your cup of tea, you won't find a
better place to dive in than JagDoom. Ask for it by name....
Are you like me? Did you watch Enter the Dragon a gajillion times on
TV when you were a kid? Well, there's no recapturing the experience of
Bruce Lee karate-chopping his way through mirrors and bad guys, but
Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story may be the next best thing. This new
release from Virgin is a fighting game where you play Bruce Lee
himself. Unlike other fighting games, however, you and a friend can
work together to defeat a computer opponent, which sounds a novel
concept.
An early report from GameFan magazine panned the game, but many have
found this quite mystifying - reviews of the 16-bit versions have
found it a fine, fun game, and the Jaguar version plays the same, but
ups the ante with superior color and sound. Many of you are fighting
game fans, and since this will be the first one released for the Jag,
you may very well want to give this a try.
By far the most controversial release of this bunch is Checkered Flag.
Since SCES, word has been bouncing about the nets, discussing the
supposed quality of this game. Early reviews haven't been great, and
GameFan was so torn about the game that its official review panned it
while a longer blurb found it fine, if quirky. Is it Virtua Racing?
No. But it's not supposed to be. The game's focus is its user-
definability; you can shape your car into just the speeding machine
you want it to be, then choose between such attributes as weather,
scenery and night driving.
The main question about the game, though, is its control mechanism.
Some have found it fairly realistic; some have found it extremely
touchy and difficult to control. Right now, it's impossible to tell
whether this control system is a deliberate design choice (and at
least one -unconfirmed- report from the 'net says that the control
system was changed at the last minute, after some magazines had
received review copies). The fact that some people have gotten used to
the control system after a little practice indicates that the control
system may just take a bit of practice. But, as with any game, you'll
have to make the judgment for yourself. Me, I just want to see the
penguins... (JagPengo? It's a dream but it's mine.)
Travis has managed to snag a quick Club Drive review, he says that you
can expect reviews of more of the latest Jaguar titles in our next
issue.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
//// In Production
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
First of all, AEO is happy to report that Kasumi Ninja entered
production shortly after the beginning of November, as did Iron
Soldier. If all goes well, expect these heavily-anticipated games in
early-mid December. (Also look for Iron Soldier to have at least the
same postive reaction as AvP - from all reports, this beauty is a
system seller par excellence! I wanna be a robot!)
Ted Tahquechi, the producer of Kasumi Ninja, was kind enough to lend
us some details about the gore content and the parental lockout
feature chosen for the game:
Kasumi Ninja took all of my free time...especially towards the
end of the project... Kasumi has been in production since early
this month. When we last left this topic... we were talking about
Blood... and Gore. Well, we have listened to everyone, and made
the best decision possible, in my opinion anyway. There is a Gore
level setting in the game, as well as a parental lockout feature.
Here is how they work:
Gore Level: Four Settings
1. None: No blood appears from hits to opponents., no blood from
sword lifebars.
2. Combat: Blood sprays from opponents from every hit, but does
not pool on the ground. No blood from swords.
3. Disturbing: Very bloody! Blood sprays from the opponents,
pools on the ground and drips from the lifebar swords. The
player cannot use a deathmove at the end of a match in this
setting.
4. Gore Fest: Yep! you got it!! All of the features from
"disturbing" are here, and you can dismember your opponent at
the end of a round!!
The Parental Lockout Feature:
People at Atari were concerned about the graphic nature of the
deathmoves in Kasumi Ninja, so a lockout feature was added, so
that when the lockout is on, the game will function normally, but
the player will not be able to dismember his opponent at the end
of a match. The lockout uses a 6 didget code, which CANNOT be
reset using the conventional memory reset option. This way,
children cannot hack into the cart once the parent has set the
lockout code.
There is a ton of hidden stuff in the game, so dig around and
experiment!!
Hidden stuff, multiple endings... Kasumi Ninja should turn some heads
(not too far, your spine may snap) this Christmas.
Also of note this month are the full page ads that Midnite Software is
taking for its game AirCars, a polygon-based game which features up to
8 simultaneous players using the forthcoming CatBox. If you're itching
for a good multi-player blastfest, this may be an excellent place to
start looking.
Other Atari titles being burned or shipped as you read this are:
Zool 2, Bubsy, and Val D'Isere Skiing and Snowboarding. That makes 17
confirmed titles ready by Xmas, with three or four other third party
titles possible.
Also rumored to be due for release -to- production any time now: the
first major football game for the Jag, the long-awaited Troy Aikman
Football. As always, we ll be the first to give you our reaction from
our staff sports junkies. [Ed: That's me.] (And for those of you
interested in more football action, check out this month's Video Game
Magazine for a report of V Real's unique promotion for its upcoming
Arena Football. An excellent sign for sports buffs!)
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
//// Hollywood Notes
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
From The Hollywood Reporter comes this interesting tidbit:
Kushner-locke is also making a game for Wes Craven's "The
Outpost" with Atari, which went to Bulgaria to shoot special
interactive footage of the actors. In addition to actors in the
film, Atari hired nine additional actors to serve as characters
for the game only....
AEO has since confirmed from Atari that this game is indeed Jaguar-
bound. Wes Craven, as many of you know, is the horrormeister behind
such scarefests as the Nightmare on Elm Street series; what's planned
for this Jag game is bound to be intriguing. Stay tuned to these
virtual pages for more info on what could be a groundbreaking game as
it hits.
There's a tiny bit of interest in the Jaguar in Tinseltown, and you
can expect to hear lots of namedropping as 1995 rolls by.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
//// Eyes on Jaguar
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
CBS This Morning devoted a segment each day for an entire week to its
"Toy Test" for the Holiday season buying binge. On Thursday, the topic
was Video Games, our reporter is our Editor, Travis:
For any Left Coasters reading this in the next three hours, be
sure to catch the CBS This Morning's Toy Test report on video
games. Atari's Alien Vs. Predator comes in 4th (behind DKC, Ken
Griffey and Lion King) in a "Top Ten" group of video games.
When asked to rate the consoles, Herb Weisbaum ("Seven hundred
bucks?" [For a 3DO] "Seven hundred dollars!" "Who's gonna pay
that?!") placed Atari's Jaguar second - behind the Super
Nintendo, and ahead of the Sega Genesis.
There is a Jaguar kiosk sitting behind Herb with Wolfenstein 3D
playing (sitting beside a big monitor with DKC and across from a
Sega kiosk), and about 10-15 seconds of pump shotgun action from
AvP! (Can't anyone get out of the brig? <g>)
For a group of children testers to rate the Jaguar above the Sega
Genesis (and Alien Vs. Predator ahead of Maximum Carnage, Earthworm
Jim, and Sonic and Knuckles) is a =strong= sign of the Jaguar's growth
and potential. This testing took place last September in the Seattle
area, one can imagine how Atari should dominate next year's event!
Not only did Atari get that little shot in the arm, however, but the
Jaguar received an excellent review from an article in the Washington
Post's November 30th "Fast Forward" entertainment guide.
Platforms Scored
""""""""""""""""
by COST by SOFTWARE VARIETY by GAMING EXCITEMENT
(high--low) (most--least) (most--least)
""""""" """"""""""""""""""" """"""""""""""""""""
PCs PCs >Jaguar
Mac Mac 3DO
3DO CD-i Sega
CD-i 3DO Nintendo
>Jaguar Sega PCs
Sega Nintendo Mac
Nintendo >Jaguar CD-i
An extremely impressive showing from an objective source is always
encouraging, don't you think? Not only does the Jag get good showings
from the Disinterested Media (TM), but even EGM magazine comes across
as relatively postive on the Jag for once, with articles on Doom,
Dragon, and Rayman. (According to EGM (!), Rayman "totally rules!")
This is the kind of momentum that the Jaguar has needed for a long
time. Hopefully this trend will continue with the introduction of new
TV ads for Doom, Kasumi Ninja and Iron Soldier in the days to come.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
//// 64-Bits and Phrases
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
[] The Jag is shaping up to have real cosmopolitan appeal as well. As
announced in the online conferences, the Jag has just been introduced
in Japan, with Atari's Bill Rehbock on a recruiting mission there as
we speak. (Will we see Japanese developers signing on? Watch this
column.)
[] Toys-R-Us included the Jaguar, and a host of new games in a full
color video game advertising pullout in a lot of Sunday papers today.
[] The reaction in Germany's video-game community to the native-
programmed Iron Soldier (which, incidentally, supposedly features
simply -great- music tracks) has been extremely positive - look for IS
to be -the- stocking stuffer for Atariophiles.
[] Word has come from the Internet that there are now Russian
developers for the Jag, which should be interesting, as they tend to
approach video-game development with a fresh vision (witness Tetris).
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
//// Defender Update!
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
In what has become a happy tradition, we now present more little
tidbits from the ever-accessible Jeff Minter on the progress of the
much-awaited Defender 2000. First up, a comparison between the
original Defender coin-op and the Jaguar update....
>Ummm, Defender didn't slow down? As soon as there was too much happening
>it actuall warps aliens (usually landers) out of the screen so it doesn't
>have to draw them. And when you smart bomb I'd say the slower frame rate
>gives it a classic feel just for that .5 of a second when everything dies.
>Yes yes yes...
- It slows down. Massively. And yes, it disappears aliens when
there are too many, but that happens * a lot *. And it's not .5
second, we are talking 2 seconds with <5FPS the whole game when you
Smart a bunch of pods. It makes sure and always give priority to
your ship, but lander abduction and player shots will be NAILED,
for seconds, after a smart bomb on 4 active pods. And Swarmers will
escape 'coz of the too-many-aliens-so-I'll-warp-you-round-the-
planet thang.
Put in Pods/Swarmers today, you can nail 4 Pods and get all the
Swarmers out with p/shatter explosions all over the place and we
aren't even near a frame. It looks *sweet*. You'll like it. But
hell we have a bit more than a 6809 to play with here :)
And next is a discussion on the level of difficulty to be set for
Defender 2000...
> So you make the home version's "default" difficulty the same as the arcade.
>Purists can play it out of the box, while tyros and sadists can take five
>seconds to change the settings and enjoy themselves. Everyone wins, nobody
>loses.
- I'm actually going to flatten the curve a bit for the console
version. The arcade game is nice and difficult - the way I like it
- but I want people to get into the game who might have been
frightened off by the arcade. This game deserves it.
D2000 is certainly shaping up as one the *hot* games for 1995. It's
certainly going to be a visual powerhouse, with beautiful SGI-rendered
aliens and (ready for this?) parallax "melt-o-vision" scrolling. Just
the thing to warm the cockles of a game-lover's heart.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
//// Shiny and Grubs
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
A conference was recently held on CompuServe with some of the
programmers from Shiny Entertainment, who recently published the
intriguing Earthworm Jim for the 16-bitters. In that conference,
president of Shiny Entertainment, David Perry, confirmed that it is
indeed considering a version of the upcoming Earthworm Jim II for the
Atari Jaguar. Those of us who have seen the beautiful shots for
UbiSoft's Rayman (now due in Februrary) know that this kind of
colorful platformer is the type of thing that the Jag can really excel
at. Do you want to see Earthworm Jim 2 for the Jag? Well, you can get
into the act!
Shiny Entertainment is very responsive to its customers through its
Internet e-mail address. If -you- want to see such a potentially
exciting game, write Shiny at:
<shiny@netcom.com>
and voice your opinion!
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
//// Bits and Pieces
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
[] A very pleasant call to Williams Entertainment to check on the
status of Troy Aikman NFL Football and Double Dragon 5 revealed that
Troy had been pushed back to a January release, with Double Dragon 5
scheduled for a release, "After Troy, in the first quarter."
TANFLF is being enhanced, with work added to graphics and playability.
(Extra work being done by the programmers of the PC version.) No FMV
(as in Williams' CD-ROM version of TANFLF) is planned for the Jaguar
version. [Ed: Thank goodness!]
[] Rayman, by UbiSoft, has had its debut set back to early 1995 as
well. It seems that the staff at UbiSoft in France decided to add lots
of "depth" to the game. They have added many interactions between
Rayman and the backgrounds, as well as adding lots of different
backgrounds, characters and "more atmosphere." Gameplay is said to
be amazing.
More people were added to the Rayman team to boost the work along
(the total's over 30), and the first few levels are complete. Bet on
Rayman hitting Jaguar first (around the end of January/early February),
quickly followed by a version for Sony Playstation, with a Sega Saturn
version trailing behind. A possible PC version is being considered.
UbiSoft expects the Jaguar version to be the best. [Ed: Naturally!]
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
//// The Jag RAGES!
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Crunch.
Crunch. Gobble. Crunch.
ROAR....
No, this isn't a recreation of the dinner table for our special
Thanksgiving issue. Instead we've got a special announcement from Bill
Rehbock:
I'm happy to confirm that Primal Rage is definitely being done by
Time Warner Interactive for Jaguar. Sorry, no exact release date
at this time.
Yes, all that wonderful prehistoric fighting action is on its way to
Jag in the first major arcade port for the system. Expect this game to
fully take advantage of the 64-bit capabilities of the Jag. (And with
Jaguar technology comprising the guts of a few TWI arcade machines -
Primal Rage II anyone? - it might be safe to speculate that the Jaguar
home version might have a "claw" up on others.) You can probably satisfy
your taste for dino sometime after mid-1995....
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
//// Rebellion Plans
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
While cruising the 'Net, we found this interesting post from Rebellion,
detailing what they ve got coming up. Thanks to Rebellion for use of
this list!
Legions of the Undead
"""""""""""""""""""""
Programmers: Dan Mitchell, Jamie Lokier.
Artists: Rebellion art team. (Toby Harrison-Banfield,
Stuart Wilson, Justin Rae).
Director: Jason Kingsley.
General nice guys: Brainstorm.
This is a first-person 3-d dungeon exploration game, based on an
engine that could best be described as a hybrid between AvP and
Doom. Enhancements over the AvP engine may include arbitrary-
angled walls, enhanced lighting effects, alteration of view angle
up and downwards, variable height of player (though not
floors/ceilings), algorithmically animated textures, etc.
The basic idea behind the game, to use already-extant examples
again, is a cross between Dungeon Master and AvP; plot, puzzles,
problem-solving; but with the freedom of motion and speed that
one expects from a modern 3-d game.
Current progress: 30% (varies with platform).
Expected completion date: Jaguar; early '95.
Hammerhead
""""""""""
Programmers: Alex Quarmby, Chris Fox.
Artists: Rebellion art team.
Director: Jason Kingsley.
Still nice guys: Brainstorm.
Alex sez: "A brilliant shoot-em-up. Probably." Rather more
helpfully, it's a 3-d texture-mapped game based in a futuristic
cityscape reminiscent of Bladerunner, containing elements of
flight simulation, wargaming, combat, high-powered weaponry, and
more.
Current progress: 40% complete.
Expected completion date: mid-late '95.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
//// Notes from the BattleSphere
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
We're pleased to have a posting from our good friends at 4Play,
regarding their upcoming game BattleSphere (previously known as Star
Battle). This ambitious project should be just the thing to satisfy
your space-simulator cravings. Scott LeGrand of the programming team
provided this list to get you a little more familiar with what they're
doing:
Top Ten BattleSphere Facts
10. It's guaranteed to support networks and modems. That's
been our crusade from the beginning.
9. There are only 4 people working on this game. 4Play,
get it?
8. All ships have been rendered by Thunderbird using
InShape on the Falcon 030. We'd use 3D Studio, but it's just
too damned EXPENSIVE and InShape has a really great object
builder for 1/15 the price.
7. All music has been composed by Stephanie Wukovitz using
Protracker 2.0 and some nameless 8-16 voice tracker on the
PC.
6. We do support texture mapping and hope to have at least
one texture-mapped ship in the demo.
5. I wrote all the graphics and game code.
4. Doug Engel wrote the networking and sound code and does
the artwork. Actually, he wrote a text blitting routine as
well so I lied about #5. Sue me...
3. Tom Harker of ICD, Black Cat, and 4Play has been
responsible for the CatBox and getting us all the software
and hardware we need.
2. Battle Sphere pales next to "One" on the 32X!!!!! JAGUAR
SUX! Oops, wrong personality...
1. GreyWorld really exists.
[Editor: "Greyworld" being Scott's name for the 32X "pack-in".]
Finally, Atari has nothing to do with the concept or execution of
this title. It is not a port, it is MY IDEA crossed with Doug's
artwork and Stephanie's musical talents. It's loosely a cross
between Netrek and TIE Fighter, but it's really like an old
mainframe game I wrote in the 80s hooked into a zero-g flight
simulator... Therefore, the first nimrod that starts blaming
Atari because we haven't gotten this thing out yet should be
soundly sacked. OTOH, we're a smalltime operation with dayjobs so
it takes us a while to get things done... If you flame us, we're
liable to put a caricature of you in the game with the name
appropriately mangled, we're doing the best we can. If this title
goes well, we hope to go fulltime somewhere in the future...
The OTHER BattleSphere programmer, Doug Engel (the renowned
Thunderbird from GEnie) added these comments:
Things are picking up now. Much of the progress which we
made since SCES were in 'engine' related areas. Scott keeps
perfecting our polygon engine all the time, which doesn't
add a whole lot of new features, but the ones we have work
faster and better.
A lot of time is being spent converting from 68000 to GPU
assembly. We discovered that even simple tasks done by the
68000 acting as a 'traffic cop' can bog down when bandwidth
gets saturated. We're converting everything (even the
kitchen sink) to GPU RISC. If you noticed that the
'selector' screen ran at a much better framerate than the
'hunt the sattelites' play section, you'll see what a
difference converting to GPU RISC can make in speed.
Unfortunately, a last minute bug kept us from finishing that
conversion, so the gameplay section was more or less
disabled for this show. There's some cool space debris that
gives a great feeling of motion when flying that didn't
quite make it into the demo.
Stephanie is working on more music, and keeps asking for
changes to the Music drivers I wrote, and I'm busy working
out networking code that will be portable to our future
projects, as well as some neat blitter effects (like our
intro), I'm doing all the artwork (you like what you see?)
and Scott still hasn't caught up to me with his using all my
bitmaps. :-)
>Suggestion: I saw that you had custom 'dash boards' for
>each ship type. However the 'radar' screens were always in
>the same place.
In the demo they are in the same _relative_ place... if you
look closely, they are not fixed to the screen in specific
locations. There are other cockpits with the screens located
in vastly different locations, but I didn't complete the
artwork for them yet.
Also: There are NINE possible radar views to choose from,
which are user configurable and saveable.
>Would it be possible to 'customize' the screen placement
>more, so that it's more than just cosmetics? x,y coordinate
>offsets for drawing/ updating each ship types dash so
>you(4Play) could create more varied dash layouts for the
>ships. i.e. one ship type has the screens side by side, one
>has the screens vertically layed out on the left, or the
>right, reversed positions etc, so you would have something
>to "learn" or get used to when flying different ship types.
>Just an idea.
As you can see by the way that the screens are not exactly
in the same spot onscreen and that they are user selectable,
we've already implimented these great ideas!
However, I'm not really keen on ships with unbalanced
cockpits (i.e. both radars on one side vertically) they
don't make sense from a design standpoint because in reality
a cockpit will be designed to maximize peripheral vision and
that would block too much vision. From an artsy-fartsy
standpoint, I don't like the way that looks aesthetically.
Scott doesn't like them because they would mess up the HUD
layout that he's already programmed. :-)
I like to think that the 'different' cockpit layouts are
pretty well reflected in the style of the cockpits that each
race uses. I tried to make their architecture different from
each other, while putting my own identity into the overall
'look'. We want people to recognise our games on sight.
("That looks like a 4Play game.").
I'm really interested in hearing what you liked about the
game, and what you noticed was new in it since the last time
you saw it (SCES?). I'm sure everyone wants top hear an
unbiased report about it. (They're getting tired of hearing
me say that it's "Awesome".)
Now -this- is the kind of responsive developer that gives the Jaguar a
good name. Here's all the best to them, and we're looking forward to
an exciting new Jaguar title.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
//// Next time
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Look for reviews of all the new games and (cross our fingers) a couple
of exclusive interviews we had planned for this one. That's the dish
for this ish!
--==--==--==--==--
||| Jaguars at ToadFest 94
||| By: Christian Svensson
/ | \ Internet: svensson@bucknell.edu
------------------------------------------------------------------
Well, I trekked 3.5 hours each way to Toadfest in central Maryland.
Let me preface this by saying I didn't exactly know what to expect,
whether it was just Atari products or general computing and games.
Upon arrival in the back lot to the Park Plaza (the shopping center
where Toad Computers is lcoated), I had trouble finding the place. It
was in a part of the center that faced the back.
I arrived at about 9:45 for the show which opened at 10:00 (perfect
timing I must say). By the time the door opened, there was a crowd of
probably 40 people waiting to get in and this was the least crowded it
was all day. Packed is more like it.
As you walked in there was a big black JAGUAR sign in the window and a
big ATARI banner on the wall clearly visable from the store front.
Also as you walked in, you could register (on an Atari computer of
course) for door prizes and other prizes. They also gave out Toad
computer and Atari t-shirts at the door. the door prizes in general
were Jagwear, but they also were going to be drawing for three Jaguars
and several games at some point in the weekend.
There were two main sections to the store:
The main retail area had all sorts of displays set up on the left hand
wall. There were two Jags hooked up to Atari monitors. One had AvP,
the other T2000. AvP was a big hit with a crowd around it most of the
time.
Next to those (and the entrance to the other part of the store) was a
27" stereo TV showing the Atari promo tape. There were at least 10
people crowded around it AT ALL TIMES (thereby blocking the other
section of the store at times as well).
The had a stack of Jags all along the left displayed VERY prominantly
with a sign saying:
JAGUAR AvP SPECIAL: Jag + AvP $299.99
There was a glass display case that was PACKED with Jag and Lynx
games. They had to have had about 50 or 60 AvPs.
Now on to the other part of the store... the displays:
There was a room setup for Atari computer music, Atari on GEnie, and
something else I forgot that had to do with Atari computers.
The neat part was where the Jag developers were showing their works
in progress.
[] ICD Inc. was there with the Catbox.
[] ICD was also showing Battle Sphere for 4Play
[] Hyper Image was showing their game Hover Hunter
[] Midnight was there with Aircars...
=-=-=-=-=-=-=
//// Details
=-=-=-=-=-=-=
I managed to get a good look at everything Jaguar present. Please
note that I had no prior experience on any of the games, so some of
what may appear to be weak points in what I'm writing about may be
better attributed to my total unfamiliarity with these games.
//// Aircars
Got to play Aircars in a three person network mode: Graphics weren't
as good as Cybermorph (pretty bad). But the gameplay was pretty good.
I had a good time crushing Paul Goodman from Hyper Image. (3 or 4 to 0
right Paul?)
The cars are able to pick up various powerups (one was a complete map,
a better weapon and others I didn't know what they were). The cars
move VERY fast at at times it is difficult to see or pick up these
powerups. Turning was very touchy. It took me some time to adjust to
the sensitivity of the turns.
It seemed like there was some sort of goal, but we had a better time
blasting each other (when we could find one another). There were also
baddies around in the shape of tanks, other aircars, gun turrets, etc.
The controls were:
A - Right weapon
B - Left Weapon
C - No bank on turn (useful for aiming)
1, 2, 3 - Change to another player's view or something
4 - Smoke screen
6 - Mines
0 - Change color of HUD
Pause - Pause
Option - Zoom map in or out
You could go in reverse and forward at high speeds.
The map was difficult to read and identify objects/other player, but
it could be because I didn't know what colors were what... the zooming
map option was nice.
Sounds in stero were great. When banking left or right, the engine
sound shifted the opposite direction. A very neat effect especially
through the headphones running on the Catbox (see below).
Music wasn't bad.
Explosions were good.
Running into trees splits them right down the middle (the trees look
like they were taken straight from Cybermorph).
Played for almost an hour with no networks errors. Tom Hawker stated
that about six people can play with NO slowdown what so ever.
//// BattleSphere (working title)
The goraud shading on the ships is fantastic and there are about 24
ships to choose from each with their own cockpit/dashboard. Collision
detection was not yet implemented.
Beautiful title screen.
Rotation and scaling very smooth, especially the rotation on the ship
selection screens.
Can't say enough good things about the goraud shading.
In the games, there was a starfield and various bitmaps of "galaxies
and planets". The starfield doesn't rush past you so unless there's a
ship or other object, you got no feeling of movement. The only objects
I was able to find (or the guy running the booth from ICD, Tom Harker)
were "storage canisters". These were texturemapped octagonal (or so)
cylinders that sat in space. The texturemapping was VERY nice...
better than the little TMapping in Tie Fighter.
Music was really good. There was music in the game as well, except for
a sound bug that shut down the music. I'm really looking forward to
this one.
//// CatBox
The CatBox is approximately 5"x3"x2".
It has two Jagnet ports, an RS 232, DSP passthough port, RCA ports for
stereo sound and composite video, S-Video and RGB. There is a
three-way switch that toggles between the Jagnet, RS232 and DSP
passthrough.
The CatBox was used on the BattleSphere demo (just for display to the
RGB monitor) and on the Aircars demo for the networkability.
//// Hover Hunter (working title)
Paul Goodman and Jeremy from Hyper Image originally had a problem
burning their EEPROM so their display didn't get running until about
12:30, but when they did, they did it right.
They brought in a receiver and some radio shack speakers and played in
on an S-Video TV. The music (although only a place holder) sounded
good. If it's any indication of what they will use, it will be great.
Hover Hunter's concept is a mission based, networkable hovercraft
game. You will be able to choose different craft and travel around a
VERY convoluted environment. The folks at Hyper Image were nice enough
to allow me to get some direct video feed. I will be digitizing it at
some point this week and I'll make it availible on my Web page and
I'll upload it to some FTP site when I have the time. I'll also do
some frame captures so there are some stills.
The demo only had the environment and movement engine done (music was
a place holder, no baddies, no display). The environment looked
similar to Commanche: Maxximum Overkill on the PC but much better.
The color map of the contours of the map were beautful. Smooth is a
gross understatement. Jeremy (head programmer) had said that the
technique used was completely different than what Commanche used. He
was using some sort of Blitter trick they had figured out.
Paul had said that they have a bigger play area, but that they had
some problems and so couldn't show it at Toadfest. They also have the
bitmaps of all the baddies and such, but they aren't quite in yet.
Lastly, Paul said that once their site <hyperimage.com> was up, they
would be releasing their own screen shots soon.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=
//// Wrap Up
=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Oh, also while I was there, I met the guy who writes the Jaguar's
Lair. If you're out there, could you put me on your list? Thanks!
Overall, I had a great time, and it was worth the trip.
I hope this explains what was seen there at Toadfest well enough for
those who couldn't make it. If anyone has any questions, feel free to
mail me and ask.
--==--==--==--==--
||| Atari WWW Page News
||| By: Mark Stephen Smith
/ | \ Internet: msh@dl.ac.uk
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Hello and welcome to the first 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.
//// 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.
Next month I will give full details on how to access the Web using
the Atari.
//// Where do I find the Atari Web page?
From your Web browser choose to open URL and enter the following address:
http://www.dl.ac.uk/MISC/ATARI/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.
//// 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. 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.
This section has one or two more candidates for the near future when
more work has been done on the owners pages.
//// Documents
Useful documents will appear in here. At the moment there is:
- Atari FTP List by Hallvard Tangeraas (essential for the latest news
on who provides Atari FTP sites). This is updated in theses pages
almost as soon as Hallvard changes it.
- 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.
//// 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.
//// Newsletters
Although there may be more to come the following newsletters are
updated promptly as I receive them:
- CAIN Newsletter containing the latest Atari news.
- HENSA Newsletter containing the latest updates to the HENSA Atari
archive.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
//// 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)
There are several reviews on the way by the above mentioned people
aswell as some by myself (waiting to get hold of Apex Media for the
Falcon). This section should hopefully include around ten or more
reviews by Christmas.
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.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
//// Updates and Information on these Web Pages
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
All updates and news on the Atari Web pages goes in here. Previews of
what's 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 out of date, but I hope soon to
have this updated on either a monthly or even weekly basis.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
//// Other Pages
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
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:
- 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.
- Newsletters from HENSA on Falcon section of archive.
[] Misc
Miscellaneous information on the Falcon, including:
- 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.
[] New Software
The latest Falcon/enhanced software available for download. Major
revisions to be done with updates here. At the moment the following
software is included, with more to come:
- Play MPEG v0.68 by M.D.Griffths (shareware)
- Speed of Light v3.5 (shareware picture viewer)
- FOG issue 6 diskmagazine for Falcon
- Scape a planetary landsacpe generator.
- Digital Tracker demo of commercial version.
- Obsession 1 level demo.
[] 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).
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
//// 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:
- 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. At the moment the following
software is included, with lots more to come:
- Speed of Light v3.5 (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.
- 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
//// Other Lynx Stuff
Other items of interest to Lynx owners. At the moment there is the
following:
- Lynx FAQ
//// New Software Anouncement
Currently holds news of Bouble Trouble and Super Off-Road for the
Lynx. Expect reviews soon.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
//// Jaguar Page
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
All the latest news and reviews on the Jag, along with cheats, etc.
This page is divided into the following areas:
//// News and Previews
All the latest news and preview information I can find related to the
Jaguar. Although empty at the moment expect this to fill up very soon
(lots to come).
//// Reviews
A collection of reviews from different sources, hopefully I will be
contributing more to this section myself. Reviews so far include:
Aliens versus Predator Raiden Tempest 2000
Cybermorph
There are many more reviews to come.
//// Other Jaguar Stuff
Miscellaneous information on the Jaguar. Information included
presently is:
- Jaguar FAQ
- Raiden Tips
- Jaguar Game Cheats
- Kasumi Ninja FAQ
- Ultra Vortex FAQ
//// Other Jaguar Pages
Other pages specific to the Jaguar included in here. Currently there
is:
- Atari Jaguar Homepage by Nils Jacobsen
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
will be introducing 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 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.
More support is needed for the questions and answers pages, although
initially successful, 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 now own a Jaguar and will soon be writing a review
for Aliens vs Predator. 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
their products.
Extra pictures will appear due to my recent access to a colour
scanner, enabling me to scan the latest pictures before the exist
elsewhere on the Internet. I also hope to slowly get all the maps for
AvP into these pages somehow?
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.
Expect more links to Atari related pages in the future, aswell as
links to all the Atari related newsgroups. There will be more
newsletters, documents, updates to the FAQ's, and AEO.
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.
Last but not least, after Christmas I may set up a feedback page,
where you can send your feedback via a Web form. Until then please
write with your ideas, critcisms, 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.
--==--==--==--==--
||| DA'S Picture 1.04
||| By: Boris Molodyi
/ | \ GEnie: EXPLORER.6
----------------------------------------------------------------
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
//// What is it
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
DA'S Picture is an image processing program for True Color (16.7
million colors) and gray scale (256 gray scales) images. Monochrome
images may also be edited, but it isn't the program's strong side.
DA'S Picture was developed by Digital Arts as an image manipulation
tool for users who do not wish to learn, nor need, all the intricacies
of their high-end photo retouching system, DA'S REPRO (previously
known as Retouche Professional CD), which has a rather unusual
interface geared at professional lithographers.
However, DA'S Picture is not a scaled down version of DA'S REPRO. It
is, rather, a completely new, state of the art program (if one is to
believe the manual), incorporating features not found in DA'S REPRO.
It is capable of editing True Color images as large as 16384*16384
pixels, and offers 8-bit masks and a very intelligent virtual memory
management. Digital Arts aims it less at people needing a
sophisticated lithography tool, and more at people needing a tool for
creative image manipulation.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
//// Installation and manual
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
DA'S Picture comes on three double-sided disks full of self-extracting
archives. While I believe that Digital Arts, a team of very capable
programmers, could write an interactive installation program, I did
not have any problems with installing it. All one has to do is create
a folder where the program is to reside, copy self-extracting archives
in there, and execute them. They extract all required files into their
proper folders, and the program is ready to run.
DA'S Picture comes at the moment with a rather thin manual, entitled
"Introduction to DA'S Picture." It is indeed, very introductory
material. It covers all aspects of the program's workings, but does
not go into too much detail, nor does it offer any tutorials. As I am
told, CGS ComputerBild is currently working on a more in-depth manual,
some tutorials, and an English-language version of the online help,
the famous DA'S KnowHow.
DA'S KnowHow is a context-sensitive, hypertext-based online help
system which runs as an accessory (or as a program under multitasking
systems) and provides detailed information about any object in the
program pointed at by the mouse. As a hypertext help system, it
obviously offers references to other chapters that can be accessed as
well. It can handle an unlimited number of help files (e.g., for DA'S
KnowHow itself, and for other programs) which may be cross-referenced,
and it can even incorporate pictures! The program itself can be
configured to run with German, English, and French menus and dialogs,
and it is my understanding that there are other language versions
available as well.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
//// Capabilities
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
DA'S Picture, as I have already said, can work with images up to
16384*16384 pixels in size. It can handle as many images as you want,
limited only by the 2 Gigabytes virtual memory limitation. The number
of images simultaneously displayed is limited by the number of open
windows your version of TOS supports, and the number of windows
already open. As a matter of fact, some operations (such as filters)
may be carried on images which are not displayed at all, as long as
they are selected as active in the Image Manager.
DA'S Picture has a built-in virtual memory manager which can handle up
to 2 Gigabytes, subject to the hard disk space available. Virtual
memory manager is intelligent enough, and copies only necessary parts
to disk. Of course, the size of virtual memory, as well as the maximum
used amount of RAM may be freely configured. It is also possible to
configure where the virtual memory file (swapfile) is located, and
whether it should be deleted every time you exit the program, to free
the hard disk space, or kept in place, possibly to reserve that space
for your next session with DA'S Picture. Unlike system-level virtual
memory managers, which generally require a 68030 processor, DA'S
Picture memory manager, just as the one in Calamus SL, works on any
Atari machine.
The program also features an UNDO buffer, which may be switched on or
off. The UNDO buffer also is "virtualized" on disk, if required. Of
course, only the changed part of the image is kept on disk, thus
minimizing the hard disk space, as well as the time expense of having
it active.
DA'S Picture may display images in 31 different zoom level, from 16
times magnification to 16 times reduction. Part of an image may be
protected with either an 8-bit mask, or with up to 8 one-bit masks.
Also, DA'S Picture offers an interface to external modules which are
seamlessly integrated into the program. As a matter of fact, many of
program's functions are performed by these modules. I hope to receive
the module programming information soon....
DA'S Picture can load and save numerous versions of TIFF files (the
TIFF format being known for a large variety <grin>), including
compressed files, files with Motorola or Intel byte order, files in
eyther RGB or CMYK system, color or gray scale files, and files in
Digital Arts' own versions of TIFF format.
Internally, DA'S Picture works in RGB color system. However, it is
possible to set colors in CMY and HSB systems as well.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
//// The Interface
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
DA'S Picture uses the standard GEM interface with some advanced
enhancements similar to that of NeXT-Step, including 3D icons. Global
functions (loading, saving, removing an image, Quit, configuration
options) are available from the menu bar, as well as by keyboard
shortcuts, while all of the actual image editing is handled by toolbox
windows.
All windows, both toolbox and image, may be manipulated even if they
are in the background. Both the left and right mouse buttons are
available. In image windows, both buttons may be programmed to carry
on different functions. This way, one may work with several images at
the same time, without a need to top an image's window first.
It is possible to assign different tools, or the same tool with
different settings, to the left and right mouse buttons. That way, you
do not need to constantly switch between the pencil and the water blur
tools, for example.
Toolbox windows may be manipulated with the right mouse button in the
background, or may be brought upfront with the left button.
In the information bar of every image window, a toolbar is placed that
allows one to control such functions as zoom level, mask settings, and
the status of the UNDO buffer. It is possible to change the zoom level,
switch the UNDO buffer on or off, perform UNDO (exchanging the
contents of the UNDO buffer and the image), permanent UNDO (copy the
UNDO buffer into the image, and keep the old UNDO buffer in place), or
update (copy the image into the UNDO buffer). Mask status may also be
changed from Off to On or Edit. All this can be done without even
topping the window. Also in this toolbar, the pertinent information
(such as color or size) may be displayed.
There are also four different toolboxes, each of them in a window,
which may be closed or opened, and may be moved around the screen as
one wishes. The four toolboxes are:
//// Image Manager
Here you may select an image to be made active, and information
about the current image's size is presented. You may also see a
thumbnail view of the active image. Within this thumbnail, you may
set the displayed portion of the image to any position. This moving
may be done either in interactive mode (with the image's window
being constantly updated), or in a "quiet" mode, with the window
updating only after you release the mouse button. Of course, when
working in a True Color mode with very large images, the latter
method is faster. Another way of speeding up your work is setting
the thumbnail view to update only when you request, rather than
after every pixel change.
//// Tools
This toolbox displays... well, various painting and retouching tools
and their settings. Here you select a tool to be assigned to a mouse
button, as well as any setting for this tool. It is possible to
configure the toolbox to show all settings for either the left or
right mouse button tool, or to show only the most basic settings,
which makes the toolbox much more compact. We shall return to
available tools later on.
//// Modules
In this toolbox you may select among a number of modules supplied
with the program. Many new modules are already in the works.
//// Color Settings
In this toolbox you may select colors to be assigned to various
tools, as well as keep track of color lists. Color lists (in DA'S
Picture's own format, as well as in formats of other Digital Arts'
programs) may be loaded, and color lists in DA'S Picture's format
may be saved. Colors may be assigned names, and may be set in
either RGB (Red, Green, and Blue), CMY (Cyan, Magenta, and Yellow),
or HSB (Hue, Saturation, and Brightness) color systems.
In this dialog you may select the color system you with to work with,
and select a desired color, either from a color list, or by setting
color values directly. A large "inkwell" displays the current color
being set. Also in this toolbox you may store up to 76 of your most
often used colors in a small palette.
One of the most ingenious features of DA'S Picture's interface is the
use of "drag and drop" for colors. You may select a color from one
inkwell, be it a tool's active color, color from a palette, or a color
list, and drag it into another inkwell, which will immediately changed
to the color you put in there. It is also possible to link a tool's
color with the color set in the Color Settings toolbox. If you do so,
any change of the color in the toolbox will also affect the color of
the tool. (Or if you select it, vice versa.) This way, you may pick a
color from one image, and it will be automatically assigned to a tool
you wish to use on another image.
It is possible to have this toolbox display both the color values
setting part, the color list, or both.
DA'S Picture is also good in keeping track of modified images. If
there are any images that weren't saved after the last change (they
are marked with an asterisk in the Image Manager), the program will
ask about each of them - whether they should be saved.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=
//// The Mask
=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Masks are, probably, one of the most important features of any image
manipulation program. They allow you to selectively protect certain
parts of the image from changes. One may think of a mask as a layer of
protective coating, protecting the underlying picture from changes. If
a pixel is protected by a mask, it will not be changed at all, or it
will be changed less than unprotected pixels, when any tools or effect
is applied to the image. DA'S Picture allows one to work with either
up to eight 1-bit masks, or with 8-bit masks (similar to the
alpha-channel in Adobe Photoshop) which allow for varying degrees of
protection.
It is possible to assign one of four colors (Red, Green, Blue, or
Black) for the display of the mask. Since an 8-bit mask is,
technically, the same as a gray scale image, while a 1-bit mask is the
same as a monochrome image, one may use the mask for editing either
gray scale, or monochrome images. Since all tools available for
editing the image are also available when editing the mask, the
possibilities here are endless. Also, due to this technical
similarity, it is possible, when loading a monochrome or gray scale
picture, to load it either as an image or as a mask.
Also, it should be noted that when loading a four color CYMK TIFF
files, the black (K) component is loaded as the mask, since DA'S
Picture does not have a way of knowing the color separation parameters
for the image.
=-=-=-=-=-=
//// Tools
=-=-=-=-=-=
DA'S Picture offers a number of tools for painting, touching up an
existing picture, as well as tools for making life easier, such as
block selector, magnifier, mover, etc.
Most of the tools may be configured with all or most of the following
settings:
A. Transparent or Opaque painting: if the color is opaque, it replaces
(to the extent depending on Pressure setting) the underlying
color. If it is transparent, then it is drawn "on top" of the
underlying color, making it darker.
B. Drawing modes: the tool may work in "Dot" mode, which draws, of
course, a dot at the mouse position. If you move the mouse too
fast, there will be gaps between dots. To avoid this, you may use
"Continuous" mode, which remembers the mouse path and will keep on
drawing along it. It is also possible to switch "auto-repeat" mode
on or off. This determines whether the program will keep on drawing
as long as you keep the mouse bottom pressed, even if you do not
move the mouse, or whether it waits for you to move it. Finally, if
you need to draw along straight lines, there is a line mode, which
lets you set starting and ending points of a line (or lines) and
the program will draw automatically along those lines.
C. Form. Here you can select the size of the tool, from 1 to 64
pixels, its shape (round or square), and set the edges of the
tool. There are 6 settings for edges, from the one that has a sharp
center and blurred edges, which apply less color to the image, to
the setting which has no blurred edges at all.
D. Pressure. It is possible to adjust the starting and ending pressure
of the tool (i.e., how much color it applies at the beginning and
the end of its path), and the runout time, which determines how
fast the pressure is changed from the starting to the ending one.
It is also possible to select four modes which determine how the
pressure is used: Monotonous mode (which uses only the start
pressure), Gradual mode, which changes the pressure from the
starting to the ending one, and two cyclical modes. One of them
goes from the start to end pressure, and than begins drawing from
the start pressure again. Another one changes between the starting
and ending pressures cyclically.
Any tool may be assigned to either of the mouse buttons, with an
exception of the magnifier, mover, and block selector tools, which use
both buttons. The tools are the following:
//// Painting tools.
There are three painting tools in DA'S Picture: Pencil, Crayon, and
Airbrush. I have grouped them together, since they all share the
same group of settings, and they work very similar. Pencil gives you
a full color tone; crayon is more subtle (just like the real one),
and the airbrush creates an irregular color spread, with more color
being concentrated in the center.
All of the above mentioned settings work with all of these tools in
a same way. By adjusting these settings, it is possible to achieve
some very natural (or unnatural, if you prefer) looking results.
//// Area fill.
This tool fills a color area with a selected color. This tool is
rather basic in that it does not provide for tolerance settings or
settings for the border color.
//// The Stamp.
No, it's not a thingie you place on your mail. It is a very
configurable tool with which you may achieve almost any effect.
Stamps may be used to add textures to the image, add local lighting,
as well as produce a host of other special effects. A stamp is,
simply, a small image (from 1*1 to 64*64 pixels) with a mask. While
the image itself defines color and structure of the stamp, its mask
defines the final size and shape of it, as well as the strength of
its action. Stamps may be saved and loaded at any time, and it is
possible to cut stamps from existing images. If you wish to edit an
existing stamp, you may convert it to an image.
Since stamps have their own size and shape defined in them, Form and
Size settings do not apply. Neither do the setting for transparent
painting, since stamps have much more variations of drawing modes. The
Pressure setting is available, however, and it determines how strongly
the mask affects the image.
Every stamp has a number of custom settings. This settings are saved
with the stamp, so you do stamps created for special applications
remember all settings used for them.
The settings available for stamps have to do with the way colors in
the stamp affect colors in the image the stamp is applied to.
Following choices are available form a pop-up menu:
A. Replace: Stamp's colors replace colors in the image.
B. Transparent: just like transparency option for other tools. Since
colors form the mask are applied on top of existing colors, result
is darker than the original.
C. Inverse Transparency: works as the previous one, except that colors
are added to existing ones, so the result is brighter than the
original.
D. Add: Color values of the stamp and image are added together. If the
result (in any of color channels) is larger than 255, it is set to
the sum less 256, so bright colors may change rather dramatically.
It is best to see the results of such transformations.
E. Clip-Add: Same as above, except that values in excess of 255 are
set to 255. This preserves original colors more accurately.
F. Subtract: Works similar to Add mode, except that color values of
the stamp are subtracted from the image colors. If the difference
is less than 0, 256 is added to it. Just as with the Add option,
color changes may be dramatic.
G. Clip-Subtract: All the same. This time, if the difference between
the image and stamp color values is less than 0, it is set to zero.
H. Multiply: This option multiplies color values of the stamp and the
image, and divides the result by 255. As a result, the image is
darkened, as with the Transparent option, but the color changes as
well.
I. Finally, we have Delta-Increment option. This option increases the
difference between image and stamp colors. If the image's color
values of a pixel, in any of the color channels, is lower than that
of the corresponding pixels in the stamp, it is decreased further.
If it is higher, it is increased. Repeated use of this function
will convert the image to 8 primary colors: Red, Green, Blue, Cyan,
Magenta, Yellow, White, and Black. Thus, it is possible to
"crystallize" an image, giving it a poster-like look. Unlike global
tools found in some other programs, which simply move all colors
closer to one of these primary colors, in DA'S Picture it is
possible to favor some colors over others, by creating a custom
colored stamp.
Of course, it is rather difficult to describe effect of this
functions, especially more esoteric ones, such as Delta-Increment or
Multiply, in writing. Take my word, however, that this functions holds
very interesting possibilities for manipulating the image. It is
possible to apply very realistic shading and lighting effects, apply
textures, create "crystallized" or other effects. Digital Arts
provides quite a few stamps with the program, ranging from grass
stains and spraycans, to batik textures and custom "crystallizers"
favouring some colors over others. Also included, in a true Digital
Arts' tradition, are several completely useless stamps (for example,
letters "A", "B", and "C", of widely varied styles).
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
//// Retouching tools
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
DA'S Picture offers several tools for retouching the existing image
without adding new colors to it. Since these tools do not add colors,
they do not have any color settings. Other settings, such as form and
pressure, however, still apply. These tools are: Water, which softens
contrast between pixels of different colors; Finger, which softens
contrast, as Water does, but also smears colors in the movement
direction (just as would happen if you scratched the real fresh paint
with your finger); Scalpel, which increases contrast between
neighboring pixels (useful for sharpening edges and similar tasks);
and Noise. Noise actually does add some color to the image, since what
it does is apply random color noise to the image. Because the noise is
random, however, there are no color settings here, too. Realistic
paintings, and any scanned image, always have some noise present in
them. Anything painted in a pure color would immediately catch the eye
as an alien element. Adding noise to these areas eliminates this
problem.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
//// Copy Pencil
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Copy Pencil is somewhere in between the painting and retouching
tools. It does not add anything that was not present before, but it
does apply colors to the image. With the Copy Pencil you select the
source area, and then can copy anything from this area to the target
image (not necessarily the same as the one containing the source).
While you do so, the program provides constant feedback of the
position and size of the area being copied (as with other tools, size
may be anywhere between 1*1 to 64*64 pixels). As you move the Copy
Pencil across the target image, the square indicating the source
position moves along the same path.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=
//// Restorer
=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Restorer is a very useful tool which makes use of the program's UNDO
buffer. It allows you to make a partial UNDO on parts of the image.
Since you may adjust the pressure and form settings of the Restorer,
it is possible to completely revert the specified part of the image to
its previous state, or to change it just a little bit toward its
previous state.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
//// The Magic Wand
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
The Magic Wand is neither a painting nor a retouching tool. It is,
rather, a masking tool. You can "wave" it over an area, and all
adjoining pixels of the same color will be masked. You may adjust
tolerances of the Wand, so that pixels that somewhat differ from the
selected pixel will also be masked. It is possible either to have the
Wand use the color from the inkwell, or to use the color of an image
pixel clicked on. The Wand has a couple of shortcomings, though. For
one thing, tolerances may be adjusted only in the HSB system. It may
be worked around (in the Color Setting toolbox you may select a color
in another system which has the same values as the tolerance you wish
to set, and then convert it to HSB), but it would be much easier if
one could select a color system one wishes to use for tolerances.
Another shortcoming is that sometimes the Wand may miss some pixels
that look to me exactly the same color as all others around them.
Finally, the Wand always applies a full-strength mask, so if you want
to partially mask an area, you will have to edit Wand's results
manually.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
//// The Block Tool
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
This is a very flexible tool, which may be used for many purposes. It
can, for example, limit any global change to the image to an area
within the block. Since blocks are rectangular only, however, if you
need more flexible protection, you will still need to use the mask.
Blocks may also be scaled, moved, cut, and pasted. If, when selecting
the block, you reach the window's edge, and there is still some image
data in that direction, the window will scroll.
Any image or block within an image may be set as a pasteboard, and may
be pasted into another image. Masks, if set in the source block/image
will be used, so while DA'S Picture does not have explicit lasso
functions, it is possible, by using masks, to achieve much more
flexibility. You may, for example, have an non-contiguous area pasted
into the image, and, if you use 8-bit masks, have some parts of the
source image pasted weaker or stronger than others.
When pasting blocks you may either have the "receiving" block being of
the same size and proportions as the source, or it may be re-scaled
freely, either proportionally or unproportionally. As with stamps,
nine different algorithms for combining source and target colors may
be selected, and the strength of the paste operation may be adjusted.
Thus, blocks may function as stamps of arbitrary size. With some
experimenting, it is possible to achieve almost any effect.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
//// Special tools
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
There are also some tools which do not edit anything, but rather make
your life easier.
The magnifier allows you to easily change zoom levels. You may
increase or decrease zoom levels, double or half them, or select 1:1
or "fit in window" zoom levels. All magnifier functions may be also
used with the help from keyboard keys (Alt, Control, Shift) without a
need to expressly select the magnifier tool.
Scroller lets you move around the image, if it does not fit into the
window. This tool is also available at any time through the use of Alt
key. There are two ways of scrolling around the image. You may either
have the image move as long as you move the mouse, or it may move as
long as the mouse button is pressed in the direction of the original
mouse movement, as long as the mouse button is kept pressed, or the
image edge is reached.
Color Picker, also available at any time with the help of the Shift
key, sets the main inkwell color of the Color Settings toolbox to the
color of the pixel under the mouse pointer.
Ruler measures the distance, in pixels, between any two points.
Densitometer displays color and mask values of the area in the
image. If you select a Densitometer size of more than 1*1 pixel, the
average value for all pixels under the Densitometer will be displayed.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=
//// Modules
=-=-=-=-=-=-=
One of DA'S Picture's strength lies in its ability to use external
modules, which are seamlessly integrated into the program. There are
quite a few modules included with the program, and I am told that
Digital Arts is working on many more. By the time you read this,
modules for PhotoCD support, Wacom pressure-sensitive graphic tablet
support, and modules for advanced block manipulations (rotation with
anti-aliasing, free distortions, etc.) should be available, at least
in Germany.
Modules are divided into categories. Currently, there are 6 categories
of modules, which I shall describe in order:
//// 1. Gradation
This module allows for manipulation of gradation curves for three
primary colors (Red, Green, and Blue) and the mask. By editing
gradation curves it is possible to correct colors in the image,
recolor it, adjust contrast of specific color ranges, or darken or
brighten a specific color channel. Gradation curves may be saved and
loaded in format compatible with DA'S REPRO and DA'S Layout.
Curves may be selected for display or editing, so it is possible to
edit more than one curve at the same time. Curves may be edited in
freehand mode (you can freely draw a new curve), bezier mode (you can
change the curvature by dragging them around), or line mode, where you
can draw straight lines.
There is also a simple editor with two sliders for adjusting
brightness and contrast settings.
Any change made in either editor is instantly displayed in the image,
so you get immediate feedback. However, changes are not incorporated
into the image until you say so. This way you do not need a special
thumbnail preview that other programs provide.
Unfortunately, there is as yet no way to adjust color curves in CMY
system.
//// 2. Print
This module provides an interface to several printers. There are
drivers for Atari's SLM printers, DeskJets, Canon's CLC 10 color
copier and others. There are also drivers for printing to TIFF and IMG
files. Print settings are rather rudimentary, so for truly spectacular
results I would recommend importing your pictures into Calamus SL,
which has very powerful tools for adjusting color separation and
rasterization parameters, as well as for stochastic (FM) screening
(and has more printer drivers anyway). However, output to DeskJet
printers and four-color TIFF files is color separated and color
corrected according to the international DIN 16509 standard.
//// 3. Filters
Filters are one of DA'S Picture's strongest image editing tools.
Their effect may be limited to a selected block, and the mask will
also be taken into account.
Colored -> Mono filter will change the image to a more monochromatic
version of itself. When the power is set to maximum, the image will be
turned completely monochrome. It is also possible to define the
maximum and minimum colors, so the conversion is not limited to black
and white. Very interesting (and unfortunately very difficult to
describe) effects are possible, for example when you create a
"green-red" image.
Invert filter will, simply, invert the image or the mask (when in mask
editing mode).
Noise will add a random noise of specified strength to the image.
Gray Noise filter will do the same, but the noise added consists of
different levels of gray rather than of different colors.
Blur filter, obviously, blurs the image, decreasing the contrast on
edges. If applied to the mask, it will give it a soft edge. It is
possible to select different blur factors (3*3, 5*5, and 7*7, which
refer to the number of pixels, around the pixel currently processed,
being taken in consideration). Strength is adjustable, and you may
select if you want masked pixels to affect the result (obviously,
masked pixels are protected from changes; you may have the filter
either use them when calculating the blur, or not, however).
Sharpening filter works as an opposite to the blur filter, and all the
same settings apply.
Contour filter enhances contours in the image. If you use the filter
on the copy of the image, and then use the block function to overlay
it with the original, very interesting edge enhancements may occur. Of
course, it is also possible to turn the image into an outline
painting.
Finally, there are custom 5*5 filters. These are, IMHO, the most
flexible and least intuitive filters. Effects they can produce range
from a slightly relief-like version of your image, to something that
looks like a fossil bed, with objects from your image being fossilized
there for a couple of million years....
Custom 5*5 filters let you define a transformation matrix of 5*5
(obviously) size. For determining the color of of a pixel, the program
multiplies the color value of each of its 24 neighbors, as well as of
the pixel itself, by the factor entered into the matrix, and divides
it by a divisor (which you, too, supply). Further options include bias
(the manual is very obscure on what exactly it does, though), power,
and options to clip the result (results greater than 255 are clipped
to 255 and those less than 0 are clipped to 0; if clipping is turned
off, color may change in unpredictable ways), and invert the result,
whatever it be. These filters emphasize, in various ways, edges and
color areas of the image. For example, Laplatian matrix will change
all color areas to some sort of a grayish green, while strongly
emphasizing edges. On the other hand, relief filters will change the
color areas very little, but will convert edges in a way that gives
the image a 3D, engraved, look. All filter settings, together with
descriptive names, may be saved and loaded. Digital Arts supplies
about 20 different filters with the program.
With the careful use of various filters available in DA'S Picture, in
combination with the use of mask and paste functions, it is possible
to achieve very interesting effects, ranging from a simple edge
enhancement to giving your image a look of a copper-plate engraving.
//// 4. Color Runs
Color runs, also known as color gradients, are a very useful tool for
creating lighting and shadowing effects, as well as for creating
masks. DA'S Picture supports four different types of color gradients.
The simplest one is Basic. It isn't, actually, as color run, but
simply a monochrome area. Then, there are Linear gradients, and two
kinds of Radial (Small and Big) gradients. For linear gradients it is
possible to define the angle of the line along which colors change
form the start to the end color. For Radial gradients (Big and Small
differ in a minuscule way), it is possible to define the center point.
There is, also, a handy pseudo-gradient for filling the active image
or block selection with white.
Most computer-generated color gradients have one major problem: the
human eye can see "stepping" between bands of different colors. It is
especially visible in gradients produced by vector drawing programs,
such as Outline Art or DA'S Vektor. The problem is that the human eye,
while may be not capable of seeing much difference between 50% gray
and 55% gray, sees the _border_ between two color values very well. To
avoid this problem of creating unnatural objects, DA'S Picture offers
an option of adding noise to generated color runs. Adding a bit of
noise to a color run somewhat mixes colors in it, and as a result, one
can not see any steps in it.
To help you decide what amount of noise is the best (and what angles
or center positions you wish to use), DA'S Picture has a preview in
the gradient settings dialog (it is, actually, in a window, so you may
pick start or end colors directly from your image), which automatically
changes to reflect changes you make in the gradient's settings. It is
also possible to drag the gradient around the preview window.
//// 5. Mask Functions
This category includes two modules: Set Mask HSB, and Set Mask CMY. As
their names imply, the allow you to mask all pixels of the pre-defined
color, within a set tolerance. In one of these modules you may set
tolerances in HSB system, as with the Magic Wand, and another allows
for tolerances to be set in CMY system.
Another option in these modules allows you to UNmask all pixels of a
given color (within tolerances, again).
//// 6. Vector Paths
Now you may ask: what do vector paths have to do with a photo-
retouching program? Well, vector paths have lots of uses. For example,
it is possible to send any painting or retouching tool (with the
obvious exception of the Area Fill) along a path. By doing so, you may
create all sorts of geometrical figures, and even text. Since paths
may be reused, it is possible to send a tool, or several tools, along
the same path several times. This allowed you to create such effects
as neon tubes, apply tools at low settings along the same path several
times, until you are satisfied with results, etc. If you import a path
consisting of letters, it is possible to paint some text in the image.
Also, paths may be used for creating outlines for masks.
DA'S Picture can load and save vector paths in RVP (Retouche Vector
Path) format. This format is supported by Digital Arts' vector drawing
and DTP programs, as well as by their new lithographic tool, DA'S
REPRO.
Of course, DA'S Picture is not a full-featured vector editor. It can't
handle text, it has no rotation or other transformation tools present
in Outline Art or DA'S Vektor. However, it lets you create straight
lines and beziers, either in "Quill" (you position actual control
points of each path segment), or "Bezier Tracing" (you simply place
points you want your path to go through) modes. It is possible to
scale and reshape paths, change between straight lines and beziers,
and move them around. There is also a pasterboard for path objects.
Since not everybody wants to spend even more money on a separate
vector drawing program to create custom paths for DA'S Picture (the
program comes with a few geometrical objects, and with a "DA'S
Picture" logo), I want to mention that old program Didot lineArt,
which was sold by Goldleaf a while ago, can import and export RVP
files. If you can find an old copy, it would make a useful addition to
DA'S Picture. As a bonus, you'll get a decent vector drawing program,
a Calamus font editor, capable of loading Type 1 fonts, and a so-so
autotracer.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=
//// Quality
=-=-=-=-=-=-=
I have found that on my system, DA'S Picture is one of the most stable
programs I have. I have not been able to crash it, even though I
"played" with it for a very long time. Once I even deleted its
swapfile from under it. DA'S Picture didn't even blink.
All functions perform as advertised. While I have found a couple of
TIFF formats that DA'S Picture can save but apparently has a trouble
loading, I did not have any other problems with the program. When I
tell it to do something, it does it. My only complaint is that when
running under MultiTOS, DA'S Picture "gobs" the mouse pointer, and
does not restore it to whatever it was before when you switch to
another application. Since I am writing this review while switching
between That's Write 3 and DA'S Picture, I find it a little confusing
to have a mouse pointer that looks like an airbrush while I type....
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
//// Shortcomings
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
As anything under the sun, DA'S Picture does have some shortcomings. I
would like to be able to work on a single color channel at a time, the
ability to reduce the number of colors in the image, as well as more
effects. I also think that JPEG compression support is very important.
True Color images may take ungodly amounts of hard drive space, and
saving the finished work in JPEG format would greatly reduce disk
requirements.
In its present form the manual is, to put it charitably, simplistic.
There are neither tutorials nor examples. You are told what every
function does, but not how to use it in the real world. If you know
your way around photo-retouching, it is probably no big deal. For
novice users however, it may be quite disconcerting.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
//// Coming Attractions
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Well, things aren't as bad as you might think based on the last
section. An enhanced English manual of over a 100 pages and tutorials,
as well as the English version of DA'S KnowHow online help are done or
being done as you read it. What's even better, the new version, 1.10,
is being finished and should ship shortly after this review is
published. It will include many improvements, as well as many new
modules. Support for PhotoCD, graphic tablets, block rotations (with
anti-aliasing) and geometrical transformations, paper textures and
many other new features are promised. When the new version arrives, I
shall give an update about the new features of the program.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
//// The Verdict
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Well, as you could see (if anybody was patient enough to read this
far), DA'S Picture is very powerful program, and at the price it is
comparable with programs on other platforms that cost much more.
What's better, it works as advertised, and does not seem to have any
apparent bugs (as you recall, I couldn't crash it so far, and usually
I'm quite good at that). While the current incarnation of the manual
leaves something to be desired, it will be fixed shortly. With new
features of the coming upgrade, it will be an even better value.
DA'S Picture is not a program for "drawing" in a sense of Degas Elite.
It does not have tools for creating geometric objects, or adding text
to the image (at least internally; you may import vector paths). If
you are looking for a more painting-oriented program, you probably
will be better off with True Paint or Prism Paint II. If, however, you
want a program that lets you creatively edit True Color images, with a
very powerful selection of tools, DA'S Picture gets my recommendation.
It may lack some of more obscure lithographic functions of DA'S REPRO
or the number of tools available for Adobe Photoshop, but for the
majority of creative people (and for those who simply want to have fun
with pictures) it should be more than sufficient.
A final warning. The program will work in a monochrome mode. But I
think that it is obvious that you need at least a Falcon, or a True
Color capable graphic card, to actually see what you are doing with
the image.
DA'S Picture v1.04
""""""""""""""""""
Hardware requirements: any Atari computer
with at least 2 Megs of RAM, 640*400 or
better resolution, and a hard drive.
DA'S Picture is produced by Digital Arts in Germany.
English versions of software and manuals are translated by CGS
ComputerBild in the UK.
German list price is DM298 (including tax).
US Retail is $199
Lexicor Software Corporation
36 Queensberry Street, nr.6
Boston, MA 02215, U.S.A.
Tel: (617) 437 0414
Fax: (617) 437 9413
Internet : Lexicor@world.std.com
Compuserve: 73073,142
Delphi : LEXICORWORLD
Genie : Y.SIU
--==--==--==--==--
||| "From a saved backup...."
||| By: Ron Whittam
/ | \ GEnie: EXPLORER.4
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Planning the Atari Agenda
In this column I hope to foster communication and support for 8-bit
and ST computer owners... presenting a positive and directive
approach. This will help to strengthen the users group base and
encourage the executive element.
If you have a question you would like me to answer, or a
topic you would like to see covered; send me an Email!
This seems to be the time of year to make plans. In the past year we
have seen changes, improvements, disappointments, and surprises. The
year in review can be a lesson to learn from.
Recently I checked with other Atari Users Groups to see what sort of
planning takes place. I did this for two reasons. One was to have
something important to write about, and two was to help me plan the
Atari Boise Users Group planning meeting. While I have planned the
meeting agenda before, I wanted to see if I was doing what other
groups were doing around the country. And since I was thinking about
this, maybe you were, too. So the following are excerpts from messages
I received in answer to my question: Do you have planning meetings,
and if so, what do you do?
//// John @AUNT:
I just got in from the AUNT "Newsletter editing meeting/dinner" --
which is as good a premise as any. One guy who is a real fanatic (22
year old Journalism Major) actually proof-reads the newsletter while
the rest of us discuss what theme we want to attempt for the next few
meetings/newsletters. Sometimes they work out, sometimes they don't.
Then we get down to the IMPORTANT issues -- where do we want to eat
next month? We've been to 10 restaurants in 11 months that most of us
never would have found, much less tried.
//// George @HACE:
We had a Board of Directors Meeting the Wednesday after our regular
monthly meeting. Generally, we got fair attendance from board members,
but since they were all at the regular meeting too, two months ago we
switched to having the board meeting BEFORE the regular meeting (AFTER
would be better though).
We discuss the focus of upcoming meetings (what the topics will be for
the next 3 to 4 months). We pay bills, and review finances. And we
plan for special events (such as the annual Atari show we have in
Houston). Big expenditures (new disk drive for the BBS for example),
or major changes (new meeting location, etc) are typical business
subjects.
//// Brian @NSACUG:
We basically have our Exec Meetings when the need is there. Our plans
are both micro and macro but usually no more than a year except for
equipment breakdown planning.
Since I became Prez., the meetings has all been at my house.
... We use the exec section of our BBS for a lot of our decisions and
emergency phone calls for most of the rest. Hence, only about four
exec meetings per year.
//// Robert @TAF:
TAF: Toronto Atari Federation has a 7 member Executive. We meet every
month, usually the first Monday or Tuesday of the month (depends on
what pub has good food specials what day :-) ). That gives about 2 - 3
weeks lead on meetings. We certainly do advance planning. We have to,
otherwise our general meetings would be more chaotic than they are.
Our monthly newsletter is normally set up, edited, laid out, etc by
one person (me since Sept), but the editor is welcome to solicit
opinions, plans, articles etc from other members, particularly
executive members. As executive members we also have a private area on
the TAF BBS and we take advantage of e-mail and regular phone
conversations in order to make any decisions needed between meetings.
//// Daniel @DACE:
Well, we do have exec board meetings. They're always held two weeks
after the general meeting and we meet at a local pizza house. Mostly
we discuss how we might attract new members, keep the ones we have,
and generally survive another year. We try to plan what will happen
several meetings in advance so that we can advertise this to the
membership and try to generate some interest. It's hard though.
We are supposed to have a newsletter, but since I do it, and have also
been President the last three years, sometimes it doesn't get out. I
suppose if we had more submissions it would be easier. When we don't
do a newsletter I do put out a small brochure for the members to
remind them of what is going on.
If we have been exchanging newsletters with your club and you have not
received one from us lately, this is why. But fear not, we will be
producing a newsletter again by January. If you do not exchange with
us and would like to, send me e-mail or simply drop us a newsletter to
DACE Desktop
2834 Rockridge Dr
Pleasant Hill, CA 94523
Another reason we have not done a newsletter is that the old one got
corrupted and chewed up. The back-up I had turned out to be faulty as
well and I simply havn't the heart to rebuild it yet. But the urge is
returning so I should get to it soon.
//// Phil @ABACUS:
We have executive board meetings every once in while (about 2-4
months). Usually when there is a problem or to plan what's going to
happen in the next couple of meetings.
The last executive board meeting we had was in September where we
talked about several things which include:
-what's happening with the club BBS
-speakers we plan to have at the next several meetings
-what we plan to show at the meetings in the future
-our budget so far and what cost-cutting can we do
-NOT to tell people our newsletter is published on a PC(!) :^(
-whether we should network with other BBS's through FidoNet or ISIS
-amaze ourselves at how we are able to survive this long
(14 years) :^)
That's about a typical ABACUS executive board meeting...
I was pleasantly surprised at the various methods the different users
groups used in planning. One thing seems to be apparent in each of
these groups. They have a goal: to support Atari computer owners. I am
sure that most groups have a goal written down. If not, they should.
This goal or purpose is the reason you meet. This is sometimes also
called the 'mission statement' of a group. It states not only why you
meet but also what you plan to accomplish by meeting. The ABUG's
newsletter, Home Computer News (HCN), has had a sentence in the inside
cover that emphasises this statement, "To provide information and
support for and foster communication between Atari Computer owners."
This has been ABUG's mission statement for a long time. At our recent
executive planning meeting we expanded this statement to a full
paragraph:
"Supporting Atari computer owners by providing a forum for discussion
and education. To provide a forum for discussion during the monthly
meetings and on the Apc BBS; To provide timely information about Atari
news, products, vendors, and service; and To find solitary Atari
computer owners and encourage them to join the group."
This statement then provided a groundwork to build the rest of the
ABUG's plans on. Ideas that promoted this purpose were used, those
that didn't were thrown out (not because they weren't good ideas).
The plans of the meeting included selecting topics for the next 12
meetings and assigning people to handle each one. Ideas about the
Newsletter, BBS, advertising in the local paper, and others were
discussed. Each one evaluated against our stated purpose. We spent 2
hours at a pancake house on a Saturday morning. Time well spent.
We generally meet for this type of planning once a year. Although this
year might be different since our plans include a computer swap meet
(we might have to meet to plan that). Members of ABUG have a special
conference on the AcP BBS to discuss users group things, send articles
to the HCN editor, and generally handle small issues (like, should we
fix the groups MONO monitor or use it for a boat anchor).
If your users group is going from meeting to meeting without a plan,
take a tip from some of these groups who plan. And, as you plan
remember the KIS principle, "Keep it Simple."
Until next time...
Ron Whittam is a Customer Support Specialist for a small software firm
in Boise, Idaho; and the President of the Atari Boise Users Group. He
can be contacted on GEnie (EXPLORER.4), on the Internet at
<r.whittam@genie.geis.com>, or on ApC BBS (208-362-1790).
--==--==--==--==--
||| The Unabashed Atariophile
||| By: Michael R. Burkley
/ | \ Delphi: MRBURKLEY GEnie: M.BURKLEY1
-----------------------------------------------------------------
This is certainly a week for massive amounts of Atari Public Domain/
Shareware/Demo software! I'm sure you've all heard about the Gemini CD
which was released in December 1993. That was the first "modern" CD of
Atari software. Since that time there have been a few German CD's, the
Sterling Connection Qwikforms CD, and perhaps some others I'm not
really aware of. But just this past week four more collections have
surfaced. It really seems time to get your CD-ROM drive for your
computer! Read on:
[] A_M_A is a text file giving brief one line descriptions of all of
the files in the Atari Mega Archives CD-ROM now available from Systems
for Tomorrow. This CD is from Britain, but was compiled using the
Atari archives at the University of Michigan InterNet site. It's full
of compressed programs and files (uncompressed, yielding 1.9 GIG of
files!). Delphi.
[] CRAWLYCD is the descriptive list of all the files on the Crawly
Crypt CD collection of Atari Software, vol. 1. This CD is full of
interesting files taken from the Crawly Crypt BBS (what an
"interesting" name for such a nice BBS!). All the files are
uncompressed and most can run directly from the CD. One thing I like
about the descriptions in this list is that they _are_ descriptions
(400K of them). Most files have a four line description telling the
file name, the author, the version number and a few things about the
program. I know how hard it is to write file descriptions and can tell
that this took a long time to put together! The compilers of this CD
have made an effort to comply with the requests of authors who say
that they don't want their software distributed via CD or any Public
Domain distribution service (why some authors say that I have NO
idea!). The Crypt Keeper even says: "Have you registered a shareware
program lately?" "Register a shareware program today!" Good for them!
Delphi.
[] SUZYB_CD is a press release describing the upcoming Suzy B's
Software two volume CD of Atari Public Domain/Shareware/Demo programs
and files. Totally about 1,300 megabytes of uncompressed, ready-to-run
files, these CD's are full of individually described files in fifty
different categories. I have to admit I'm a bit biased about this CD
collection since my wife and I are putting it out! Since the full
catalog of file descriptions takes about 1.4 meg of compressed files
(it uncompresses to 3.6 meg of ASCII text) it's not been uploaded. An
earlier version of the catalog can be found on Delphi by searching for
"Suzy B's" in the General category of the Atari area. Or you can see
what the descriptions are like by reading my "Unabashed Atariophile"
articles. This collection will be available in early December.
[] CYBERCUBE, the manufactures of the Cyrel Graphics card, will be
releasing its own CD of PD software shortly (so I've heard). I don't
know much about it, but you can contact them to find out more.
See what I mean? Wow! And now for the rest of the files...
[] ASSASSIN is a program by Michael F. Ellis that will make a GDOS
wizzard! Customizing your GDOS ASSIGN.SYS files is a real
pain - usually people just stick with the fonts that came with whatever
GDOS program you purchased. But now, with ASSASSIN v.1.0 (dated Oct.
15, 1989) you never have to worry about editing another ASSIGN.SYS
file, ASSASSIN will do it all for you! Mouse controlled. Color or
mono. Docs included. TOS 1.0-1.62 and Geneva compatible (at least).
171K uncompressed. SHAREWARE. Delphi.
[] AUTOPLAY is a low res. animation showing the White House, a
helicopter which has just landed on the lawn, and a man rushing up the
steps into the President's Study. The man say, "Sir," and the
President replies, "Is the Team assembled?" "Yes, Sir." "The Pilot?"
"One of our finest." Over a handshake the President says, "Good.
You've got 24 hours." While this is an animation, the animation takes
the form of a set of still action shots with a few movements thrown
in. Player program included. ST-STE compatible at least.
[] BTFAX099 is BT-Fax v.0.99 by Bo Andersson (dated 1993). BT-Fax is a
Class 2 command compatible module for the reception of fax pages in
conjunction with a mailer (front-end) program. The text format is
primarily intended for use with BinkleyTerm. The only requirement for
the 'mailer' program is that it must recognize faxes (+FCON) and be
able to hand over to another program. It will work with any modem
capable of handling class 2 FAX. It can view/save directly in
STraightFAX format, strip fill bits which results in smaller FAX
pages, and more. It is a .TTP command line program since it is
designed to work with a mailer such as BinkleyTerm. Detailed docs
included.
[] COMA_240 is COMA v.2.40 by Siegfried Hartmann (THE Sieg Hartmann?)
and the SOFTBR-Team (dated Sept. 3, 1994). This demo version of
COmmunications MAnager shows the power of this FAX, Data and Voice
mail program very nicely. According to the docs it is designed for the
ZyZEL, BZT, US Robotics and Creatix modems, but I could also send a
FAX using my Supra FAX modem so you might try it on yours. This
unregistered version will only send the first 500 lines of a FAX and
allow 10 seconds of a voice message. It also has a brief waiting
period before it goes ahead with several functions. Support Shareware
authors! It will allow you to set up FAX templates into which you can
import your text message. The docs are all in German, but the program
can toggle between English and German menus at the click of a mouse.
Keyboard and mouse controlled with all of your available functions
right before you for your selection. ST-Falcon in all resolutions.
[] HCKFAX12 is HackFax v.1.2 by Helmut E. Neumann and Markus Bubendorf
(dated Feb. 20, 1994). It is a Freeware FAX program for all Atari TOS
machines and the ZyXEL FAX-Modem. Using this program you can send and
receive FAXes using your computer. The docs and program are all in
German. I don't have a ZyXel FAX-Modem nor can I adequately read the
instructions. If you have one and can do the other then you might want
to check out this file!
[] STARC18K is STarCall v.1.8K by Ingo Linkweiler (dated Sept. 4,
1993). This Shareware Terminal/Voice mail/FAX program will allow you
(in the registered version) to both send and receive data, FAXes, do
voice mail (with a ZyXEL modem) and more. The unregistered version
will only send FAXes some other functions which I haven't found out
since I can't read the German docs. The program and docs are in
German. It features a very pretty desktop, Atari Clipboard support, 16
color ANSI emulation, use of GDOS, saves phone numbers to call,
password access, use of accessories, Multi-Tasking compatible (though
I haven't gotten it to work with Geneva), and more. I don't know what
modems this works with except that it mentions the ZyXEL modems.
ST-Falcon. Color or mono.
[] DAWN139G is the Before Dawn Screensave v.1.39G (German Language)
by Arne Rudolph. This name of this .ACC screen saver just might have
some distant relation to a well-known screensaver in the Mac (and now
Windows) world, but who can really tell! This version offers four
modules, each of which may be customized using a wide choice of IMG
files to make your own "movies" (flying Toasters, a Jaguar movie, and
LOTS more included) and, if your computer has DMA sound, the ability
to play .MOD files. This version can automatically switch the "movie"
it displays after a set amount of time. The program and the docs are
in German (sorry, no English in this version - check out DAWN125 for
that). This version includes an Animation Editor so you can even more
easily change your screen-saver display. I like the fact that this
.ACC can interface with the .MOD player Paula (when Paula is run as an
.ACC outside of MultiDesk). Color or mono. ST/STE/TT/Falcon
compatible. SHAREWARE.
[] DCX22B is DC Xtract v.2.20b by Paul W. Lee. This is not the newest
version (that's DCX22C), nor is it TOS 1.0 compatible, but I'm still
reviewing it again because I think there is a bug in the LH5 routine
of DCX220C. Actually, if you don't select the LH5 option on DCX220C
you will be fine. But sometimes when selecting the LH5 option in that
version you will actually end up with a larger file than one produced
by this file. I've had a few problems with not being able to compress
some files using the ZIP deflating, too. So...now you can choose!
DCXtract is a formerly commercial ("bought through a store") program
is now commercial SHAREWARE ("paid for because you are honest"). DC
Xtract is a Wonderful archiving utility. I thought it was great when I
bought it as a part of DC Utilities, and I can see it's even better
now. Now this handles all of the newest ARC, LZH, ZIP, and ZOO
formats. I recommend this program to you! It's great! One feature I
like is that the program will automatically choose the correct
compression/ de-comp- ression routine based on the name of the file
you are manipulating. Another is the graphical progress report you
get as you compress/ uncompress your files (it makes everything seem
to go faster). Mouse and/or keyboard controlled. Docs included.
[] DEV_SHEL is the preview version of Dev_Shell 2.5 by Dave Munsie.
This is shell program for GFA Basic v.3.5/3.6 which will magnify the
power available to GFA Programers. This program provides you with a
handsome and useful interface that allows you to quickly access the
various tools provided through GFA Basic. You can configure Dev_Shell
to run your favorite external programs at the touch of a button,
toggle between 50/60 Hz modes, and even edit, compile, and modify
compiler options for up to 5 source codes at a time. Of course since
this is shareware, the Compile, Load, and Save functions have been
disabled to encourage you to register! ST-Falcon (in ST/STE compatible
graphics modes) with GFA Basic v.3.5 or 3.6. Floppy or hard drive.
Extensive docs included.
[] DIGIPOINT is the DigiPoint Packet Terminal Program for HAM Radio
v.3.60.00 by Joachim Schurig (dated May 16, 1994). DigiPoint (DP) is
an all-in-one amateur radio software package for the Atari
ST/TT/Falcon. GEM based, and BIOS-driven, this software is designed
to be compatible with all TOS versions (Geneva, Mag!C, MultiTOS,
etc.). DP has three basic parts: the packet radio host terminal; the
bulletin board system, and the satellite calculator. If you are a HAM
using Packet Radio then I recommend that you get this set of files. It
seems that it does just about everything you would want it to do. You
can run DP as a simple terminal or use it with BBS software. You need
at least two megs of RAM and a hard drive to run this program (though
there is a limited version which chops out most of the functionality
which will run from a floppy and one meg of RAM. GDOS, GDOS clone, or
SpeedoGDOS required. Any resolution. German, French, or English (with
complete English and German docs).
[] ESSCD62 is ESS-Code v.6.2, the MIME-Encoding/Decoding,
UUE/UUDecoding utility (and BTOA, and SHIP files, too) by Michel
Forget of Electric Storm Software (the programmer of MasterBrowse, an
excellent desktop text SHOW replacement and general file viewer - see
MB48_BIN). This file (dated Oct. 3, 1994) will allow you to quickly
(very) and easily (it uses GEM with keyboard shortcuts to everything
and more) convert binary files to ASCII text files or return ASCII
text files to their original binary state. This version support the
MIME conversion method which is rapidly replacing all other conversion
methods.
ESS-Code can now handle MIME-Encode/MIME-Decode requests from the
operating system, or when ESS-Code is called as an installed
application. This will allow you to both send and receive binary files
(non-text files) through the Internet using the most compatible
methods! It includes an expanded command line interface for those of
you who like such things, and the manual can now be read online.
Compatible with TOS 1.0 through Falcon and MultiTOS (Geneva, too),
with online help, and much more. The author has put a lot of work into
this program. Color or mono up to any Falcon resolution. Shareware
(register this and you get an optimized and personalized version of
this program, free registered versions of MasterBrowse and his other
shareware programs and $5 in coupon discounts from Suzy B's
Software!). Delphi.
[] GEMCHESS is v.4.0 of a graphical version of GNU Chess for the
Atari. This version has been ported to C++ and thence to the ST/TT
(Falcon?) by Warwick W. Allison. It has a pretty slick graphical
interface (the author calls the graphical interface v.0.9, so he
expects to continue improving it!). Play the computer or watch the
computer compete against itself. Allows saving & loading games,
setting your computer's "smarts," changing display colors, & many
other features the commercial chess games have. I've been told this
plays a very nice game of chess. It works in any resolution and comes
with a 512K and a 2 Meg RAM version. MultiTOS and Geneva compatible.
[] GIF_MAPS is six GIF pictures which show all five levels of the
Jaguar game Alien vs. Predator and the Alien and Predator ships. These
maps will show you where every important object is located, so be
warned! [Ed: THough they lack the location of SC#8, these maps are
highly recommended!] This might be a spoiler for you! If you have a
computer that can view Degas PC3 pictures (like an ST--Falcon!) you
might want to check out the PC3_MAPS file as it contains the same
information except in the easier-to-use Degas format. By HLBECKIII on
Delphi. (Found as Complete Maps for AVP - PC3/GIF). The map in a
previous upload (LEVEL_3) is included in this archive.
[] GLOSSARY is a large text file by Howard Carson detailing most of
the commonly used Atari and computer related words in general use. I
really recommend this file. It is 30 pages worth of information every
Atari user should have available. Some of the definitions are
"daffynitions" too. It's a fun read! Along with this Glossary Howard
has included the Shareware program ASCII View v.3.50 by David M.
Seberg. This SHOW-PRINT replacement for the Atari Desktop is fast and
easy to use (it even has online help, not that you need it much!). You
can use that to read this or any other ASCII file online quickly and
easily. The current version of this excellent file viewer is 3.75 (see
AV375 in the WORDWORK category). Glossary is also an advertisement for
the author's Giant Computer Glossary which is the same thing only much
more. The Giant Computer Glossary is about 90 pages of very broadly
based references to Atari, Mac, Amiga, PC's, Cray, Unix and some other
pretty obscure stuff that might just win you a trivia contest some
day. You can get it for only $5!
[] GUCK18E is the English version of GUCK v.1.8 by Patrick Seemann
(dated August 4, 1991). Guck will allow you to view a wide variety of
picture formats (.IMG, .GEM, Calamus Raster Graphics, Calamus Page
IMG, Doodle, STAD, NEO, DEGAS and more), and also operates as a text
displayer (ASCII [various types]), 1st Word, 1st Word Plus, and more).
Do you want to print out a file? You can do that, too. It works with
any ST--TT (Falcon, too?) and MultiTOS/Geneva in any res.. It even
allows you to launch your favorite text and/or graphics editors.
Like View II by Damien Jones, this program doesn't take up any of your
precious RAM because it unloads every time you use it. While the menus
and online helps in GUCK18E have been translated into English by Steve
Wells, the docs remained in German and the uploader of this particular
version didn't include them in this archive (don't do that! Always
keep the original file as a whole!). If you want the German docs to
this program check out GUCK18 (without the "E") as that is the
all-German form of this program and includes the German docs. If you
don't read German any better than I do you should check out the
HOW2GUCK file which contains very good English documentation for Guck.
[] HOW2GUCK is a text file by John Hechtman which gives you a useful
introduction to Guck v.1.8 (English). While the menus and online helps
in GUCK18E have been translated into English by Steve Wells, the docs
remained in German until John got ahold of them. He calls his efforts
"crude instructions," but it looks pretty good to me! I would say this
is a "must have" if you get Guck. Thanks John!
[] MB48_BIN is MasterBrowse v.4.8 by Michel Forget of Electric Storm
Software (dated Oct 6, 1994). The author has fixed the program so it
works with the Falcon in any res. and changed the menu system to make
it much smaller. Master Browse is an EXCELLENT program which
completely replaces the desktop's SHOW routine for any ST-Falcon. It
will allow you to search, mark blocks of text (a new easier way to do
this in v.4.5), cut and paste using the Atari Clipboard, print out
your selected text(s) in a multiplicity of ways, and piles more
features (in part the docs are so extensive simply because there are
so many features! If you want a text file viewer to do something, this
probably already has that feature!). MasterBrowse can be configured to
call an alternate viewer for special types of files, such as pictures
or sound files. It is _Fast_ and smooth, and can take full advantage
of GDOS/SpeedoGDOS, the features of MultiTOS, MultiGEM, Mag!X, and
Geneva, as well as the alternative desktops such as NeoDesk, TeraDesk,
and Gemini.
Another nice feature is that MB supports Peter Seitz' View Protocol,
which allows other programs to instruct MB to display a file instead
of using their own default viewers. A REALLY nice feature new in this
version is that MB will emulate the TOS 1.4 Item Selector for all of
you TOS 1.0 and 1.2 users out there. Keyboard (he deleted the user
configurable feature in this version, but it will be coming back in
the future) or mouse controlled. Online help (using the ST-Guide
.ACC). It has an easy-to-use installation program. Shareware ($15).
SUPPORT SHAREWARE AUTHORS! (If you register this program you get a $5
credit from Suzy B's Software). Color or mono. This will work on
floppy or hard drive systems.
[] MYDRW113 is MyDraw v.1.1v3 by Helmut Neumann (dated October 2,
1993). MYDRAW is a Drawing program for the Atari and closes the Gap
between the pixel-oriented programs and the unhandy and expensive
CAD-Programs. Using GDOS or SpeedoGDOS, MyDraw allows you to create
and modify GEM metafiles (vector graphics like the kind produced by
Easy Draw). It allows you to create and save objects, rotate them,
insert text, draw freehand or with a multitude of tools, and many
other functions (wow, things like Bezier polylines and polygons. I
recommend this program. SHAREWARE. Mono or large screen monitors only.
Requires GDOS (or a GDOS clone), FONTGDOS, or SpeedoGDOS. Program and
docs in German (though included in this archive is an English resource
file for this program that is 90+ translated by Michael Hebert into
English and the Enlish docs to a previous version - v.1.06g -
translated by Mike Valent. ST--TT and Geneva compatible (at least).
[] NEO_002 is the NeoDesk> 4 release 002 Patch Program. This program
will upgrade NeoDesk 4 release 001 to release 002. It will ONLY
upgrade release 001 of NeoDesk 4. There are many added functions and
problem fixes to NeoDesk, the icon editor, the NeoDesk control panel,
and more. It's amazing how they have wrung out so many bugs and added
so many things in such a brief time since NeoDesk 4 came out! They
work hard over at Gribnif Software! I'm happy to say that I found a
problem with the NeoDesk Control panel and my T-25 accelerator board.
I couldn't control the blitter setting. I told them, and now...I can!
If you have NeoDesk 4 release 001 you should definately get this file.
If you don't have NeoDesk 4, get the demo and check it out!
[] OBSESSED is the Obsession Pinball Game demo. To call this one meg
RAM or over STE and Falcon only game "just" a pinball game seems a bit
of an understatement. It is EXCELLENT! This game presents you with
over 40 colors onscreen (and the game fills up the all but a tiny
fraction of the whole screen), five sound channels, excellent ball
control (which hasn't helped me to keep it from dropping right down
between the paddles!), and more. The gameplay scrolls smoothly over
more than two screen heights of game area. The sound is excellent and
is different in every game panel. This demo presents you with "The
Undersea Adventure" panel, one of four available with the whole game.
It works off of a hard drive (and exits cleanly) or from a floppy.
Check this game out! Both this game and StarBall (see below) show
that "I'll try it one more time" games are still being produced in the
Atari world!
[] STARBALL is StarBall v.1.01 by Dave Oldcorn (dated June 15, 1994).
This is the best pinball game I have ever seen! I recommend it to you
highly. The play area is three screens high (with three sets of
flippers), and there's a lot of action, surprize bonuses, and much
more! The scene is in outer space and as you play the pinball game
you are forming a starfighter (by hitting all the objects about,
gaining points, and in general, surviving!). The controls really work
(meaning you can control the direction of the ball by skillful use of
the paddles). The graphics and sound are excellent. If you have a
Falcon, the game is even better, as it will allow you to play .MOD
files in the background and display 50 frames per sec for ultra smooth
operation (you can also get the 50 fps with an accelerated
ST - great!). There are three levels of play with three amazing bonus
levels and one "amazing secret barking mad bonus screen." ST (even a
512K machine)-Falcon compatible. Docs included. Get this! Shareware.
[] P355DEMO is the working demo of Papyrus Gold v.3.55. Papyrus is a
document processor, mid-way between a wordprocessor and a DTP package.
It uses SpeedoGDOS, GDOS, or Signum fonts for display and printing.
It's quite fast (it keeps up with my typing nicely) and its list of
features is impressive: multiple fonts and zoom functions, dictionary
(not included in demo), text rulers (though whenever I tried to access
the horizontal ruler it locked up my STE - some conflict with my
system I imagine), and much more. This demo is fully working except
that some letters will be reversed in printing, and you can only print
single page documents. Papyrus requires a machine with 2Mb or more to
run, a hard disk is not essential but it is recommended. Papyrus can
only be used in resolutions of 640*400 or higher - ST Mono, Falcon
VGA, TT medium etc. (and it can take advantage of all those extra
colors, too). You can use this without a GDOS type program installed,
but only in a limited fashion. Sample files include. I would recommend
this to anyone who didn't want to go whole hog with a DTP program but
who wanted some great looking text.
[] SOWATTDM is the SoWatt demo from the CareBears, Omega, and Two Live
Crew. It is well worth getting, but only if you have a TOS 1.0 machine
(I'm not sure about TOS 1.2 or 1.4, but I know it doesn't work on an
STE or higher). It plays some nice sounds and moving star fields as it
loads the files, and has one rather dull demo by TLC (just a screen
with too large letters scrolling by too fast), but the demo by Omega
is interesting. It shows a fast looping pattern of lights which you
can control with your mouse. Color only. This comes as two .MSA files
and you must use an MSA utility to place them on one disk (I recommend
the Chaos Disk Compactor v.2.20 <CCD220> or the Magic Shadow Archiver
II v.2.3+ < MSA_2_23>).
Here are some Calamus related fonts (and one font utility) I've
run across. I don't really know where I've gotten most of them!
Sorry about that. I know that I've gotten some of them off of both
Delphi and GEnie, but I wasn't keeping count back then.
[] CALMSTEX is the Calamus text to TEX metafont converter v.1.0 by
Christoph Pagalies and Markus Fritze of Sigma-Soft (dated July 15,
1990). This program (actually entitled Meta_Con) will take your
Calamus 1.09 fonts and convert them to TEX fonts (or the other way
around). Docs in German, but the program is in English. Shareware.
Delphi.
[] BECKER is Becker Medium, a Calamus font that reminds me of German
fancy caligraphy font with large and small characters, numbers and
special characters.
[] BODACIUS is the Bodacious Normal Calamus font. This is a rather
thick solid, yet curvey display font with upper and lower characters,
numbers, and special characters.
[] BROD_ENG is a Broadway Engraved font for Calamus by Richard G.
Kalford. This bold font has engraved markings (lines throughout the
font) which show up when the font is large enough (24 points or more
at 300 dpi). Commercial fonts of this typeface do not usually come
with the lower-case letters, but he's put the work in to create even
those! Numbers and special characters included. This font is Outline
Art compatible. Created with TypeCAD, an excellent font editor program
written by Gregg Rodgers.
[] CARRICCP is the Carrick Calamus font. It is a "wood block" engraved
font. The flowing letters are light over a dark background block.
Capital letters only.
[] CASCADE is the Cascade Script font for Calamus. This pleasing
flowing font has capital and lower case letters, numbers and a large
number of special characters. While a script font, the letters are
separate from each other.
[] CHING_AH is a set of two Calamus fonts and a Calamus SL document
describing how to use them. Why do you need a document to describe how
to use a font? Well, the two fonts are of the 'Kanji' or brush
writing characters for the "I Ching" (pronounced "EE Ching") and the
Hexagrams and changing lines for same. From Orca Publishing. I won't
bother to tell you what I think about casting your fortune using the I
Ching...but then again, I think I just did. GEnie.
[] COUNTER is the Counter-Points font by Ike. This is a stylized font
which is all uppercase, numbers, and some special characters. This is
a font that leaves much up to your imagination. The "A" for example is
an open triangle. The top line on the "F" is not connected to the rest
of the letter. The top third of the "S" is gone (or rather was never
there). All of these missing parts don't detract from your
understanding of the font though, they just make it interesting!
[] CRACKFIR is CracklingFire, a Calamus font converted from a Type 1
PostScript font by David Rakowski. It is an all-caps font, plus
period, comma, exclamation point and question mark. It looks like Dom
Casual letters beginning to go up in flames.
[] DAVYKEYC is a Calamus font which allows you to print out the keys
of your keyboard--looking just as the keyboard keys do! You can
printout your keyboard!
[] DEARTECH is the Dear Teacher Normal Calamus font. It is a font
which looks like a 1st or 2nd grader is writing to her teacher. The
capital and lower case letters look the same (I think the lower case
letters are a bit smaller). The letters wave about the line, the
capital "A" really looks like a lower case "A" writ large, etc.. This
is an excellent font, even to the backwards "N"!
[] DINERFAT is the Dinner Fatt Calamus font which is a very tall, yet
skinny. It only has upper case letters, numbers, and some punctuation.
[] DOBKIN_S is Dobkin-Script, a Calamus script font in the Art Nouveau
era style. It contains a full alphabetic set, numbers and punctuation.
It's pretty frilly, but still readable -- the caps are not that
frilly. This is best as a display font.
[] DOWNWIND is a Calamus font which is being blown in the wind.
Normally a font is tipped from left to right. This font is being blown
backwards! It has capital, lower case, numbers and special characters.
It's a pretty display font.
[] DRAGONWK is the Dragonwick Calamus font. It contains both upper and
lower case letters (though the only difference between them is the
size of the letters), numbers and some punctuation. Some of the upper
case letters look like the lower case letters. It is a pleasant
flowing font.
[] DUPEYHVY is the Dupey Heavy Calamus font. This is a simple Calamus
font with nothing fancy added. The upper and the lower case letters
are the same. Numbers and some punctuation are included. It's a
display font.
[] DVYCRPYW is Davy's Crappy Writing Calamus font. It emulates the
author's handwriting, which is nothing to write home about! Actually,
it's quite a good imitation of a person's casual handwriting
(printing). It contains upper and lower case letters, numbers and
special characters.
[] EDITION is Edition Caps. This Calamus font is an elegant vertical
font that is very close together horizontally. It has upper and lower
case, numbers, and special characters.
[] EILEENCP is a very fancy Calamus font. Entitled Eileen Caps, this
font gives an illuminated letter effect. Each fancy letter appears to
have a mass of vines growing out of it. Capital letters only.
[] EIRE is a simple Calamus font with an Irish air about it. It's
really fairly simple but it contains upper and lower case letters,
numbers and special characters.
[] ELGARRET is El Garrett, a pleasing, flowing Calamus font with
upper and lower case letters, numbers, and a lot of special
characters.
[] ELIZBANN is the Elizabeth Ann Calamus font. Now, I'm partial to
that name (especially when there is an "E" on the end of Anne) because
of a beautiful daughter who goes by it, and this font is elegant, too.
It is a classic, dignified font that looks like it might be on the
front of a jewelry store. The upper and lower case letters are the
same. Numbers and a few special characters.
[] ENGLISHT is the English Towne Normal Calamus Font. This is a fancy
Old English font with upper and lower case, numbers and some special
characters.
[] ENGRAVRL is the Engraver Light Calamus font. It has upper and lower
case letters (the lower case are really just smaller upper case),
numbers and some punctuation. This is a simple display font.
[] LASSUS is a music font for Calamus found and adapted by Frank
Zimmerman (dated April 13, 1994). Now you can dig up you dusty and
forsaken musical scores, and go to work in your favorite DTP program!
He originally found this Calamus font in an unorganized state, but he
didn't leave it that way. Now you can use Calamus to easily print out
your low G to high C, eighth through whole notes. Some musical
notation is missing, but he offers you some work-a-rounds for that,
too. He includes a Calamus SL file and a 300 dpi IMG file setting all
of the notes out so you will know how to create them. Docs included.
Created using the Genus font editor by Gregg Rodgers. GEnie.
Here are some .MOD files I've downloaded in the past, which I'm
finally getting around to "describing." I put describing in
quotes, because how does one describe a music file when one knows
very little about music! Oh well! Most are from GEnie and may be
found in the MIDI category. One is from the normal Atari database
on GEnie. Some are on Delphi. Good hunting!
[] 1081SPEA is a .MOD file entitled, "1081 Speakerbuster." GEnie.
[] 10KLEINE is the 10 Kleine-Negerlein .MOD. This file has a good
disco beat with lots of solid bass. GEnie.
[] 128BEATS is a .MOD file entitled "128 Beats...Great." GEnie.
[] 2010 is a .MOD file entitled "2010." It is an entertaining synth
pulser from Europe. GEnie.
[] 2120SMA is a .MOD file entitled, "2120 SMA- FYC." It is a very nice
take on a Fine Young Cannibals number, done remix style. GEnie.
[] 2INSANE is a .MOD file entitled, "2 Insanity Dance." This is a
pretty silly house MOD with lots of samples and other weird stuff.
GEnie.
[] 2UNLIMOD is a .MOD file entitled, "V'Already." This is a fast and
slick .MOD file with a heavy dose of disco synth. GEnie.
[] 2_U is a .MOD file entitled, "OD: "2-Unlimited - Are You Ready?"
GEnie.
[] 4MAT is a .MOD file entitled, "4-Mat." It is a cute little jingle
to play in the background. GEnie.
[] 808STATE is a .MOD file entitled, "808 State." It is an
industrial- techno mayhem. GEnie.
[] 80REWIND is a .MOD file entitled, "80's Rewind." GEnie.
[] 90210 is a .MOD file of the theme of the TV hit, "Beverly Hills
90210." GEnie.
[] 911IAJ is a .MOD file entitled, "911 Is A Joke." It is a grungy
version of the Public Enemy number. GEnie.
[] 91PAST01 is a .MOD file entitled, "91 Past 0 Part One." This is a
strangely stuttery rave-style MOD. As the original uploader wrote,
"Midnight weirdness when the endorphins kick in." GEnie.
[] 91PAST02 is a .MOD file entitled, "91 Past 0 Part Two." This is
"more rave-style midnight kill-those-endorphins dance stuff with weird
samples." GEnie.
[] ACIIID is a .MOD file entitled, "Aciiid." This is another .MOD
file for which you should break out the light show. I recommend
TRIP-A-TRON by Jeff Minter (see below). GEnie.
[] ACKER is a .MOD file entitled, "Ackerlight." This is a perky
little item featuring a good beat and an arrangement that may remind
you of J.M.Jarre. GEnie.
[] ACOUSTIC is a .MOD file entitled, "Acoustic." It is a multifaceted
.MOD file which starts off with acoustic guitar samples and then kicks
into high gear. Nicely done. GEnie.
[] ACTION is an uptempo MOD, and a very entertaining one at that.
GEnie.
[] ACTIONS is a .MOD file entitled, "Action In The Streets." It is a
moody soundtrack-type number, nicely done. GEnie.
[] ACTOFIMP is a .MOD file entitled, "Act Of Impulse." It is an
arpeggiated synth with crunching guitar, and slamming drums. It's
another soundtrack music type EuroMOD. GEnie.
[] ADVENTUR is a .MOD file entitled, "Adventure In the Bag." It is a
quirky, jazzy number with fast solos and chunky drums. GEnie.
[] AFEBSYM is a .MOD file entitled, "A February Symphony." It is a
fairly decent piece of work - not really symphonic (drums, guitars,
all that stuff) but it tries to be big. GEnie.
[] AFFAIR is an original .MOD file by an anonymous composer. It just
goes to show that you don't have to be well known to do good work!
GEnie.
[] AFTERGLO is a .MOD file entitled, "Afterglow." Originally by
"Genesis," this file gives the piece a pretty impressive execution
(and not in the sense of mangling it, either!). GEnie.
[] AFTRFIGT is a .MOD file entitled, "After The Fight." It is a
rave/techno stomper with oddball samples. GEnie.
[] AFTRSHOK is a .MOD file entitled, "Aftershock))." It is a rave
stomper. It is a ProTracker file so if you use the Paula .MOD player
you must enable the ProTracker button. GEnie.
[] AG-TECH is a .MOD file entitled, "A. G. TECHNO." Sounds good!
GEnie.
[] AGALODDS is a .MOD file entitled, "Against All Odds." GEnie.
[] AGE2 is a .MOD file entitled, "Age II." It is a straightforwardly
clunky r&b MOD file. GEnie.
[] BEY2000 is a .MOD file entitled, "Beyond 2000." If is a pleasant
sounding, slow and percussive piece. I just enjoyed leaving it play as
I worked. GEnie.
[] DANCEDAY is a .MOD file entitled "Beat Dis Paulaby!" Delphi.
[] GBUSA is a .MOD file entitled, "God Bless the U.S.A.." GEnie in the
Atari section.
[] GUITARSL is a MOD file entitled Guitar Slinger. It took first
place in a competition in Finland. This is an excellent guitar piece
with a pop music beat. The samples are top-notch and this song plays
very clearly on my computer. Delphi.
[] MINOAN_W is a .MOD file entitled Minoan War. Delphi.
[] RUND is a MOD file by Todd Rundgren entitled, "Bang on the Drum All
Day." It's short, but interesting! Delphi.
[] SPACEDEB is a .MOD file entitled Space Debris. It is by the same
person who wrote the .MOD file named "Beyond Music" and it sounds
quite nice. Delphi.
[] STMODS4 is five .MOD songs entitled Lockleaf, Lunawaves,
Masquerade, Namewasbad, and Complications. Delphi.
That's all for now folks! There are piles of software that I have on
my hard drive (now up to a 2.1 Gig Drive!), but they will just have to
wait until another time. Until then...
Michael
I've downloaded these files from one or more of the following on-line
services: Delphi (MRBURKLEY), GEnie (M.BURKLEY1) The CodeHead BBS
(213-461-2095), Toad Computers BBS (410-544-6999), and at Toad Hall,
now the official BBS of the Boston Computer Society (617-567-8642) (as
Michael R. Burkley).
Drop me a line!
Michael lives in Niagara Falls, NY. He is a former Polyurethane
Research Chemist and is presently the pastor of the Niagara
Presbyterian Church.
--==--==--==--==--
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
-- --==--==-- CompuServe Sign-Up Information --==--==-- --
-- --
-- To sign up for CompuServe service, call (voice call) (800) 848-8199. --
-- Ask for operator #198. You will be sent a $15.00 value CIS membership --
-- kit for free. --
-- --
-- --==--==-- CompuServe Sign-Up Information --==--==-- --
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
--==--==--==--==--
||| Developing news!
||| Items of interest from TOS platform developers and supporters
/ | \ -------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
//// Toronto Atari Federation '95 April 1 - April 2, 1995
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
ACE '95 ACE '95 ACE '95 ACE '95 ACE '95 ACE '95 ACE '95
===================================================================
*******************************************************
NEWS RELEASE: THE TORONTO ATARI FEDERATION PRESENTS.....ACE '95!
*******************************************************
_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/
_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/
_/_/
_/_/ _/_/_/_/ _/_/_/_/_/
_/_/ _/_/_/_/_/_/ _/_/_/_/_/_/ Software Demos!
_/_/ _/_/ _/_/ _/_/ Hardware Demos!
_/_/ _/_/_/_/_/_/ _/_/_/_/_/ Membership!
_/_/ _/_/_/_/_/_/ _/_/_/_/_/ Phoenix Newsletter!
_/_/ _/_/ _/_/ _/_/ 16/32 Bit Library!
_/_/ _/_/ _/_/ _/_/ Monthly Meetings!
_/_/ _/ _/_/ _/ Flea Market!
_/ Seminars!
Raffles!
#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*# Support! GRAPHICS!
SPREADSHEETS! DATABASES!
#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*# DESKTOP PUBLISHING!
TELECOMMUNICATIONS! MIDI!
WORDPROCESSING! MUCH MORE!
~~~ The Toronto Atari Federation ~~~
Largest Atari User Group in North America!
~~~ (416) CALL-TAF (225-5823) ~~~
*******************************************************
NEWS RELEASE: THE TORONTO ATARI FEDERATION PRESENTS.....ACE '95!!
*******************************************************
There have been a few events that captured the imagination of
Atari Users over the years. One of the most significant of those
events was ATARI CANADIAN EXHIBITION '92 - better known as ACE '92.
Memories are long - especially about great successes!
ACE '92 was all of that and more. It provided unprecedented
opportunities for an enormous number of DEALERS, DEVELOPERS,
SHAREWARE authors and (most important of all!) ATARI USERS, to
gather in a venue which was bright, extremely busy, accessible
and interesting. ACE '92 was well organized, highly successful
and a profitable experience for everyone who participated.
We're doing it again!
ACE '95 IS COMING: ** April 1, 1995 - April 2, 1995 **
We have booked the North York Civic Centre, MEMORIAL HALL
facility - 5,000 square feet in four rooms! The superb Civic
Centre Complex features excellent highway access, high speed
local route access as well as airport, bus, subway, car and truck
access. In the main complex itself you'll find the NOVOTEL HOTEL,
Civic Center SHOPPING MALL & an excellent FOOD COURT immediately
adjacent to the Show Hall in addition to other RESTAURANTS and
SERVICES. We're also located on Toronto's famous Yonge Street!
The location features high traffic volume & a site central to
several thousand Atari users from Toronto, Southern & Eastern
Ontario, Quebec, Western New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio & Michigan!
The Main Auditorium (The Burgundy Room) is 2400 square feet
of show/display floor, with a full sound system, proscenium
stage, projection facilities, three entrances/exits, medium
height ceiling (very intimate!), loads of electricity and direct
access to the main foyer. The facility entrance is integrated
with the Main Concourse traffic areas and prominently features a
Canopied Main Entrance. The second hall (The Gold Room), is a
1,500 square foot room with direct access to the main foyer as
well. The Gold Room has ample power, projection facilities,
medium ceiling height and two entrances. The two smaller
conference rooms are being slated for continuous LECTURES, DEMOS
& WORKSHOPS throughout the weekend. The conference rooms also
feature large picture windows, which provide loads of natural
light (these are the same rooms which TAF uses for its regular
teaching seminars!). We even have a dedicated MIDI room! The
music people can *really* turn it up, without disturbing anybody!
Show hours will be from 9 AM to 6 PM on Saturday April 1/95 and
9 AM to 5 PM Sunday April 2/95.
Every EXHIBITOR who attends will be supported by a large
group of enthusiastic TAF VOLUNTEERS: for directions, support,
banking, show liaison, etc. Transportation for Registered
Exhibitors from the airport (Pearson International), will be
provided free of charge (you must book this service in advance).
******************************************************************
ACE '92 saw over two thousand visitors and this time around,
we know our visitors will be even more eager to shop for all the
great products being offered, attend the SEMINARS & WORKSHOPS,
see the very latest DEMOS of all the terrific new Atari SOFTWARE
and HARDWARE and best of all.....have a terrific time!
******************************************************************
FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER, we're presenting a THREE-TIERED
RATE SCHEDULE. We know it will provide for greater participation
by the smaller Shareware and Single Product Developers and User
Groups. Show rates are as follows:
#A - DEALERS & DEVELOPERS, ONLINE SERVICE VENDORS & OTHER
COMMERCIAL SUPPLIERS: *$350 Cdn/$230 US per booth, not
including hotels and meals. This includes 8' x 10' booth,
electricity, transportation from the airport/bus depot or train
station, ACE Liaisons (during show hours for directions,
services, show support, etc.), 3 display tables, 6 chairs,
table skirts & partitions, discount hotel rate, setup and
tear down help, access to the Hospitality Room. The ACE '95
Registered Exhibitor's Kit consists of a floor plan (showing
your booth, parking and loading areas), City Map, directions, TAF
brochure, pen, ID badge & the Toronto Tourist Pack. We will be
mailing Kits to all Exhibitors, of course. You must pre-book
your Booth(s). Attendance will be very high, and nobody
arriving without a booking can be accommodated.
**Show management reserves the right to make a final determination
as to who qualifies for this rate!
#B - SMALL DEVELOPERS & SHAREWARE AUTHORS: (*2 or FEWER products
developed or marketed): $175 Cdn/$115 US per booth, not including
hotels and meals. This includes a Half-Booth, electricity, table
skirt and partition, transportation from the airport/bus depot or
train station, ACE Liaisons (during show hours for directions,
services, show support, etc.) 2 display tables (1-Std, 1-Sm), 4
chairs, discount hotel rate, setup and tear down help, access
to the Hospitality Room. Registered Exhibitor's Kit (as above).
We will be mailing Kits to all Exhibitors, of course. You must
pre-book your Booth. Attendance will be very high, and nobody
arriving without a booking can be accommodated.
*Show management reserves the right to make a final determination
as to who qualifies for this rate!
#C - USER GROUPS - All User Groups are invited to bring their
Disk Libraries, Newsletters and Membership Kits, etc., and set up
in our new USER GROUP CENTER! It will be set up in the Main
Foyer. The fee per User Group is *$55 Cdn/$35 US, not including
hotels and meals. This includes a single table section at the
Center, 3 chairs, table skirt, general liaison, access to the
Hospitality Room, electricity, Registered Participants Kit (as
above). We will be mailing Kits to all Exhibitor's, of course.
You MUST pre-book your space in the User Group Center. Attendance
will be very high, and nobody arriving without a booking can be
accommodated. Please Note that used hardware and software (for
sale or trade) is not permitted at ACE '95! We know the User
Group Center will be perfect for exchanging ideas & practical
solutions to fundraising, membership drives, newsletter
production, library management, club account management, seminar
& workshop planning, BBS networking, Sysop'ing, and much, much
more.
*Show management reserves the right to make a final determination
as to who qualifies for this rate!
*******************************************************************
AND MOST IMPORTANT OF ALL......VISITORS - ATARI USERS.....THE
BEST VISITORS OF ALL!!
*******************************************************************
VISITORS - Show tickets are only $6 per day or $10 for the entire
weekend. Your Single Day or Weekend ticket will give you
admission to the ENTIRE SHOW including, all LECTURES,
SEMINARS & WORKSHOPS (1st come 1st served, of course), all DEMOS,
& the Keynote Speaker. You may pre-book a room at the
Novotel ($89 Cdn/$68 US per night - single *or* double
occupancy). We have advance ticket forms available which include
Hotel Booking forms; you must have a Visa, M/C or Amex card to
book a hotel room. All Show Tickets are automatically entered in
all the DOOR PRIZE and GRAND PRIZE Draws - extra Draw Tickets are
only $2 each. For advance forms, call, write or E-Mail; see
the addresses and numbers below! NO VISITORS RESERVATIONS ARE
NECESSARY. Come as you are!!
We have a large, modern facility that is well equipped. We
have a very large Volunteer base for Show Support. We have a
large user base that is screaming for another ACE! We have
inquiries coming from as far away as England, Germany, Taiwan and
Alaska. Atari Users want and need this show. We will be
advertising the show far and wide. The budgets are done. The
planning is done. All we need is for you all to bring your
Products, your Expertise, and Yourselves!
*******************************************************************
Many Exciting Show events are scheduled: especially the Awards
for our BEST OF SHOW CONTESTS for Graphics, MIDI, DTP, Video,
Animation as well as TAF's Official Software and Hardware Awards.
*******************************************************************
We've got a surprise, too! A very special Guest (Keynote)
Speaker actually, who will be addressing everyone at the
Exhibitor/Volunteer Dinner....as well as giving a SHOW SPEECH.
Believe it or not...there are great things in Atari's future!
For User Group Booking Kits (includes Floor Plan, Show Booth
Contract, Hotel Booking & Ticket Booking, etc.), contact the User
Group coordinator, Michael Snape, as soon as possible on:
michael.snape@canrem.com
by mail: Michael Snape
Qapla' Communications
2623 Keele St. Apt.# 101
Toronto, Ontario M6L 2P2
by phone: (416)/614-1223
Local bulletin board:
Red Hot BBS-Hub of the Atari Support Net (416) 638-9476 - leave e-mail
to Fulcrum (Michael Snape)
SPECIAL TO ALL ATARI USER GROUPS:
The body of the Press Release indicates our interest in providing a
high level of support for all User Groups attending ACE '95. The
Toronto Atari Federation believes that many Atari User Groups now
represent the best source of instructional and technical support -
many Atari dealers have closed during the past two years! There are
great things in Atari's future....but until that future arrives, User
Groups will continue to grow in importance for all Atari Users.
We're offering an extremely low rate for access and space in our User
Group Centre....we even have a special room set aside! We'd also like
to schedule a Sunday morning meeting for all attending User Group
executives and leaders. It will be a tremendous opportunity to
exchange views, ideas, techniques and practical solutions to a wide
variety of challenges and outright problems!
Please consider attending ACE '95. We're sure you'll be rewarded with
an extremely valuable experience.....and a GREAT time!
Howard Carson, Chief Organizer - ACE '95
Michael Snape, User Group coordinator - ACE '95
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
//// New CDs at Systems For Tomorrow
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
The Crawly Crypt Collection (American) $29.99
The Crawly Crypt Collection is the first American PD/Shareware CD to
be published in almost a year. The CCC is packed full of not only the
best new PD and Shareware software, but also the must have classics
and the lost treasures that belong in every software collection! The
CCC has done away with the concept of duplicate compressed versions,
and used that saved space to include more software! The CCC boasts a
wide assortment of software, good file descriptions, and an impressive
falcon section.
Ausgabe 3 (German) $39.99
This is perhaps the best CD-Service offering to date. Despite it's
lack of file descriptions (that would have been in German anyway.) It
is one of the most complete collections of German software that we
have seen. It also includes a fair amount of English files. So grab
your trusty German to English dictionary and explore.
Power CD (German) $29.99
This is the first CD offering from COMPO software. This disc, although
almost completely German, contains a wealth of PD/Shareware software,
a healthy Falcon section, commercial demos, 592 GIF picture files, 120
MOD files, and more.
Also Available from Systems For Tomorrow
----------------------------------------
Ausgabe 1 (German) $39.99
Ausgabe 2 (German) $39.99
GEMini (American) $29.99
Atari Mega Archives (British) $39.99
Qwikforms CD (American) $44.99
more to come.....
Ordering
--------
orders (800)875-4943 Monday-Friday 10AM-7PM (central)
Saturday 10AM-5PM
info/orders (816)353-1221 Monday-Friday 10AM-7PM
Saturday 10AM-5PM
FAX (816)252-3611
internet kkordes1@delphi.com
mail Systems For Tomorrow
11034 East 40 Highway
Independence MO 64055
USA
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
//// On the CyberCube SKYLINE
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
We are pleased to announce that we now have the long awaited SKYLINE
CD for Atari Computers in stock.
The SKYLINE CD comes with its unique own database/indexer program for
instant access, allows the execution of virtually all applications by
simply pressing a button, features built-in *.FLI and *.MOD players,
hundreds of the latest in shareware, PD and animation files, as well
as a copy of the TEMPUS Word Junior wordprocessor.
To get the most out of your CD, use the graphical database to search
for files, names, topics and categories. This makes finding files a
heck of a lot easier than browsing through endless directories. Almost
all descriptions are bi-lingual, and there are two versions of the CD
file database (English/German).
This CD features contributions from the USA, Germany, Canada, France,
Italy and the United Kindgom. See for yourself what users all over
Europe already know: the SKYLINE CD is one of the best Atari CD's
available.
For more information, please refer to the latest edition of the CyReL
Electro ADs available on-line. To check out the CyReL Electro ADs,
search for keywords like Electro AD, CyReL or CYBERCUBE.
Pricing & Availability:
Skylince CD for ST/STe/Mega/Falcon/TT
Canada: US: Availability:
SRP $49.95* $39.95 NOW
Shipping & Handling: $4.00
*=Canadian orders please
add the appropriate taxes.
Payments: VISA/MC, cheque or money order.
To order, contact your favourite Atari dealer or:
CYBERCUBE RESEARCH LTD.
126 Grenadier Crescent
Thornhill, Ontario, L4J 7V7
Or call:
(905) 882 0294, Mon-Fri, 10 AM to 4 PM (EST, Toronto)
E-mail:
cyrel@cybercube.com or
cyrel@interlog.com or
cybercube@genie.geis.com
CYBERCUBE ...expand your imagination.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
//// Crawly Crypt Collection CD
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
NOTICE: THE SPECIAL INTRODUCTORY PRICING OFFER HAS BEEN EXTENDED
UNTIL DECEMBER 15, 1994!
For Atari TOS Computers - Volume 1
A collection of files on CD ROM obtained from The Crawly Crypt BBS
The Crawly Crypt Collection is the CD ROM with a difference. The CCC
is PACKED FULL of uncompressed public domain, freeware, and shareware
software. Most programs run right from the CD! Unlike other Atari CD
ROMs, The Crawly Crypt Collection does *NOT* contain duplicate
compressed versions or other fillers.
The Crawly Crypt Collection *IS* a treasure chest of software for
your Atari ST. It also contains over 50 megabytes of STe/TT software
and over 120 megabytes of Falcon030 specific software. The CD is in
industry standard ISO 9660 format and is readable by any Atari or IBM
compatible CD ROM reader that accepts ISO 9660 discs.
* SPECIAL INTRODUCTORY PRICE: $29.99 (good until November 15, 1994) *
(After November 15, 1994 the price will be $39.99)
Shipping & Handling to North America: $FREE
Elsewhere: $5.00
To order please send a check or money order (US Funds Please) to:
The Crawly Crypt Corporation
P.O. Box 23
Webb City, MO 64870
United States
Please allow 3-5 weeks for delivery - sorry no CODs.
Note: Dealer inquiries welcome!
The Crawly Crypt Collection Volume 1 is also available from your
local Atari dealer! Call and order your copy today!
For a complete list of all files on the CD, call the Crawly Crypt BBS
today and download the file CRAWLYCD.ZIP. File Requests (FREQs) are
also welcomed 24 hours a day! You can also place your COD or credit
card (Mastercard or Visa) order for the CD on the BBS. Log on and ask
the Sysop for details!
The Crawly Crypt BBS
Located in Joplin, Missouri USA
Using US Robotics Dual Standard Modems
With Speeds up to 16.8 HST / 21.6 V.32ter / 28.8 VFC / 28.8 V.34
* available 24 hours a day *
phone: +1-417-624-1887
AtariNet 51:203/4.0 ~ NeST 90:301/8.0
TurboNet 100:220/3.0 ~ RockNet 188:417/102.0
GLP-Net 386:417/101.0 ~ MusicNet 808:/207.0 ~ Fidonet 1:286/730.0
The Crypt Keeper says:
"Have you registered a shareware program lately?"
"Register a shareware program today!"
* CRAWLY CRYPT * CRAWLY CRYPT * CRAWLY CRYPT * CRAWLY CRYPT * CRAWLY CRYPT *
* CD ROM * CD ROM * CD ROM * CD ROM * CD ROM * CD ROM * CD ROM * CD ROM *
For Immediate Release:
The Crawly Crypt Corp is pleased to announce it is extending the
special introductory offer on the Crawly Crypt Collection Volume 1 CD
ROM until December 15, 1994. Orders postmarked by that date will be
able to purchase the CD for only $29.99 (US) and receive FREE
shipping. After December 15, 1994 the price goes up to $39.99 (US) +
$3.00 shipping/handling.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Crawly Crypt Corporation is also pleased to announce its discount
program for public domain/shareware authors.
Simply stated, any pd/shareware author who submits their most recent
pd/ shareware offerings to the Crawly Crypt Corp for inclusion on a
future Crawly Crypt CD ROM will receive a $15 (US) discount towards
the purchase of the Crawly Crypt Collection Volume 1 (when purchased
direct from the Crawly Crypt Corp). This discount is in ADDITION to
any other "special offer" that may be in effect at the time.
Since the Crawly Crypt Volume 1 is on sale for $29.99 through
December 15, 1994 - any pd/shareware author can obtain it for only
$14.99 if they order before the Dec. 15 deadline!!!!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
NOTICE: The deadline for submitting programs for inclusion on the
Crawly Crypt Collection Volume 2 is fast approaching.
December 20, 1994 is the cut-off date for new submissions.
We hope to have The Crawly Crypt Collection Volume 2 released
in early 1995! If you have a file you want on the next Crawly
Crypt Collection, SEND IT IN NOW! PD / Shareware authors may
send their files direct to the Crawly Crypt BBS or via mail
to the Crawly Crypt Corporation.
The Crawly Crypt Corporation
P.O. Box 23
Webb City, MO 64870
United States
The Crawly Crypt BBS
Located in Joplin, Missouri USA
Using US Robotics Dual Standard Modems
With Speeds up to 16.8 HST / 21.6 V.32ter / 28.8 VFC / 28.8 V.34
BBS Phone: +1-417-624-1887 * available 24 hours a day *
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
//// IAR CD Specials
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
The rain has started. We had promised users who bought Photo Show Pro
and a CD rom drive when it was the only thing available for the Atari
a flood of new CD's for the holidays. They are now arriving.
ATARI SPECIFIC CD's
Crawly Crypt CD .......................NEW................... $29.99
Atari Mega Archives CD ................NEW................... $39.99
CD Service German CD Volume 1 ............................... $39.99
CD Service German CD Volume 2 ............................... $39.99
CD Service German CD Volume 3 .........NEW................... $39.99
Atari Skyline CD ......................NEW................... $39.99
Atari GEMini CD ............................................. $29.99
Winning Pictures MPC CD - Falcon Edition .................... $29.99
Audio CD Master - CD Audio Accessory ........................ $29.99
GRAPHICS
GIF's Galore CD ............................................. $29.99
Travel Adventure CD ......................................... $29.99
Visions CD .................................................. $29.99
Sentimental Wings CD ........................................ $29.99
Fractal Frenzy CD ........................................... $29.99
Clip Art Cornucopia CD ...................................... $29.99
Art For Kids - the world's loudest art program .............. $59.99
Multimedia Mania CD ......................................... $14.99
TEXT, INFORMATION AND DATABASES
Internet Info CD ............................................ $29.99
QRZ Ham Radio CD ............................................ $19.99
Project Gutenberg CD ........................................ $29.99
Space and Astronomy CD ...................................... $29.99
Photo Show Pro is now available for the STe as well as the Falcon for
$59.99. This is Kodak Photo CD at its best.
Pick up ExtenDOS Pro for $29.99 with any order from us. We highly
suggest it for best use on all Atari machines and SCSI-2 CD rom
drives. If you are using anything else, your not making the most of
your CD rom drive.
If you have any questions about any of the above products, please post
your questions here.
Ask at your favorite Atari dealer or order from us direct.
All orders are shipped postpaid, wordwide. Write:
Randall Kopchak
It's All Relative Software
2233 Keeven Lane
Florissant, MO 63031 USA
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
//// Speedo 5.0c Available
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
SpeedoGDOS 5.0c is now available. It has several bug fixes and
enhancements, including:
Fixed - dots were printed to the screen when you changed the system or
desktop font in Neodesk 4 and Geneva.
Fixed - sometimes font files wouldn't be properly closed after an
application accesses them. This affected Papyrus and Gemini.
Fixed - Using text attributes was problematic. You should now be able
to use text attributes (bold, italic, outline, etc.). Remember that,
in most programs, using Bold and Italic attributes does not load the
corresponding Bold or Italic font. Also, there is a bug in Atari Works
that prevents attributes from working properly.
New - SpeedoGDOS now checks for non-standard Type 1 and TrueType
fonts, for improved compatibility. Any TrueType or Type 1 font should
work properly.
New - Initialization and rasterization of Type 1 fonts is faster.
New - Faster operation (internally optimized)
Registered users of version 5.0b may obtain the 5.0c upgrade by
sending $10 to:
COMPO Software
104 Esplanade Avenue Suite 121
Pacifica CA 94044 USA
Registered users may also obtain the upgrade - free of charge - via
email. If desired, send a request in email to COMPO (GEnie) or
compo@genie.geis.com (Internet).
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
//// New Audio CD Master from IAR
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Version 3.3 of Audio CD Master is now ready. If you are a known owner
of a Toshiba drive, you will be getting the update free as it fixes
some problems with this brand of drive.
WHAT'S NEW
You can now save your programmed sequences of tracks for future use.
Up to 16 tracks from a CD can be programmed for either current use or
saved so the same program is available anytime the CD is in the drive.
You can select tracks by number from a pop-up menu very similar to the
drive selector used in Sound Lab.
You can now play a CD from a given track, minute, and second offset.
eg. Play track 2 starting 1 minute and 14 seconds into the track.
Updates are available for $5.00, postpaid, to all registered users of
any previous version of Audio CD Master.
Write:
It's All Relative
2233 Keeven Lane
Florissant MO 63031
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
//// Two Volume CD from Suzy B's
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Suzy B's Software has been collecting and cataloging Atari Public
Domain/Shareware programs and files for the past five years. Known for
the "Honey of a Deal" they offer their their customers by allowing
them to customize the disks they order, Suzy B's now offers, in
teamwork with Toad Computers, an even sweeter deal. Their complete
software library is being released in a two volume, 11,000 file, 1,300
meg CD collection. These CDs are not not 11,000 files of fluff either.
Suzy B's has removed all the outdated versions of programs unless an
older version has some specific features that make it useful in and of
itself. This library is all the evidence needed to show how busy
they've been in combing through the online services throughout the
country.
Each file is individually described, sometimes with a description
reaching over a page (the main catalog is over 3.6 megabytes of ASCII
text!). The files are grouped in such ways as to allow you to easily
buzz through the CDs. There are 51 separate categories, and each file
within a category resides in its own folder, with a catalog
description within each folder. Since all of the files are
uncompressed, you can run them directly from the CD, saving a lot of
hard drive or floppy disk space!
What's the cost? Not much at all. You can get our two volume CD for
only $69.95, either from Suzy B's Software or through Toad Computers.
Now that's "a honey of a deal!"
And what do you get when you order this amazing 2 CD set? A double CD
jewel case with 2 custom-made CD ROMs packed inside! It's attractively
packaged and a must-have for any serious Atari user! It's compatible
with all ST computers. ExtenDOS is recommended for accessing the disks
and may be purchased from Toad Computers for $19.95.
Suzy B's Software
3712 Military Road
Niagara Falls, NY 14305
716-298-1986
Toad Computers
570 Ritchie Highway
Severna Park, MD 21146
(800) 448-8623 Orders
(410) 544-6943 Information
To All Shareware Authors (please pass this along!):
Suzy B's Software is offering you an opportunity to increase your
Shareware registrations. If you will place a brief text description of
our service in your software's documentation, we will give a free two
disk Suzy B's Software catalog (value $2) _and_ a $3 discount on a
Suzy B's Software disk to each person who registers one of your
programs. If they register two they will get a total of $6 in credits.
Even if a person is just _upgrading_ your software (and if you charge
money for the upgrade!) they still get the $3 discount! Please get in
touch with us if you wish to participate in this program, or if you
wish to get one of our catalogs and see our selection first hand.
Maybe we can help each other!
Suzy B's Software
3712 Military Road
Niagara Falls, N.Y. 14305
U.S.A.
phone: 716-298-1986
716-297-8514
Suzy B's carries an ENORMOUS selection of Atari PD/SHAREWARE software
as well as having a VERY unique approach to software distribution.
Call today for a catalog, I think you'll be pleased!
Suzy B's Software puts your individual selections on a disk so you can
pick and choose and get more of what you want. Do you want a game, a
children's program, a picture file or two, the most recent version of
almost any PD Program, and a NASA press release? You can have them
all on one disk! Right now they have about 11,000 compressed files
from which to choose! With Suzy B's software you get "a honey of a
deal!"
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
//// TraceTech's Falcon030 ToolKit
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Trace Technologies is proud to introduce the F030TKIT.
Shipping date: AVAILABLE NOW!
Special price through November 15, 1994. Plus a discount on FastPath.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
F030TKIT - a 'must have' collection of utilities for ALL Falcon owners!
Do you have problems deleting folders, printing text or renaming files?
Tired of losing memory?
Need quick and easy access to a floppy disk formatter?
What about one with extensive, simple-to-use options?
Would you like to configure system parameters to your preferences?
Then have I got a package for you!
TraceTech's Falcon030 ToolKit, a demoware package by Keith Gerdes and
Trace Technologies, offers several answers to those questions and more.
o What does the Falcon030 ToolKit do?
The F030TKIT is a multifaceted utility package.
1) TOS4Trap v2 addresses changes in TOS4's GEMDOS to improve
software compatibility.
2) From a co-author of DC Formatter, Trace Formatter Jr CPX gives
you quick and easy access to a floppy disk formatter which has
flexible options such as number of tracks, DD/HD format, faster I/O,
etc.
3) NVRAM (non-volatile RAM) Configurator allows you to setup your
F030's hardware and system software with simple user preference
selections.
o TOS4TRAP.PRG v2
An upgrade to the shareware program, TOS4Trap v1, the _original_
TOS4 "fix" utility which set the standard for bridging the gap of
TOS4 GEMDOS compatibility.
For example: helps pre-STalker 3.03, pre-NeoDesk 4, MaxiFile,
Deskmanager, some GFA compiled programs and many other programs.
Accept only the best, which gets better in TOS4Trap v2. v2 also
ends those memory loss blues. Simply open and close directory
windows at the GEM Desktop to see what I mean.
o TRACEFMT.CPX
fka DC Formatter Jr - A CPX-based floppy disk formatter originally
scheduled for release in the DC CPXtensions package.
Available options:
1) # of tracks - 0, 40 and 80-85
2) # of sides - 1 and 2
3) Sectors per track - 9, 10, 18 and 20
4) Drive - A and B
5) Format type - Normal and Skewed
6) Volume label
+ Convenient save configuration feature.
+ Reverse formatting for data safety.
+ Abort feature with continue option.
o CFGNVRAM.APP
Configure various NVRAM settings used by TOS4.
Special NOTE: Contains a unique bootup setting option for TOS 4.04.
Available options:
1) System bootup delay - Time (0-80 seconds) [NOTE: TOS 4.04 only]
2) System bootup video mode - ST Low, ST High or No Change
3) International time format [_IDT] - 12 or 24 Hour
4) International date format [_IDT] - MMDDYY, DDMMYY, YYMMDD or YYDDMM
5) Keyboard preference [_AKP] - 8 countries
6) Desktop preference [_AKP] - 5 languages
Also related to NVRAM:
RESETNVR.PRG - reset your NVRAM to default configuration
DO_BOOTN.PRG - writes an executable boot sector to a floppy which
will reset the NVRAM to default configuration on
bootup
Don't be locked out of your computer if your NVRAM gets messed up!
o RUN_COFF.PRG/TTP/GTP
Run a program with the 68030 cache turned OFF, restored on exit.
o And updates to a couple of 'DC Programs of the Week'.
o All programs are 100% assembly.
o Strong support from one of the oldest developers for the Atari ST
whose current product line includes Data Diet, Squish II, Data
Rescue, Load Aladdin, TOS4TRAPv1, FastPath -and soon to be released-
FlexMenu and Missouri.
o A demo version is freely available on online services.
NOTE: Some features are not available in the demo version.
Purchasing the F030TKIT:
**** TOS4Trap v1 registered user notice ****
Registered users of the TraceTech shareware product, TOS4Trap v1,
can apply that paid fee toward this order. For example, if you sent
in $5, deduct $5 from the total owed for the F030TKIT.
[NOTE: Canadian users- please see specific F030TKIT order info below.]
Send US$30, which includes shipping & handling.
o Outside the U.S. - add $5
o For priority mail in the U.S. - add $3
If you haven't picked up the new FastPath utility yet, it is ONLY $10
when ordered with the F030TKIT.
And not to forget MORE MONEY SAVING discounts, contact TraceTech for
special direct order prices on our commercial products.
Texas residents must add 8.25% sales tax.
Please make payment by check (issued by a U.S. bank), U.S. funds money
order (drawn on a U.S. bank), or postal money order.
[NOTEs: GEnie gifts of time are not accepted.
And no credit card order capability.]
Payable to:
Trace Technologies or Keith Gerdes
Send to:
Trace Technologies [F030TKIT]
PO Box 711403
Houston, TX 77271-1403
What else do you get for your investment?
-> Tech support and bug fix updates!
-> Plus special discounts on future products.
==== Canadian users ====
In order to save you money and offer you quicker turnaround, I started
a registration service with Howard Carson, a member of the Toronto
Atari Federation User Group. Howard will take care of processing all
Canadian orders- including user registration, money transactions and
software distribution.
Please note, tech support and all other support will still be the sole
responsibility of TraceTech.
The Canadian registration fee is $48 Cdn, total amount.
If you haven't picked up the new FastPath utility yet, it is ONLY $16
Cdn when ordered with the F030TKIT.
You can contact Howard for MORE MONEY SAVING discounts on TraceTech
commercial products.
Send all Canadian registrations to:
Howard Carson
#601-2904 St. Clair Ave. East
Toronto, Ontario
Canada
M4B 1N7
And make all Canadian payments to:
Howard Carson
Howard accepts personal cheques and current account cheques drawn on
Canadian banks and trusts, as well as MO's, drafts and cash. He will
try to service registrants within 72 hours (for cash, M.O and
draft/certified cheque customers), and within 10 days for personal
cheque customers. '72 hours' and '10 days', refer to the actual
elapsed period before an item is mailed/registered/applied (as
appropriate).
==== Other currencies ====
If you wish to setup a distribution point for other currencies, please
contact me.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Customer support is available via:
Phone: (713)771-8332 [weekdays 1PM-5PM Central Time]
GEnie: Category 2, Topic 12 or K.GERDES
Internet: k.gerdes@genie.geis.com
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Products mentioned are copyright by their respective owners.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
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|||
||| Shutdown ............................ Power off, EXIT, BYE, Logoff
/ | \ ------------------------------------------------------------------
We welcome feedback from all of our readers; feedback both positive
and negative. Whatever you think of our efforts, we sincerely would
like to know. Our EMail addresses are sprinkled throughout each
issue - with the new Internet gateway into GEnie, you can reach us
through the Internet also. Append "@genie.geis.com" to any of our
GEnie addresses.
Until the next issue of AEO, I remain,
Your Editor
Travis Guy
Internet: aeo.mag@genie.geis.com
--==--==--==--==--
(This issue printed on recycled photons)
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DNFTEC
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#1
Wide_left > 2*(Wide_right)
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No Inflation Necessary
--==--==--==--==--
Atari Explorer Online Magazine is a bi-weekly publication covering the
entire Atari community. Reprint permission is granted, unless
otherwise noted at the beginning of the article, to registered Atari
user groups and not for profit publications under the following terms
only: articles must remain unedited and include the issue number and
author at the top of each article reprinted. Other reprints granted
upon approval of request. Send requests to <aeo.mag@genie.geis.com>.
Opinions presented herein are those of the individual authors and do
not necessarily reflect those of the staff, or of the publishers. All
material herein is believed accurate at the time of publishing.
--==--==--==--==--
Atari, ST, Mega ST, STE, Mega STE, TT030, Atari Falcon030, TOS,
MultiTOS, NewDesk, BLiTTER, Atari Lynx, ComLynx, Atari Jaguar, Atari
Portfolio, and the Atari Fuji Symbol are all trademarks or registered
trademarks of Atari Corporation. All other trademarks and identifying
marks mentioned in this issue belong to their respective owners.
--==--==--==--==--
Atari Explorer Online Magazine
"Your Source for Atari News"
Copyright (c) 1993-1994, Subspace Publishers
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:: Volume 3 - Issue 13 ATARI EXPLORER ONLINE 4 December 1994 ::
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