carlos@io.UUCP (Carlos Smith) (09/26/87)
There seems to be a flood of new games coming in that origanate in Europe.
My dealer got a bunch of arcade rip-offs that all seem to be from Germany (or
at least the packaging is in German and English).
One game that I LOVE is NOT a rip-off, but it is a fast, exciting arcade style
game. Just the thing for an adrenaline break between compiles. It is called
Goldrunner, and is wicked neat. It has amazingly fast and smooth vertical
scrolling, while you fly over bizarre landscapes and blast neat looking
enemies out of the sky. Meanwhile, digitized voice is urging you on, while
good music plays along! ("Good Shooting!", "Keep Going!", "Don't fail now!"
etc.) Check it out for excellent 5-10 minute per game gameplay and very well
done artwork and sound. It is billed as "The game of destruction". That was
enough for me, and it lives up to it. I am curious, the box has "Amiga"
stickers on it, does anyone know if it is a port from another machine? Also,
the box is half in German, but published in Michigan. Is it an import? Seeing
this game I see why coin-op manufacturers are licensing Amy boards...
Another interesting game is Garrison. It is a rip-off (but not a clone) of
Gauntlett. It is from Germany, (the grammar in the instructions is really
cute). Nice graphics and sound, 2 players can play at once. It looks really
nice, plays well (like Gauntlett, it is somewhat overwhelming with one
player). BUT, it has some serious bugs. Three of us bought it, one had to
return it because it couldn't overcome its copy protection on his A500. I have
had trouble booting it reliably on my A1000. I have lost games when the
machine has hung while loading a new level (like every time I play). The third
guy has had it crash on him in the middle of the level. These are nice crashes
though, go to reboot and you get nice wild copper effects. I could return my
copy, but I would prefer a fixed version because it seems like a good game. I
guess I'll write to Germany to find out what the story is. Has anyone else
seen it, and do you have the same problems?
--
Carlos Smith
uucp:...!harvard!umb!ileaf!carlos
Bix: carlosmithali@rocky.STANFORD.EDU (Ali Ozer) (09/27/87)
In article <389@io.UUCP> carlos (Carlos Smith) writes: >There seems to be a flood of new games coming in that origanate in Europe. >One game that I LOVE is NOT a rip-off, but it is a fast, exciting arcade style >game. Just the thing for an adrenaline break between compiles. It is called >Goldrunner, and is wicked neat. ... I am curious, the box has "Amiga" >stickers on it, does anyone know if it is a port from another machine? Just picked up Goldrunner yesterday, and yes, it's a wonderful game! It also seems to be available for the ST --- A price list that came out of the box lists it as available for the ST, color only. Words of warning, though: As Carlos said, the game is strictly an arcade style game --- So although you get smooth scrolling and screens as nice as Faery Tale, there's not much strategy involved --- And I know some people who don't like Starglider just for it's arcade qualities. A second warning is the copy protection --- The disk drive grinds away for close to a minute while the game is loading. (I don't have Marauder or anything, so I never uncopy-protect my games...). But it looks like its worth the $30 (unless I finally manage to get to ring 2 and it gurus on me). Ali Ozer, ali@rocky.stanford.edu
adrian@cs.hw.ac.uk (Adrian Hurt) (09/28/87)
In article <389@io.UUCP>, carlos@io.UUCP (Carlos Smith) writes: > > One game that I LOVE is NOT a rip-off, but it is a fast, exciting arcade style > game. Just the thing for an adrenaline break between compiles. It is called > Goldrunner, and is wicked neat. It has amazingly fast and smooth vertical > scrolling, while you fly over bizarre landscapes and blast neat looking > enemies out of the sky. Meanwhile, digitized voice is urging you on, while > good music plays along! ("Good Shooting!", "Keep Going!", "Don't fail now!" > etc.) Check it out for excellent 5-10 minute per game gameplay and very well > done artwork and sound. It is billed as "The game of destruction". That was > I have played this game on the Atari ST. Otherwise, I agree with the above description. The voice often has nothing to do with what is happening - it has been known to say "Good shooting!" and no-one has fired a shot! I liked what it wrote on the screen - "If it moves, shoot it - if it doesn't, blast it!" One of my favourite sayings from a game came from the old arcade game, "Gorf". This was one of the things it would say when the game was over - "Try again - I devour coins!" -- "Keyboard? Tis quaint!" - M. Scott Adrian Hurt | JANET: adrian@uk.ac.hw.cs UUCP: ..!ukc!cs.hw.ac.uk!adrian | ARPA: adrian@cs.hw.ac.uk
dragon@oliveb.UUCP (Give me a quarter or I'll touch you) (09/28/87)
in article <389@io.UUCP>, carlos@io.UUCP (Carlos Smith) says: > One game that I LOVE is NOT a rip-off, but it is a fast, exciting arcade style > game. Just the thing for an adrenaline break between compiles. It is called > Goldrunner, and is wicked neat. It has amazingly fast and smooth vertical ... > enough for me, and it lives up to it. I am curious, the box has "Amiga" > stickers on it, does anyone know if it is a port from another machine? Also, > the box is half in German, but published in Michigan. Is it an import? Seeing > this game I see why coin-op manufacturers are licensing Amy boards... 'Goldrunner' was originally released for the Atari ST by Michtron. On that computer it is also a very good game. It was written by Microdeal, who seems to be a European publisher putting out numerous other games for the Amiga and ST. Most of these tend to be pretty good, in my opinion. Do others have suggestions for good arcade-style games on the Amiga? There seems to be a shortage of this type of game! -- Dean Brunette {ucbvax,etc.}!hplabs!oliveb!olivej!dragon {ucbvax,etc.}!hplabs!oliveb!dragon-oatc!dean Olivetti Advanced Technology Center _____ _____ __|__ _____ 20300 Stevens Creek Blvd. | | _____| | | Cupertino, CA 95014 |_____| |_____| |__ |_____ 'Such a strange girl, I think I'm falling in love' --The Cure
cjp@vax135.UUCP (Charles Poirier) (09/29/87)
Garrison is a very nice Gauntlet-derived game. It has all the characters and effects from Gauntlet I, plus most of the new things from Gauntlet II, plus maybe some new stuff. Almost all of the screens are new. There is a "Dwarf" character as well as the original Wizard, Elf, Valkyrie, Warrior. One or two can play at once; for each level, you may choose which of your surviving characters gets to run on that level. The game supposedly goes up to level 128. But, there's a problem. I see from the first posting in this thread that I'm not alone. I have had the game go into a scrambled-screen mode from which a boot is the only escape. The game is still running, you just can't see what's happening (I can tell because you can hear things reacting to your controls). The appearance of the screen is consistent with a loss of vertical sync, I think. I notice that the game is vertically overscanned. My strong suspicion is that we are seeing unmodified 256-scan-line-European-PAL-format output. I further suspect that this is eventually causing my monitor to overheat, and then lose the tracking range of the local sync oscillator. The first crash (scramble, really, not crash) happens after one or two hours; the next is maybe fifteen minutes, then three minutes.... I am using a normal 1080 monitor, vintage Jan 1986, that has been left on almost all the time. And a stock A1000 + Alegra. Sigh. It's an excellent game, for as long as it works. Even with only one player, it is quite playable. But this (presumed) overscan damage has got to go. I'm not sure whether I might hurt my monitor permanently with this abuse. Can anyone advise me on this last topic in particular? Thanks. -- Charles Poirier (decvax,ucbvax,ihnp4,attmail)!vax135!cjp "Docking complete... Docking complete... Docking complete..."
ewhac@well.UUCP (09/30/87)
In article <6002@oliveb.UUCP> dragon@oliveb.UUCP (Give me a quarter or I'll touch you) writes: >Do others have suggestions for good arcade-style games on the Amiga? There >seems to be a shortage of this type of game! > Hallelujah! Someone else noticed! Okay..... Here's a *partial* list of the games I'd like to see written for the Amiga ("Rating" field is subjective): Rating Title Publisher Available for ------ ----- --------- ------------- ******* Jumpman Epyx C64 *** Rescue on Fractalus Epyx/Lucasfilm Atari 800 **** BallBlazer Epyx/Lucasfilm Atari 800 **** Wizard Progressive Peripherals and Software C64 ** Wayout Sirius C64 **** Epoch Sirius Apple *** Impossible Mission Epyx C64 ***** Realm of Impossibility Electronic Arts C64 *** Raid on Bungeling Bay Br0derbund C64 ** Castle Wolfenstein ??? Apple ***** M.U.L.E. Electronic Arts C64 **** Forbidden Forest Cogsci? C64 ** Choplifter Br0derbund Apple ** Spare Change Br0derbund C64 **** Blue Max Synapse Atari 800 *** Fort Apocalypse Synapse Atari 800 **** Shamus Synapse Atari 800 **** (Just about anything else by Synapse) Atari 800 ** Q-Bert ??? Coin-op *** Defender/Stargate Williams Coin-op **** Sinistar Williams Coin-op ****** Robotron: 2084 Williams Coin-op **** Tempest Atari Coin-op ****** Mappy Namco/Bally Coin-op Furthermore, I might be convinced to help write any game with four or more stars. All I would need is access to any algorithm I couldn't divine on my own. (This is a *BIG HINT*, everyone...) Anyone else got favorites? _-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_ Leo L. Schwab -- The Guy in The Cape ihnp4!ptsfa -\ \_ -_ Recumbent Bikes: dual ---> !{well,unicom}!ewhac O----^o The Only Way To Fly. hplabs / (pronounced "AE-wack") "Work FOR? I don't work FOR anybody! I'm just having fun." -- The Doctor
jdow@gryphon.CTS.COM (Joanne Dow) (09/30/87)
In article <1889@vax135.UUCP> cjp@vax135.UUCP (Charles Poirier) writes: > >Sigh. It's an excellent game, for as long as it works. Even with only >one player, it is quite playable. But this (presumed) overscan damage >has got to go. I'm not sure whether I might hurt my monitor permanently >with this abuse. Can anyone advise me on this last topic in particular? > It is impossible to get anything other than NTSC out of the US Agnus chip unless you do extraordinary hacking in the copperlists etc. Hence I bet you are simply seeing a screen setup for garden variety vertical overscan. If the game uses sprites that might explain why it does not use horizontal overscan. (If it is a European game you may be getting the overscan as the American chip and SW settings valiantly try to cope. But you are quite unlikely to be seeing 50Hz sweep rates.) > Thanks. >-- > Charles Poirier (decvax,ucbvax,ihnp4,attmail)!vax135!cjp > > "Docking complete... Docking complete... Docking complete..." De nada -- <@_@> BIX:jdow INTERNET:jdow@gryphon.CTS.COM UUCP:{akgua, hplabs!hp-sdd, sdcsvax, ihnp4, nosc}!crash!gryphon!jdow Remember - A bird in the hand often leaves a sticky deposit. Perhaps it was better you left it in the bush with the other one.
ralph@mit-atrp.UUCP (10/01/87)
Ooh Ooh Leo ! Do robotron:2084 ! Gosh I miss it. Also, your list left out Galaxians, or whatever the later souped up version became. Great sounds, and good shoot'em up feel.
bryce@hoser.berkeley.edu (Bryce Nesbitt) (10/01/87)
In article <4091@well.UUCP> ewhac@well.UUCP (Leo 'Bols Ewhac' Schwab) writes: > Hallelujah! Someone else noticed! > > Okay..... Here's a *partial* list of the games I'd like to see >written for the Amiga ("Rating" field is subjective): > >Rating Title Publisher Available for >------ ----- --------- ------------- **** Dark Castle Silicon Beach Software Mac ****** Spin-Dizzy Electric Dreams C64 *** Net-Snipes Novell IBM w/NetWare **** Cauldron II Palace Software C64 BTW: Forbidden Forest is by Cosmi. Jumpan deserves the fantasic rating. Dark Castle is rummored to be in the works. Castle Wolfenstein is by Muse software and is also available on the C64. Net-Snipes is neat only because it works in real time over a network. (Talks via a temp file on hard disk!) >**** Sinistar Williams Coin-op I understand that an unknown by the name "R.J. Mical" worked on (wrote?) this game. >****** Mappy Namco/Bally Coin-op Poor thing disappeared. It deserved to live... >**** BallBlazer Epyx/Lucasfilm Atari 800 This should be expanded on: ** BallBlazer Epyx/Lucasfilm C64 I'd toss and extra star or two on the 800 version. Many games play better on the Atari 800 than the C64. BallBlazer is a prime example. (Of course this time the Amiga has Jay Miner's chips) The most amazing conversion I have ever witnesed was done with the Atarisoft version of "Donkey Kong". Mike Cranford wrote it on an Apple ][. They took the source code and passed it through some gigantic "filter" on the IBM. Out came an almost working IBM version. Freaky to look at the IBM version and *swear* that it is running on an Apple ][ because all the subtle artifacts of Apple ][ hi-res are preserved. Don't know if it ever went to market. Atarisoft almost insisted that the non Atari conversions of the games be worse than the 400/800 version... sigh! Conversions are a sticky issue. Only on rare occasions have I ever seen a conversion that was better on the destination machine. In most such cases not too much effort was wasted on trying to remain totaly faithful to the original. Instead the effort was spent on "doing it right". Think about it. |\ /| . Ack! (NAK, ENQ, SYN) {o O} . (") bryce@hoser.berkeley.EDU -or- ucbvax!hoser!bryce U How can you go back if you have not yet gone forth?
baer@percival.UUCP (10/01/87)
In article <4091@well.UUCP> ewhac@well.UUCP (Leo 'Bols Ewhac' Schwab) writes: >In article <6002@oliveb.UUCP> dragon@oliveb.UUCP (Give me a quarter or I'll touch you) writes: >>Do others have suggestions for good arcade-style games on the Amiga? There >>seems to be a shortage of this type of game! > Hallelujah! Someone else noticed! I sure noticed. Considering the Amiga was originally going to be exclusively a game-machine, there really should be more of these. > > Okay..... Here's a *partial* list of the games I'd like to see >written for the Amiga ("Rating" field is subjective): > >Rating Title Publisher Available for >------ ----- --------- ------------- >** Choplifter Br0derbund Apple YES!! >** Spare Change Br0derbund C64/Apple I got really sick of this one. The jukebox drove me nuts. Maybe it would be better with digitized sound. > > Anyone else got favorites? Here are my favorites I'd like to see. **** Star Wars Atari? coin-op I admit it, I'm still addicted to this one! **** Out Run Sega? coin-op ***** Space Harrier Sega coin-op This one is the most hallucinagetic game around. The Easter Island heads are my favorite part. **** Lode Runner Br0derbund Apple It was a fun game. Hey Leo, and everyone else, if you start writing some more arcade games for the Amiga, it would be really nice if they were Multitasking. Sometimes you just want to take a break from hacking or work processing, and nuke a few alien worlds, without rebooting the machine! -- -Ken Baer. "Press the button labeled 'Extreme Emergency' on the console" - The Doctor. USENET - ...tektronix!reed!percival!baer OR baer@percival.pdx.com "The Few, The Proud, The Criminally Insane - Oberlin Computer Science" - me.
hrlaser@pnet02.UUCP (10/02/87)
ewhac@well.UUCP (Leo 'Bols Ewhac' Schwab) writes: >In article <6002@oliveb.UUCP> dragon@oliveb.UUCP (Give me a quarter or I'll touch you) writes: >>Do others have suggestions for good arcade-style games on the Amiga? There >>seems to be a shortage of this type of game! >> > Hallelujah! Someone else noticed! > > Okay..... Here's a *partial* list of the games I'd like to see >written for the Amiga ("Rating" field is subjective): > [...long list of Leo's favorite games he wants to see on the Amiga] > Anyone else got favorites? > Yeah. you bet I do! You named some good ones (that brought back some pleasant game-playing memories as well)... and I'd add these to the list: ASYLUM (orig. publ. by Med Systems who later changed their name to "???".. I played this 3-d scrolling graphic adventure on TRS80 Mod III's for literally MONTHS, then later played the GREATLY upgraded color/sound C64 version and even after solving it still went back to it many times) RACING DESTRUCTION SET from Electronic Arts. One of the NIFTIEST C64 programs ever written (IMHO). A good Amiga version would be a killer program! and a couple others that I've just drawn a blank on (sorry, still wiggling from this morning's eaRThQUakE!!!!) but I'll post when my brain is back to normal. BTW, check out the latest issue of INFO magazine (#17) for a good article on pg 29 called "The First--The Best" which nicely compliments your posting. Harv Laser PeopleLink: CBM*HARV UUCP: {ihnp4!crash, hplabs!hp-sdd!crash}!gryphon!pnet02!hrlaser INET: hrlaser@pnet02.CTS.COM
keithd@cadovax.UUCP (10/02/87)
In article <4091@well.UUCP> ewhac@well.UUCP (Leo 'Bols Ewhac' Schwab) writes: > Furthermore, I might be convinced to help write any game with four >or more stars. All I would need is access to any algorithm I couldn't >divine on my own. (This is a *BIG HINT*, everyone...) I'd vote for having you do "Realm of Impossibility", as it was the best two player game I've ever seen. Otherwise, while I'm at it, I'll list a couple of favorites (from the Atari-800). Necromancer (about the most unique one I've ever seen) Spelunker Shamus Montezuma's Revenge Ken Uston's blackjack (simulates multi-player, each player can be working one of several selected 'strategy' counting methods, will prompt you and rate you according to a counting method you select etc. Knows about quit a few specific Vegas hotel rules, which you can select.) I'm sure there's more, but that's all I can remember right now. Keith Doyle # {ucbvax,decvax}!trwrb!cadovax!keithd Contel Business Systems 213-323-8170
farren@gethen.UUCP (10/03/87)
bryce@hoser.berkeley.edu (Bryce Nesbitt) writes: >[game] Conversions are a sticky issue. Only on rare occasions have I ever seen >a conversion that was better on the destination machine. In most such cases >not too much effort was wasted on trying to remain totaly faithful to the >original. Instead the effort was spent on "doing it right". Think about >it. Right on! Some observations based on personal experience: I did nearly all of Apple ][ versions of the earlier Epyx games, including Temple of Apshai and Crush, Crumble, and Chomp. These were originally designed to run on the TRS-80 Model I (can you say 'lo-lo-lo-res'? I knew you could!). When I converted them, it was specifically with an eye to "doing it right", and the result were games which outsold the TRS versions by at least 50 to 1. Not bad games, either, even if they were primarily BASIC :-( I felt then (and feel now) that the goal of a conversion should be, not to generate a copy of the program, but to generate something with all of the functionality of the original, while using the resources of the target machine to the maximum. In some cases, this meant cutting back on the features some (ever seen the Apple ][ version of Jumpman?), but whenever the target machine had, say, better graphics capability, those enhanced capabilities should be USED. I am rather proud of the fact that I have only done one conversion (out of twenty or so that I've done) that wasn't better than the original game I was converting, and even that one can be excused on the grounds that it involved porting a game tied very closely to the Commodore 64 to the IBM PCJr. Ever tried doing smooth scrolling entirely in software? I think I did as good a job as could have been done, and that's where I part company with a lot of places, Electronic Arts in particular. I don't think there is ANY excuse for not using the capability of the machine you are programming for to the utmost, even if that means more work. The results will be worth it, I guarantee. -- ---------------- Mike Farren "... if the church put in half the time on covetousness unisoft!gethen!farren that it does on lust, this would be a better world ..." gethen!farren@lll-winken.arpa Garrison Keillor, "Lake Wobegon Days"
richard@gryphon.CTS.COM (Richard Sexton) (10/05/87)
In article <917@percival.UUCP> baer@percival.UUCP (Ken Baer) writes: >***** Space Harrier Sega coin-op >This one is the most hallucinagenic game around. The Easter Island heads are >my favorite part. I just saw this gane for the first time in a 7-11 (I'm not much of a vidiot) and I must say I was impressed with the animation. I must have stood there for 10 minutes thinking to myself: "Can even an Amiga animate that damn dragon ?" Yes, this is one I'd like to see. > -Ken Baer. -- Richard J. Sexton INTERNET: richard@gryphon.CTS.COM UUCP: {hplabs!hp-sdd, sdcsvax, ihnp4, nosc}!crash!gryphon!richard "It's too dark to put the keys in my ignition..."
deanc@pnet02.CTS.COM (Dean Clark) (10/05/87)
I vote for M.U.L.E. it is my altime favorite game.
And for mindless fun how about QIX it is one that kept alot of
my spare change.
UUCP: {cbosgd, hplabs!hp-sdd, ihnp4}!crash!gryphon!pnet02!deanc
INET: deanc@pnet02.CTS.COMeve@ssc-vax.UUCP (Michael Eve) (10/05/87)
How about Qix? Anyone remember the sparks and rectangles, etc? Seems like this would be relatively straight forward to do, but I can't remember the rules good enough. -- Mike Eve Boeing Aerospace, Seattle ...uw-beaver!ssc-vax!ssc-bee!eve ATTN CIA: sram atf B1 stealth mx laser hml
lbrown@apctrc.UUCP (Lawrence H. Brown) (10/06/87)
In article <917@percival.UUCP> baer@percival.UUCP (Ken Baer) writes: >**** Out Run Sega? coin-op >***** Space Harrier Sega coin-op >This one is the most hallucinagetic game around. The Easter Island heads are >my favorite part. Sorry, but I bet you can forget this one, (THERES A FLAME IN THIS MESSAGE, CAN YOU FIND IT?). During the premere of Star Trek The New Generation, there was a AD from SEGA taking about their new premere home video arcade system, like the irata and odnetin home systems. One of them that I saw was the Space Harrer Game. Graphics looked poor, but a lot of the stats sounded like an AMiga!! Dynathrusters Engaged; Atomic Batteries to FULL: GO FLAME MODE NOW!! ARRRGH!!! COME ON C-A!! WAKE UP you had a GREAT CHANCE TO HIT SOME MAJOR MARKET PENETRATION IF YOU JUST WOULD"ve ADVERTISED ON A SHOW LIKE THAT!!! (Head-shrink-femminist mode: maybe its a male problem... all this talk of major penetration intimidates them.....) only micro :-).... -- Lawrence H. Brown USENET: ...!uunet!apctrc!cdf!zlhb0a or zlhb0a@cdf.apctrc.uucp (?) Phone: (918-660-4389) 24 hrs, voice. USmail: 7325 E. 50th, Tulsa, OK 74145 Disclaimer: I paid 25 cents to see the light. Call it cheap entertainment.