Battlesphere

[+LS650]

On the same token, folks that slam STDs usually don't have them either ... oh wait those are called doctors.

Nothing new move along.

Wait, what..?

[+Sauron]

Not many people have said that BS is a bad game. What most have said is that it's not worth the ludicrous prices that it goes for.

[VladR]

Not many people have said that BS is a bad game. What most have said is that it's not worth the ludicrous prices that it goes for.

What would be great to know, however, is to hear from people that actually love the genre, yet dislike that game, as not everybody likes that genre.

 

And in all fairness, we'd have to abstract from the ridiculous collector item price. Not sure that's entirely possible once you actually shell that kind of money.

 

I guess the only fair test of gameplay is by a third party who does not have their skin in the game and just plays the game at their friend's house.

 

 

So, anybody here, who:

1. Loves the genre

2. Didn't get skewed by shelling out for the game

3. Played the game extensively

 

?

[phoenixdownita]

Can't abstract the price out.

I like the new Bugatti Veyron I just don't think I like it 2M$ even if I had them. If it was at 100K then I may change my mind.

 

In the end if all was for free and available to anyone we would get a much cleaner judgement based on merits. That way price wouldn't be an issue and availability neither.

And judgment must include the general public that plays it, not only people that already like the genre .... that would skew the results because genre lovers although brutal on some aspects are actually pretty lenient on others: take RPGs, genre lovers may hate the grinding, the cheap storylines etc... but god forbid you take away their magic, the fact that as you progress so do the monsters and you tend to always be around the same level .... in AD&D inspired games where is that fuxxing army of 1000 Kobolds when I am level 20+ and I can take them down with one fart, general, captain, sergeant and all, that'll make for a good "quickie" but noooohhhhh you now need to get the trolls, druji, beholders etc .... I never knew that in any world as you get better at something so do all your adversaries at the same time as you .... but I digress as I do enjoy [or used to] a good RPG now and then.

[+Stephen]

There is an SD Cart in the works, take a look at that thread. Probably will be an option in the future. I may be able to talk Scott into making the ROM available for sale. I reached out to him on LinkedIn and had a nice conversation about the game, unfortunately one person on their team is the reason they won't do another run or sell the rights so that someone else can.

The "one person"'s name wouldn't rhyme with Thunderous Turd would it?

[Flojomojo]

Hey folks,

 

Many years ago I passed up on buying Battlesphere on the original run because I was going back to college and the $90 was out of my budget..

 

I read through all of the forums about there being one production run and that there will never be another production run ..

 

I believe in supporting the homebrew community as appropriate -- is there any way to legitimately buy the ROM for Battlesphere to play on a software emulator? I love both of the original Star Raiders (I think 2 is often underrated), and always wanted to try Battlesphere..

 

Thanks

John

 

I bought it when it was new. It was pretty neat for a Jaguar game, but it felt dated in 2000 and would seem like a jurassic turd today ... low resolution graphics, digital controls for a flight game, no one playing multiplayer.

 

I would just play X-Wing vs. Tie Fighter instead. Or, if you want to tweak the nose of the lead Battlesphere designer Scott Legrand, play Star Wars Rogue Leader on the GameCube instead.

 

>Damn right it isn't Battlesphere. Now THAT was a POS. In my opinion, of

>course. I couldn't get rid of it fast enough. Rogue Leader I like, a lot.

>

>Scott, why don't you like Rogue Leader?

All of this IMO, and remember, all I really want to do is sell my GameCube

and recoup the money I wasted on it. If these suckers are so scarce, then

this ought to be doing someone a favor. I don't want to gouge on EBay. I'm

not asking for $500. I don't want to get in a fanboy war bashing the GameCube,

nor do I particularly wish the system ill. I just want out. $399 and

a barely touched Jet Black Wave Pack is yours.

With that said, here goes:

1) It's too damned scripted for my tastes. The Death Star battle was done

better 8 years ago by X-Wing on the PC. Substitute RL's, excuse me I mean

ILM's polygon models into X-Wing and you'd have a game I'd like. I want

intergalactic chaos in the Star Wars universe, not a prepackaged tour

of the greatest moments in the history of the rebellion. When I hear

my teammates fire off their hardcoded complaints, all I want to say

back to them is "JOIN THE DAMNED EMPIRE YOU INCOMPETENT FOOLS, I'M OUTTA

HERE!"

2) The problem with the ships in the Star Wars universe is that they are

mostly grey. This means you need a targeting computer to see them against

a background that's mostly black and white. X-Wing solves this rather

well. RL's solution is really awkward, involving thumb gymnastics. Why

oh why couldn't they have simply allowed you to switch the targeting

computer on and off with the activation button?

3) They wrote it in 9 months: it's wildly unbalanced and buggy as a result.

The crosshair randomly disappears from the targeting computer, and I've

experienced several lockups. I just sunk $400 into this system. I'm

not amused.

4) Frankly, the AI in BattleSphere could take on an entire armada of the

TIE Fighters in this game and lay them waste. I feel like I'm on a

Disneyland ride when I engage them in battle. The only difficulty

I'm experiencing is the lousy radar scheme, which might work well in

SVGA, but is just plain ambiguous on NTSC. Can't anybody make interesting

dogfight opponents these days?

5) The use of stock footage. The game does not look just like the movies.

It looks good, really good in fact, because they used polygon models

made by people with real talent, who have all hopefully gone on to higher

paying gigs. However, switching to stock footage to set the mood, or

conclude say the Death Star attack is just lame. I never really liked

the 3DO, and that's all that comes to mind when the game does this. Double

negative points here for using Special Edition footage.

6) The soundtrack. Other than the genuinely funny LucasArts opening, the music

sounds like what you'd get after John Williams fell down the stairs,

had a stroke, and donated half his frontal lobes to medical research. It's

almost like Star Wars muzak. I've heard some really great derivative music

in many games set in the Star Wars universe. But none of it here.

So um, I could go on like this for a while, really I could, but why bother?

I just want to get rid of the GameCube and enjoy what little time I have

for video gaming playing Halo. If I'm stuck keeping the sucker, maybe

something good will come out for it, so it's not a tragedy, I just have

better uses for my money.

Scott

Executive Summary: Not my cup of tea, I like coffee.

 

[Albert]

I don't wan to see any posts condoning piracy of Battlesphere or your posts will be removed and you'll be booted from the Jaguar forum. Please also do not link to other sites selling pirate copies of the game.

 

Thank you,

 

..AL

[JagChris]

 

I bought it when it was new. It was pretty neat for a Jaguar game, but it felt dated in 2000 and would seem like a jurassic turd today ... low resolution graphics, digital controls for a flight game, no one playing multiplayer.

 

I would just play X-Wing vs. Tie Fighter instead. Or, if you want to tweak the nose of the lead Battlesphere designer Scott Legrand, play Star Wars Rogue Leader on the GameCube instead.

 

I haven't gotten a chance to play BS much but saying it looks dated as a reason it's not enjoyable would also include every retro game from every console or PC game from the Jaguars era.

 

And that long diatribe about tweaking Scott's nose seems like a lotta work for that assessment of BS's playability to be impartial.

[+Sauron]

I haven't gotten a chance to play BS much but saying it looks dated as a reason it's not enjoyable would also include every retro game from every console or PC game from the Jaguars era.

 

And that long diatribe about tweaking Scott's nose seems like a lotta work for that assessment of BS's playability to be impartial.

 

I think you complete missed the context of that post...

[Flojomojo]

And that long diatribe about tweaking Scott's nose seems like a lotta work for that assessment of BS's playability to be impartial.

 

That was Scott LeGrand bitching about Rogue Leader on GameCube, and why he was trying to sell his machine at a huge markup over what he paid for it.

[skip]

I like scripted / level based space flying games AND ones with more freedom. Back in the day I appreciated his opinion that things like RL, Colony Wars (PS1), and even Darklight Conflict (PS1, I *love* this game, Scott liked it but didn't like some things about it IIRC) but I didn't completely agree.

I bought one of the original run of BS for ~$100 US. I stupidly (my opinion of my decision) didn't buy BS Gold (or the Scatbox).

For the system it's on, for what they achieved with a small team, the personal little touches, and even the 'questionable' aspects of the game (I don't love every part of it, some bits annoy me)...it's a fantastic and mostly very polished achievement that has a lot of longevity in my books. Some people are bored with the gameplay, which is fine.

Take Super Burnout - almost every Jag fan loves it and I think it's a bit...just okay. It's a great technical achievement and rather fun to play, but it's a bit simplistic overall imho. I probably should try it again sometime

BS is not worth the money it goes for these days (duh!). I understand some of the reasons for not pursuing or allowing production by other legit companies (Songbird or Telegames etc) *but* as a gamer and collector (who hates artificially inflated prices with a passion) I think the rarity vs desirability of the game still sucks over 15 years later. I hold the occasional skerrick of hope that BS Gold will have an officially endorsed production run again that will allow everyone who wants to play it legally at a not so stupid price can do so. I doubt that will ever happen, though I'd love to be surprised and proved wrong...

Edited March 1, 2017 by skip

[JagChris]

 

That was Scott LeGrand bitching about Rogue Leader on GameCube, and why he was trying to sell his machine at a huge markup over what he paid for it.

I understand that.

[cjameslv]

... production by other legit companies (Songbird...

LMFAO!!!

[skip]

LMFAO!!!

Yeah yeah, haha, fair enough. But the fact remains, with all the various people involved and cart design implementations and seemingly good inventory of parts to produce games, there's no real impediments to physically producing the carts again.

 

Time, unwillingness, more important things in their lives, can't be bothered, annoyances with the 'Jag scene' etc are perfectly legit reasons to never produce the game ever again. My point was, being completely selfish, it's a shame that it's not being produced. Although the reduction in inflated reseller values isn't a selfish point of view, but this would definitely amuse me...a lot

[doctor_shred]

I've never had the chance to play BS. I followed the development closely in the late 90's when they were still trying to break encryption before Hasbro declared the Jag an open system. I passed on buying the original run and Gold as I didn't have a lot of cash at the time - oh how I regret that now.

 

Objectively no game is worth £500 and it's a shame that something that was designed to be played and enjoyed is now completely unattainable. I guess there's a certain kudos to being THE holy grail title for a system

 

The Jaguar scene would certainly appreciate another run of the game. There's no doubt it would sell but it would have to be done properly with the blessing of the original team. We can hope that one day the situation changes.

[82-T/A]

[LianneJaguar64]

 

Make a sacrifice to the gods. Preferably a human. Any volunteers?

I volunteer as tribute.

[LianneJaguar64]

Yeah yeah, haha, fair enough. But the fact remains, with all the various people involved and cart design implementations and seemingly good inventory of parts to produce games, there's no real impediments to physically producing the carts again.

 

Time, unwillingness, more important things in their lives, can't be bothered, annoyances with the 'Jag scene' etc are perfectly legit reasons to never produce the game ever again. My point was, being completely selfish, it's a shame that it's not being produced. Although the reduction in inflated reseller values isn't a selfish point of view, but this would definitely amuse me...a lot

Perhaps an idea would be to produce a box, manual, maybe even a removable art sticker (possibly magnetic?, posters or whatever, then release the ROM online for download to SD Carts. It's an idea

[82-T/A]

On the same token, folks that slam STDs usually don't have them either ... oh wait those are called doctors.

Nothing new move along.

 

When I worked for a pathology lab, writing software for one of the three big Pathology conglomerates... I was talking to one of the pathologists and he opened up a book that he had co-authored with another pathologist. He said... "Son, this is what happens when you park your car in the wrong garage." ... as he opened up a page that... well, I wasn't really sure what was going on, but it looked like a rotting bratwurst sitting next to two 3-week old au gratin potatoes. He then said... "Find a nice garage one day, maybe with a mountain view, keep it clean, and park your car in there all you want... you'll be a happy man."

 

 

I had Chlamydia once, really have no idea how I got it. I was only dating one person at the time. Maybe she was dating more than one person... hahah. Edit: sorry, was drinking today.

Edited April 7, 2017 by 82-T/A

[LianneJaguar64]

Not many people have said that BS is a bad game. What most have said is that it's not worth the ludicrous prices that it goes for.

It certainly isn't, it's clearly a popular game within the community, inherently no game is worth £500, not for a standard game, there has to be a really good reason for any game to be anywhere near as expensive as that

[+orpheuswaking]

I have to say that after finally playing the game I really don't enjoy it.

[leech]

 

 

I'll take one for the team. Do I at least get to choose how I go out?

Ha, was instantly thinking of The Meaning of Life. "This man is about to die...."

 

 

When I worked for a pathology lab, writing software for one of the three big Pathology conglomerates... I was talking to one of the pathologists and he opened up a book that he had co-authored with another pathologist. He said... "Son, this is what happens when you park your car in the wrong garage." ... as he opened up a page that... well, I wasn't really sure what was going on, but it looked like a rotting bratwurst sitting next to two 3-week old au gratin potatoes. He then said... "Find a nice garage one day, maybe with a mountain view, keep it clean, and park your car in there all you want... you'll be a happy man."

 

 

I had Chlamydia once, really have no idea how I got it. I was only dating one person at the time. Maybe she was dating more than one person... hahah. Edit: sorry, was drinking today.

I think as a general rule you should no longer post to forums sober. This is gold!

 

More on topic; I found out about the original run after it was sold out... and again found out about the Gold run after it too sold out, so I never got a copy for my Jaguar. But when people say paying 500-1000 for a game is too much... dude I worked with said he's poured a ton of money into WoW. I was trying to guess how much, and threw out $10k... he said more...

 

Yet I can't even stand playing the game more than a few hours a year...

[+madman]

More on topic; I found out about the original run after it was sold out... and again found out about the Gold run after it too sold out, so I never got a copy for my Jaguar. But when people say paying 500-1000 for a game is too much... dude I worked with said he's poured a ton of money into WoW. I was trying to guess how much, and threw out $10k... he said more...

How in the world does someone spend over 10 grand on a video game?

[rayik]

I have to say that after finally playing the game I really don't enjoy it.

 

+1

[VladR]

Objectively no game is worth £500 and it's a shame that something that was designed to be played and enjoyed is now completely unattainable. I guess there's a certain kudos to being THE holy grail title for a system

I was of the same opinion until very recently that you can't get $500-worth of gameplay.

 

But if you compare a 10-hour singleplayer campaign for $70 (and for example Titanfall2 was even shorter than that for me) with multiplayer games, where you can spend thousands of hours, then the $500 stops looking so ridiculous.

 

And if you get caught in nonscripted, procedurally-generated universe games ? Then you can sink years into one game and get actually worth of those $500.

Hell, I played old MassEffect1 4-5 times, and each time I sinked about 120-150 hours into each playthrough. That, to me, is a game actually worth $500.

 

 

 

And let's not forget there are gamers that pay $500 just for a single item in WoW or other MMORPG. There's 7 billion people out there....