Mclaneinc Posted December 7, 2018 Share Posted December 7, 2018 (edited) Its holiday season and seems like a good time to try an update on an old thread style.....Why? because there's so many nice new games out and nice new forum members..Are there games that would make you actually buy hardware as an acid test.. Simple question as above, have you seen / played an Atari 8 bit game that would make you go out and buy the hardware for, feel free to mention moments when you did this back when the Atari was in the shops but I'm really interested if anyone has seen a newer game which would make you feel the same. I have and I'm sure others have looked at new games and felt the same... Sure many have hardware already but you can still answer as if you didn't have it as the point is still there...Also many have made room by parting with their hardware and others may find the purchasing of an Atari a pricey experience for the machine you want.. Its open to all...... For me, Space Harrier, controversial maybe as it needs extra hardware but its a system seller in my books...Game type is irrelevant, if its good enough to make you want a machine to do it the real hardware justice then its good for the thread.. And oops, a wonderful Xmas to all....Maybe the hardware will be that Xmas gift Happy holidays and a better New Year... EDIT: Why not open it a little more, maybe a game isn't your thing, what about a bit of utility software or you have seen a hardware add on that finally makes that machine the must have with that add on? Part of the point is that amazing emulation is already here and free but what would be so good to make you part with hard earned cash! Edited December 7, 2018 by Mclaneinc 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carlsson Posted December 7, 2018 Share Posted December 7, 2018 Good topic, what were the killer apps for the Atari 8-bit computers? In particular as when it comes to suggestions about games to implement, many people tend to focus on the biggest, most popular titles which already exist on every other format except for the Atari, often in very good versions which would give an Atari implementation a run for its money. Personally when it comes to porting, I am more for finding unknown gems, pieces of software that may only exist on one obscure system, but the game itself has so much potential that it ought to be ported to more popular formats and may even appear like modern killer apps - reasons to actually buy an Atari 8-bit computer, since the original version is even harder to get. I'm not sure I have an example of a such killer app, though it is true that I bought my first 800XL + 1050 in 2007-08 just in order to play the copy of M.U.L.E. I had picked up the year before. Yet I had years of experience playing the C64 version so it wasn't Atari or nothing. Many of the other games I have encountered in the High Score Club and on my own are nice, but none that I previously had read or heard about that would drive me to include the system in my collection for its sake. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marius Posted December 7, 2018 Share Posted December 7, 2018 (edited) * deleted post * Edited December 7, 2018 by ProWizard Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grover Torbel Posted December 7, 2018 Share Posted December 7, 2018 Star Raiders 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+xucaen Posted December 7, 2018 Share Posted December 7, 2018 Star Raiders. B-) 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Robot Posted December 7, 2018 Share Posted December 7, 2018 I've got two, a game and a utility. 1. M.U.L.E. M4... I'm making a Multijoy 8 to play this (the ~60 other Multijoy supported titles are a bonus) 2. Atariartist.. I've bought a Touch Tablet (twice now, once in 1983 and once in 2018) to use this. Speed Up! deserves a mention, I'm very tempted to make a Multilink so I can play this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roydea6 Posted December 7, 2018 Share Posted December 7, 2018 In the 80's I was gifted with a KOALAPAINTER cartridge so I had to go out and buy a Koala Pad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gunstar Posted December 7, 2018 Share Posted December 7, 2018 (edited) Alternate Reality The Dungeon was THE reason I wanted and got expanded memory for my computer and 4 disks drives, because it would use them all and it's my favorite game of all time. As to today and new software and hardware, I intend to by a Rapidus in the near future for both new and old games, especially 3D types like Stunt Car Racer and Tomahawk and many other vector/polygonal/wire-frame 3D stuff. That software and it all needing desperate speed increases to increase performance and fun is the only reason I want a Rapidus...I'm still waiting on the software that would make me buy a VBXE...ten years and counting...for a killer app and not just a couple improvements if it's there...where as the Rapidus can take legacy software and turn it into a killer app and new all over again! But there was never any software that made me buy a new computer or console, it was always excitement over the hardware itself, capabilities and promises of what the future holds for it. I've yet to see a piece of software that makes me by the core machine itself, just for said software, but upgrades to what I already have, sure. Edited December 7, 2018 by Gunstar 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zylon Posted December 7, 2018 Share Posted December 7, 2018 In a way, I bought my 1st A8 to play Threshold. I loved that game on VIC-20 and C64. I started off with an ebay lot that had a 600xl and a 400. I used the cart port from the 400 to fix the 600xl and then modded it up to 64k. I've since traded up to XEGS and a recently saved 800xl. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gunstar Posted December 7, 2018 Share Posted December 7, 2018 In a way, I bought my 1st A8 to play Threshold. I loved that game on VIC-20 and C64. I started off with an ebay lot that had a 600xl and a 400. I used the cart port from the 400 to fix the 600xl and then modded it up to 64k. I've since traded up to XEGS and a recently saved 800xl. Wow, a new game for me to try...in recent months I've heard this game being mentioned several times, and wondering what the big deal was, because I was mixing it up with a game called Thrust I have on cassette which isn't "all that." I decided to double check that name this time and see it's a different game and one I've never tried! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+xucaen Posted December 7, 2018 Share Posted December 7, 2018 In a way, I bought my 1st A8 to play Threshold. I loved that game on VIC-20 and C64. I started off with an ebay lot that had a 600xl and a 400. I used the cart port from the 400 to fix the 600xl and then modded it up to 64k. I've since traded up to XEGS and a recently saved 800xl. I haven't played this game before, so I just looked it up and saw a video on youtube.. Looks to be similar to games like Phoenix and Demon Attack (I love those games!), though judging from the colors I'd say this came out first. I will give this a play tonight! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gunstar Posted December 7, 2018 Share Posted December 7, 2018 (edited) I haven't played this game before, so I just looked it up and saw a video on youtube.. Looks to be similar to games like Phoenix and Demon Attack (I love those games!), though judging from the colors I'd say this came out first. I will give this a play tonight! It's an Apple II port, hence the high-res and artifacting colors (for NTSC)...that's pretty much the only way Apple II's get color... A short review from 1982 is included on Atarimania, comparing it to the arcade game Astro Blaster. I think the A8 got a port of Astro Blaster too, I'll have to compare... Edited December 7, 2018 by Gunstar 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mclaneinc Posted December 7, 2018 Author Share Posted December 7, 2018 (edited) Threshold is great, you MUST remember the gun over heats and that you have a slowdown timer , master those two items and you will get great scores, pure good old arcade shooter goodness... And say hello to the Mother ship.. Edited December 7, 2018 by Mclaneinc 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pixelmischief Posted December 7, 2018 Share Posted December 7, 2018 Not sure which point-in-time you are asking for the answer to cover, so I will answer for both "then" and "now". Back "then", the arcade conversions blew my mind. Up to that point, I had only been exposed to the arcade machines themselves and the first generation consoles; Atari 2600, ColecoVision, and Intellivision. When I saw the Pacman (and Ms.) and Donkey Kong (and Jr.) conversions for the first time, I was hooked. For a lifetime. "Now", knowing emulation is available, I can't imagine I would look at anything and feel like I had to buy the system. That said, one look at Yoomp!, Assembloids, or Ridiculous Reality would certainly result in an immediate emulation setup followed by hours of blissful game-play. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Thag Posted December 7, 2018 Share Posted December 7, 2018 Back in the day, Star Raiders for sure. There was nothing else like it.Donkey Kong was another. It's still the best home port outside some very new homebrews. It blew everyone away, back in the 80s. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mclaneinc Posted December 7, 2018 Author Share Posted December 7, 2018 (edited) Hi Pixel, the time point was open to the person, then or now.... I just wondered if there would be some 'killer apps' that would still turn the head enough to cause a hardware purchase now the machine is classed as 'retro'.... I'm also interested in how people look at new games on the old machine, do they mentally compare them with the old must have games and judge them that way or do they tend to get a little side tracked with what is on other systems as budget titles in a retro vein. An example, there's a brand new retro platformer 'inspired' by Ghosts and Goblins etc called Battle Princess Madelyn, its very old skool in style with old arcadey style graphics, from the video its quite smart but at the same time basic in look. DO people see these retro styled item and compare the basics of them with the new games...Hopefully not.. I personally don't expect to suddenly see startling new mega colour graphic modes on my old Atari unless there's a VBXE in it and some bugger decides to use it for more than the most seemingly (to players) trivial things..(Sigh, I really hoped it would be used), so I don't expect something graphically new and amazing, I just want to see something different, something new and if possible, something amazingly playable. Back then that might be enough to sell a machine, but just what would do it now..Or has that time passed... Oops, the game I mentioned is on Steam as of today for the PC, XBOX1, PS4 and possibly the Switch.. Edited December 7, 2018 by Mclaneinc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pixelmischief Posted December 7, 2018 Share Posted December 7, 2018 I'm also interested in how people look at new games on the old machine, do they mentally compare them with the old must have games and judge them that way or do they tend to get a little side tracked with what is on other systems as budget titles in a retro vein. I rate new games on old machines against the best of the system's library; new and old. I don't really think at all about retro-style games on modern systems when I'm dealing with old systems. My mind has high conceptual walls between them. This is probably why I have not found a modern, retro-style game that I really enjoy. If I want retro, I have all I can handle on actual retro machines and emulators. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Robot Posted December 7, 2018 Share Posted December 7, 2018 I rate new games on old machines against the best of the system's library; new and old. I don't really think at all about retro-style games on modern systems when I'm dealing with old systems. My mind has high conceptual walls between them. This is probably why I have not found a modern, retro-style game that I really enjoy. If I want retro, I have all I can handle on actual retro machines and emulators. I have to say, Thimbleweed Park was a retro style game that I really enjoyed on modern hardware Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Robot Posted December 7, 2018 Share Posted December 7, 2018 If were talking modern systems, my wife got me a PS4 so I could play Polybius last Christmas 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keatah Posted December 7, 2018 Share Posted December 7, 2018 (edited) With emulation refined as it is, I can't imagine any software today that'd make me spend money on real physical hardware. Back in the day I always bought a machine first and then discovered what software it had to offer. In the spirit of the thread, games like Star Raiders, Defender, Buried Bucks, Centipede, Shamus, Miner 2049'er, Ball Blazer, and Pole Position helped encourage me to fine-tune and properly configure my emulator setups to perfection. Even if those games don't "cover" all aspects of the emulator or don't use all the features directly - like multiple drives or large memory configurations - they were psychologically instrumental in moving forward. Edited December 7, 2018 by Keatah Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pixelmischief Posted December 7, 2018 Share Posted December 7, 2018 I have to say, Thimbleweed Park was a retro style game that I really enjoyed on modern hardware Thanks for this. I'll check it out! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zylon Posted December 7, 2018 Share Posted December 7, 2018 Threshold is great, you MUST remember the gun over heats and that you have a slowdown timer , master those two items and you will get great scores, pure good old arcade shooter goodness... And say hello to the Mother ship.. Vic-20 and A8 versions are nearly identical, but A8 overpowers Vic on this one. C64 port is more fast paced arcade. Running out of fuel is possible on 64, but only a factor on A8. Changes the game play immensely for long goes. C64 also has less of the horizontal formation levels. Playing Threshold on any of those is one of the few times I kick some serious boy butt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gunstar Posted December 7, 2018 Share Posted December 7, 2018 Vic-20 and A8 versions are nearly identical, but A8 overpowers Vic on this one. C64 port is more fast paced arcade. Running out of fuel is possible on 64, but only a factor on A8. Changes the game play immensely for long goes. C64 also has less of the horizontal formation levels. Playing Threshold on any of those is one of the few times I kick some serious boy butt. So I'm guessing you prefer A8 version to Vic since you say it over-powers the Vic version, but do you prefer the A8 version or the faster-paced C64 version? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SS Posted December 7, 2018 Share Posted December 7, 2018 I already owned a UNO Cart but I bought an Ultimate Cart primarily to play "Space Harrier 2011" since the UNO can't run it. The Ultimate Cartridge is great and I do other things with it, of course, but I wouldn't own one if it weren't for "Space Harrier". 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Poison Posted December 7, 2018 Share Posted December 7, 2018 Rick Dangerous 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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