+davidcalgary29 Posted October 9, 2003 Share Posted October 9, 2003 Was the planned release of "SkyFox" a port of the popular C64 game, or a unique title? And if the former, was this one being coded by Atari, or by EA itself under contract from Atari? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andy_bernstein Posted October 9, 2003 Share Posted October 9, 2003 David, Skyfox was annouced by EA back in 1986 but that was it, just an annoucement. I spent some time in Sunnyvale in 95 to do some research (B&C, Best...) and what I've been told by first hand sources is that the project has never been programmed for the XL/XE. Having said that, a port is not impossible especially by today's standards where you easily have access to the C64 original data. Look at what Sheddy is doing with Space Harrier - hey even the polish programmers converted Barbarian for the ATARI 130XE back in 94/95 !!! A UK game never planned for the Atari but only for the Commodore / Amstrad / Spectrum (...). In other words, there's still hope to see Skyfox coming over to the Atari but, because it's a time consuming project (very much like the port of International Karate +), I presume it would need a team effort or the effort of a sole programmer (with financial retribution probably - it's not a personal project, it's a port). BTW- Skyfox is supposed to really exist for the 7800 as a prototype - maybe it would be even easier to port the code to the XL/XE in this case. Later. AB. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andy_bernstein Posted October 9, 2003 Share Posted October 9, 2003 ================================== Xx ANTIC ONLINE NEWS FEBRUARY ROUND-UP Antic Online by GIGI ================================== BY GIGI BISSON, ANTIC ASSISTANT EDITOR ---------------------------------- Xx ELECTRONIC ARTS PLANS TO RELEASE 8-BIT SOFTWARE ---------------------------------- Electronic Arts software company president Trip Hawkins has written the last letter he will ever need to send to Antic Magazine. "The response of your readers to Antic editorials is growing," wrote Hawkins. "We have received quite a few letters." Quite a few indeed. In a letter-writing campaign initiated over nine months ago with a May, 1985 Antic editorial, not only Antic readers but the entire Atari community begged EA and other major software publishers to release more software for the 8-bit Atari computers. EA promises to release Adventure Construction Set, Heart of Africa, Mail Order Monsters, Marble Madness, Racing Destruction Set, Skyfox, Software Golden Oldies (Software Country), and Ultima IV (Origin Systems) for the Atari XL/XE 8-bit line of computers in 1986. "We hope to see at retail the kind of response we have seen in our mailbox!" Hawkins says in conclusion. ----------------------------------- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tempest Posted October 9, 2003 Share Posted October 9, 2003 BTW- Skyfox is supposed to really exist for the 7800 as a prototype - maybe it would be even easier to port the code to the XL/XE in this case. From what I've been told, the 7800 version is only a one screen demo. I think John Hardie has the prototype, maybe he can tell you more. Tempest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randy California Posted October 9, 2003 Share Posted October 9, 2003 I can't find the RX number for it but I remember reading a similar announcement. Wasn't Winter Games planned as well? ++ RC ++ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andy_bernstein Posted October 9, 2003 Share Posted October 9, 2003 Yes, Winter Games was annouced by Epyx but has also probably never been programmed (same answer I got in 95 when visiting Sunnyvale). I've never been a fan of the 7800 version (especially the opening sequence which is the one from SG but only with different colors). Also, I don't remember if the 7800 version was very playable (gotta be careful with the post Warner titles) but the code does indeed exist so it would still be easier to convert it to the XL/XE than the C64 version (albeit better graphics on that platform). Also, don't forget we have Winter Olympiad 88 (Tynesoft) on the XL/XE which is a very good title (and not that much of a knock-off frankly) so we're not that unlucky at the end. EA promises to release Adventure Construction Set, Heart of Africa, Mail Order Monsters, Marble Madness, Racing Destruction Set, Skyfox, Software Golden Oldies (Software Country), and Ultima IV (Origin Systems) for the Atari XL/XE 8-bit line of computers in 1986. At least some of these titles have been released so maybe the Atarians & Antic Magazine who did the mailing campaign toward EA didn't purchase enough of these to guarantee further development on Skyfox & others. Gotta hate piracy ! @ Tempest - I've never been in touch w/ John Hardie (only Curt through a quick e-mails) but I'm definitely interested to look at it. AB. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tempest Posted October 9, 2003 Share Posted October 9, 2003 @ Tempest - I've never been in touch w/ John Hardie but I'm definitely interested to look at it. You can ask him, but I don't know if he even really has it (IIRC he only told me he saw it). AFAIK it has never been shown anywhere. For some reason I keep thinking that this one is bound to turn up any day now, but so far no luck. It's probably buried in the same place as ElectroCop. Tempest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+davidcalgary29 Posted October 9, 2003 Author Share Posted October 9, 2003 Interesting. I keep seeing "Skyfox" pop up as a RX_______ cart on rarity lists, and thought there must've been some code lying around if Atari planned to release it for the XEGS. I note that all of the EA games eventually were released for the 8-bits, with the exception of "Marble Madness" (unless that was a Europe-only release). I wonder if a NTSC version of that exists? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randy California Posted October 9, 2003 Share Posted October 9, 2003 Tempest, do you have details on other A8 prototypes? You know more than you're telling ++ RC ++ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randy California Posted October 9, 2003 Share Posted October 9, 2003 I note that all of the EA games eventually were released for the 8-bits, with the exception of "Marble Madness" (unless that was a Europe-only release). David, Marble Madness, Heart of Africa and Adventure Construction Set were never released for the A8. ++ RC ++ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tempest Posted October 9, 2003 Share Posted October 9, 2003 Tempest, do you have details on other A8 prototypes? You know more than you're telling Probably nothing that isn't already out there. I haven't really researched 8-bit protos yet. If you have a specific question ask away, but you seem to know more than I do. Tempest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+davidcalgary29 Posted October 9, 2003 Author Share Posted October 9, 2003 I note that all of the EA games eventually were released for the 8-bits, with the exception of "Marble Madness" (unless that was a Europe-only release). David, Marble Madness, Heart of Africa and Adventure Construction Set were never released for the A8. ++ RC ++ I forgot about those! I had no idea though, that "Marble Madness" had been a planned release for the 8-bits. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZylonBane Posted October 10, 2003 Share Posted October 10, 2003 Was the planned release of "SkyFox" a port of the popular C64 game, or a unique title? The C64 version was itself a port. Skyfox was originally programmed on the Apple II. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DracIsBack Posted October 10, 2003 Share Posted October 10, 2003 You can ask him, but I don't know if he even really has it (IIRC he only told me he saw it). AFAIK it has never been shown anywhere. For some reason I keep thinking that this one is bound to turn up any day now, but so far no luck. It's probably buried in the same place as ElectroCop. Tempest And the 7800 version of Gauntlet that was done by the guys who did Tower Toppler. (for those are are thinking it is "Dark Chambers", no it isn't). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tempest Posted October 10, 2003 Share Posted October 10, 2003 And the 7800 version of Gauntlet that was done by the guys who did Tower Toppler. Yeah I've heard alot of rumors about tons of completed or nearly completed games existing for the 7800. It's amazing that a few haven't turned up yet. Tempest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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