King Atari Posted September 4, 2004 Share Posted September 4, 2004 Okay, everybody knows (or should know) about the video game seen in the film Superman III, and I've seen box mockups for the 5200 version of Superman III, so I'm asking, was Superman III actually in development for the 5200 at any time? Could protos possibly be floating around out there, or was work never started on it? This is a lost 5200 game I'd definitely love to see discovered and reproduced. BTW, can anyone post those pics of the box mockup? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
King Atari Posted September 4, 2004 Author Share Posted September 4, 2004 D'oh! Just typed the game into a search engine and found the box. Looks like it would've been pretty cool, does anyone have info on the actual game? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Mitch Posted September 4, 2004 Share Posted September 4, 2004 It would probably just be a port of the Atari 8-bit computer version. Mitch Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
King Atari Posted September 4, 2004 Author Share Posted September 4, 2004 Ah, I didn't know there was an 8-bit version. Can anyone direct me to some screenshots and/or reviews? I'd love to get some info. Would a 5200 conversion be possible today? I know there's liscensing and all, but I would definitely buy a repro/conversion cart if one were to be released. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andy_bernstein Posted September 4, 2004 Share Posted September 4, 2004 Here's the link: http://www.atarimania.com/detail_soft.php?...FT_LIB&SENS=ASC Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Room 34 Posted September 4, 2004 Share Posted September 4, 2004 I thought I remembered reading in Atari Age magazine back then that some of the special effects in the MOVIE were made on an Atari computer. Was I on crack at that young age, did I misread the article, or was this true? (I suppose I could just peruse the archives, but I'm feeling lazy tonight.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
King Atari Posted September 4, 2004 Author Share Posted September 4, 2004 Looks cool, I'm in the process of getting an emulator to try it out. So, anyone who's played it, would it be an easy port to the 5200? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ferris Posted September 4, 2004 Share Posted September 4, 2004 I have a prototype cartridge of Superman III for the 8-Bit and it actually came with documentation. I seem to remember the documentation mentioning that the XL and 5200 versions were being developed simultaneously as one project. If I can find the papers I'll scan them and post them for everybody. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SS Posted September 4, 2004 Share Posted September 4, 2004 I thought I remembered reading in Atari Age magazine back then that some of the special effects in the MOVIE were made on an Atari computer. Volume 2 number 3, page 12. The scan on AA cuts off some of the text (it wraps right into the mag's spine) but you can just about make it all out on the DP scan. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sku_u Posted September 4, 2004 Share Posted September 4, 2004 This proto info never ceases to amaze me. Thanks for the link, SS! now show us a proto that doesn't feature your peepee! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tempest Posted September 4, 2004 Share Posted September 4, 2004 I talked to the programmer of the 8-bit version and he was unaware of the existance of 5200 box. He said the 8-bit version got canned because of poor play testing feedback. I wonder if there's an 8-bit box? Superman III is OK, but it's not great. I especially hate the controls, which unsurprisingly was one of the main thing the play testers hated too. Tempest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Room 34 Posted September 4, 2004 Share Posted September 4, 2004 I thought I remembered reading in Atari Age magazine back then that some of the special effects in the MOVIE were made on an Atari computer. Volume 2 number 3, page 12. The scan on AA cuts off some of the text (it wraps right into the mag's spine) but you can just about make it all out on the DP scan. Right, that's it! Unfortunately I can't get enough out of the clipped-off article to make sense of things. After AA's "April Fool's" issue, which I never quite "got" when I was a kid, I can't be sure I can trust any memories I have of stuff that was in that magazine. I'm still trying to sort out the whole Mindlink thing. (By the time a few years had passed, I was convinced THAT was something from the April Fool's issue but in the past few years in this community I've learned that device was REAL -- although fundamentally misleading.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jnice Posted September 6, 2004 Share Posted September 6, 2004 The box has the number for the game being "5222." Is this right? This seems like a low number to have assigned to the cartridge. I don't know if low numbers ALWAYS equal the first run of games for the system, and I haven't really checked the FAQs to see if this number matches up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jnice Posted September 6, 2004 Share Posted September 6, 2004 Okay, I checked the FAQ and it DOES match up. I will admit that I know little about how a video game company works (and, apparently, the Atari people weren't much better around '83), but I'd guess that a lower catalog number would indicate a better likelihood for an undiscovered game to eventually be found? Or am I wrong in making this assumption? For instance, wouldn't it be more likely that a game like Galaga (5228) to exist and be further along in development than Sinistar (5249)? By the way, does anyone know if Blaster had a number assigned to it or not? Just wondering. I keep noticing that Risk is listed on the "Games Not Confirmed to Exist" section. It seems like this would be a great game to have on the 5200 (I had a version of it for the first Macintosh computers, and played it all the time), but I wouldn't be surprised when the owners of the game would come down on any homebrewer who dares to bring Risk to the system. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ziggystar Posted September 7, 2004 Share Posted September 7, 2004 My hope is that eventually, the games that we don't find, like crystal castles and risk, will be filled in by our new found converting guys. So that one day, all the games on the rummored to exist list can be filled in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tempest Posted September 7, 2004 Share Posted September 7, 2004 Crystal Castles does not exist as a 5200 game. The 8-bit version was never 100% completed (more like 95%) due to the programmer leaving the company. The 5200 version would have been a port of the 8-bit version. Tempest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ziggystar Posted September 7, 2004 Share Posted September 7, 2004 Which is why I'm so happy it got converted already. I play it all the time on my 5200. It's one of my favorites and I dont know why, I still stink at it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tempest Posted September 7, 2004 Share Posted September 7, 2004 It's a very very well done conversion. Shame it never got released (well not until 88 anyway). Tempest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wrathchild Posted September 23, 2017 Share Posted September 23, 2017 Sorry for the necro-bump but I'm sure you won't mind... Here is the available A8 ROM version ported to the 5200 done as an exercise to help understand the work involved. sm3_5200.rom 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Allan Posted September 23, 2017 Share Posted September 23, 2017 Thanks Wrathchild for another great conversion. I just played it for a few minutes. The controls are kind of hard with the analog stick but even harder with a digital controller. Nothing to do with the conversion, it's just the way the game is. This game wasn't released supposedly because the controls were tough. The game also gets a little monotonous. It's nice to finally see it on the 5200. Allan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wrathchild Posted September 23, 2017 Share Posted September 23, 2017 I only played it under emulation with the laptop's arrow keys Same feeling, gets a little monotonous though had merits as a concept. Seeing as the controls are left/right to turn and up/down to speed up/slow down does the use of a stick cause unwanted speed changes? I think I found too that the game ended after a certain number of levels were completed? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ledzep Posted September 25, 2017 Share Posted September 25, 2017 Right, that's it! Unfortunately I can't get enough out of the clipped-off article to make sense of things. After AA's "April Fool's" issue, which I never quite "got" when I was a kid, I can't be sure I can trust any memories I have of stuff that was in that magazine. I'm still trying to sort out the whole Mindlink thing. (By the time a few years had passed, I was convinced THAT was something from the April Fool's issue but in the past few years in this community I've learned that device was REAL -- although fundamentally misleading.) Since this thread got bumped, I figure it would be ok to add these two page scans - 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bikeguychicago Posted September 27, 2017 Share Posted September 27, 2017 That's a pretty good deal for the arcade cab case! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atari Nut Posted September 27, 2017 Share Posted September 27, 2017 I prefer the 2600 Superman. I still wish someone someday ports it to the 8-bit systems. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0078265317 Posted September 28, 2017 Share Posted September 28, 2017 http://www.atariprotos.com/8bit/software/supermanIII/supermanIII.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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