Starcat

Thanks a lot for the schmeatic, however I still have the problem, that my picture is out of sync. It's cycling all the time. Do you know if there are any resistors / capacitors required to get a good signal?

Thank you. Zerosquare, can you take quick look at the pinout and tell me which pins exactly I need to connect to get composite and SCART RGB at the same time? Because that's really what's most important to me.

Hello! I'm currently trying to build myself an own video cable for the Jaguar. However I ran into a few weird problems, I do not have an answer to yet. I want to have a cable that outputs Scart (RGB), S-Video and Composite. Is this possible with a single cable or are they interfering somehow? For now I'm focussing on getting Scart (RGB) and composite to work. My problem is the following... In order to get vertical sync, I seem to have to connect comp sync to one of the color signals (red, blue or green). However if I do that, my composite signal is messed up (the color changes accordingly to the color I connect comp sync to). Also I do not get sound when using the scart connector, even though sound works using composite and the wiring *should* be correct. Somehow some singals of the scart connector seems to block out the audio. Also I noticed, the Jaguar does only output audio when you also connect sync, so I guess it's related to that. Sorry that I can't really be more specific. I was just hoping somebody here might have some experience building his own cable. And just to clarify, I looked at both the dev manual and the Jag faq schematics. Doing it exactly as shown in the Jag FAQ does NOT work with my Stub Jaguar. I'm assuming, while the red, blue and green signals are correctly, something is still wrong with sync or other signals. Any help is very welcome. Regards, Lars.

It looks really great! I hope it is as much fun to play as it looks. Also on a sidenote I like how the website says "SOON >>>(for BJL, SkunkBoard, JagCF and JagCD)". I really hope the JagCF arrives soon.

What chip is that? If it's damage caused by using a wrong power supply, I didn't really have much luck fixing that myself in the past.

Not so far, so any help is highly appreciated. Regards, Lars.

Hello everybody! I'm looking for an unmodified and cheap Jaguar core console for testing my code (using the skunkboard). It doesn't matter if it's M or K series, or even PAL / NTSC. Power adapter doesn't matter either. Offers from Europe are preffered as shippig will probably be cheaper. If you like, I could offer Starcat Development games in trade. If you have a spare core system lying around somewhere that you don't need anymore and would like to help, I'd be happy to hear from you by PM. Regards, Lars.

I never could get Virtual Jaguar to work properly, although I heard it should be better than Project Tempest. PT runs a lot of games just fine. Mainly 2D games, but Tempest and AVP seem to be emulated quite good too. At least that's my impression from a quick look. Of course games that push the system real hard or that use special (not emulated) coding tricks won't work. The main problem is there hasn't been any update on Project Tempest for ages. So Virtual Jaguar is much more up to date. I think the Wii could run a decently programmed Jaguar emulator just fine. There just has to be somebody to port and optimise the existing emulators and work on improving them. Then again, for some Jag games you just don't have enough buttons to play (no keypad) unless you use a keyboard or virtual keyboard using the wiipoint as pointer to select (dial ) the number you want.

This sounds amazing! Great work! Did I understand it right that the CD image created contains a ULS boot track with logo? If so, how does it go on from there to start the boot track the developer wanted to encrypt? Regards, Lars.

Hello everybody! I just wanted to let everybody know of a little update on Eerievale. 2010 is the start of a new chapter for me and the project. My study is complete, I have my degree in game design and when ever I'm not busy with work, I spend my freetime working hard on Eerievale again. Of course it is still coming to the Jaguar, as always intended. It's a very exciting and motivating time, because a lot has changed for the better since most of you last heard from Eerievale, resulting in a more professional and much richer game experience. The work on the novel is progressing nicely, too. Afterall the game will be based on it. Btw, can the info on the first page of this thread be updated? If it can, please change the Eerievale homepage URL to http://www.eerievale.com) and change the video URL to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=buWvnrEU1xI. Regards, Lars.

Personally I think this thread is kind of insulting to any developer with the least bit of self-esteem, but okay. Even thinking it would merely take some developers to stick their heads together and end up with a "kick ass" renderer is such an insult to the hard work Atariowl put into his. Let's face it, even with complete and documented source codes out there, nothing would happen with it. Look at all the code out there, nothing ever happened with that. Why? Because pushing the Jag is hard. Developing proper games is hard too, and time consuming. There are only very few people in the Jag scene with the patience, motivation or skill to develop a game on their own, let alone push the hardware to its limits at the same time. However I was more suprised that people actually ask for Tomb Raider. Why is everybody always so eager to get games ported, that they bash on the system it came out for, but would love to play on the Jag? I mean, just think about it. It's games that make a system worthwhile. If you like Playstation games, why not get a Playstation? And if you have one already, well, what's the point in wishing for an (illegal) port of something that already exists? It will never happen, because the rights for Tomb Raider cost more than anybody in the community could afford or would be willing to waste for reserving the rights. Even if the money was there, the rights would probably not even be available to port the game. And last but most importantly why even bother? If you want Playstation games, go get a playstation. You can find it dirt cheap everywhere. Being a die-hard adventure fan, and even liking action-adventures very much, I got bored with Tomb Raider very soon, after it first came out. It just isn't a very fun game, if you look at it carefully. It was a proof of concept and it was used to showcase the hardware like most games are today and it was the first game to hype a female main character that much, to even interest the average joe in the game. However who would have cared for the game if the main character was male? Look at Indiana Jones and the Tower of Babel. Similar game mechanics and better gameplay actually, much more variety in level design too and better puzzles. Yet, hardly anybody even knows the game. Personally I enjoyed both TR1 and 2, especially two was a lot more interesting, but still suffering similar problems. But after finishing it once, I never cared to play those games again. I got so bored with later Tomb Raider parts, they I never even bothered to finish them. To me there never was enough inovation and too much trying to speak to the mainstream audience to keep me interested. However, those of you who really love the game, are welcome to keep loving it. What I really wanted to point out is, why not create something new and unique? If somebody has the skill to create a 3D action adventure or rpg game, why waste it like this? And if somebody lacks the skill, even the thought of porting something is ridiculous anyway. About models, I don't think the problem really is getting models or creating them for that matter. The problem is everything else, as it's not there.

Actually, I don't remember what was posted back in the day about the crash, but Eerievale was never concered with it. Eerievale was developed mostly in terms of visuals and game design at that time, which was done on a different system and I also had backups of the code. Nothing about Eerievale was lost. Merely older projects were lost in the crash.

I fully understand what it means to create games for the Jag and I know how tough it is to create it in a professional quality. I mean, come on... Many of the official Jag games even though being commercial, were not very professional. I think we all know those games. Really professional quality games is something you hardly ever find in the homebrew scene, so even if it takes longer, it will be worth the waiting. And I believe dan is right, that only professional homebrew games can really make the Jag stand out from other retro systems. At first Jag fans were happy to get releases at all. Anything at all. But let's be honest, people are sick of half-baked homebrew games that are neither original, nor professional, sometimes not even fun. What's the point in creating a game that isn't fun? Sure, not everybody has the skill to create professional games, but time shouldn't be a matter. This is also why I can't see why everybody is always so pushing about releases. What's the point of another rushed 16-bit port or clone? The Jag has those and they suck. The Jag is hardly the only system people play, right? Otherwise I would be really surprised. Most people here have other systems to play with as well. So why the hurry then? There are plenty of games out there you can play until the really good ones are coming to the Jaguar. I understand that people look forward to games, but just be patient and it will come to you. Now what do I mean by professional? I mean well designed games, I mean graphics that are designed by an artist for use on the Jaguar. Dan and I had a talk about that on ejagfest and I think he is really right about it. I am also talking about original games, new ideas, creativity. To make things short, I am talking about all the aspects that make a game on the Jag into something great. A game that doesn't look or feel like homebrew, even though it is, but a game that could have been a highly rated commercial game 14 years ago maybe, when the Jag was still around. That's what I consider professional games. I am sure Daniel can do it. It just takes time and motivation. Give him both and I think the Jag will get something really cool. The Lynx Screenshots looked impressive.

JagChris, if you are referring to Daniel's Lynx project, I can assure you it looks great. Just because he may not want to show screenshots yet on the net, it doesn't mean that there is no progress. He actually presented some screenshots on €-JagFest this week.

Well, what can I say? I can't split in half and am not a fan of human cloning either. In the past years I was very busy with my Game Design study, which finally ended in October. Next to helping Atariowl with his project, I got right back to continue my work on Eerievale. I let other projects rest, because I wanted to return to my personal favorite. Eerievale is a project that means a lot to me and what I stated years ago is still true today. I want it to be something special and I want it to stand out from other games. It's also a project I create for myself in the first place. I never made any promises, never set a release date or anything like that. I will keep working on the project until it pleases me and if by that time people still care, I'd be happy to release it. Adventure games are one of the most complex genres to develop and very time consuming. You can't speed up the process if you want to do a good job. It's a genre that heavily relies on the talent of the game designer and writer, in the first place. It takes as much time as it always did. It's the most important aspect for the game experience. If you skip that part you end up with something like Myst. Only that a skilled artist can create much better visuals today, in less time. What I am going for is a great story that will drag players into the game world and a well designed gameplay, so that the players won't want to put the game aside, before they saw all of it. Maybe even make them come back to experience different story paths in the game, right away. While the past years may have been a quiet time, it was a time full of inspirations, ideas and experiences that Eerievale will heavily benefit from. I understand that, to people not involved with game development (or those who only know what is taught today ), it may be confusing how and why certain decisions in the development phase were made and will be made in the future, but you can be sure it's all aimed toward the goal of creating a better and richer game experience. I am currently spending a few hours of every day to write on the story of Eerievale and I'm happy how well it progresses. It's great fun and I am very enthusiastic about it again. And now, before any of you complain about me writing and not coding, for heaven's sake... It's an adventure game. It's all about story. The code is nothing to worry about. Everybody knows I can code. Today code is not what makes the game, especially not in the adventure genre. The game design and writing makes the game. It's what makes the game experience and it's what makes a game either a dull clone or an unforgettable gem. Actually in an odd way it's funny to see how some people don't believe in the project anymore. Now with most things in horror or supernatural people say, it's not real, still there is something that makes you wonder about the truh. Is it true what people say? What if there is more to it than just that? If it's not real, why are you afraid of it? There is something you feel. Just an odd feeling. There is no monster in the closet or under the bed, yet as a child, you're afraid of the dark. There is just an odd feeling of a presence. Something that is waiting just for the right moment to appear. Same is true for Eerievale. It's taking the time it needs, no matter what people say. No matter what people think. It is there. It is waiting for it's time to be unleashed. If you have your doubts, if you don't believe in it anymore, that's your choice. Just ask yourself, maybe that's just what everybody wants you to think. It's a fantasy / horror game afterall. If you still have faith in the project, be sure to visit the Eerievale Homepage regularly. You never know when something might pop up. As it is with writing, even I don't know when something will pop up. I created the world of Eerievale and I populated it with unique characters, who all have their own personality and their own head. Even though I know the path of the story well, I can't tell how individual scenes will turn out or if the characters might just decide to change something. Maybe a coward is all of a sudden sick of being scared and decides to take actions. Maybe a man of high morals turns out to be hiding a dark side, even from himself, but it slowly starts to surface. I can't tell, before it is written but that's the exciting thing about it, isn't it? That is the magic of the written word and also the magic of game writing. Regards, Lars.

Hey folks! I fully agree the event was amazing! I have some pictures on my website as well. Sorry, the text is only in German for now. www.larshannig.com Enjoy.

Thank you very much Joe! I'm very happy to work with you and be a part of such an exciting project. I can't wait to see more of it, as it progresses. Keep up the amazing work. Speaking of amazing work, I have to salute Joe, Beth and Mythili. Joe, you're no only a friend, but also the best jag coder there is, I believe. You pushed the Jag further than anybody so far. I don't know how you did it, but I am just glad you did. Great work! It's your and Beth's project so of course you fully deserve the credit. I just enjoy being a part of it. Beth your texture work is amazing, much better than my quick approaches and they create a great mood for the game. I love wall, door and window textures. Afterall one of the strong points in this engine is the textures. One thing hardly any jag engine was ever good at and I am still impressed about how high the resolution of the textures is compared to other jag titles. I don't think any playstation game uses bigger textures than this either. Your work has a biggest influence on the overall look of the game, as no model is really complete without the right texture. Keep up the great work! Mythili, while I don't know if you even know or read this forum, we're glad to have you in the team. Your music perfectly supports the athmosphre of the game and is a great source of inspiration for us. I have to say I am also very glad how positive the feedback was. I don't think there is anything not to be excited about, but usually there always are a few people who can't give credit to a great development, but in this case, I am impressed how well the receiption was so far. Let's hope it stays that way.

+++Press release +++ Atari Jaguar Europe festival *** approved for immediate publication *** Announcement of the Atari Jaguar Europe Festival 2009 The Atari Jaguar Europe Festival, “e-jagfest” for short, takes place this year on November, 7th in Kaarst/Germany. The Atari Jaguar Europe Festival is an annual festival for all Atari Jaguar and Lynx fans as well as for developer and retailer in Europe. All open-minded fans of other video game systems are also very welcome, of course. The “Atari Jaguar Europe Festival” (e-jagfest), which takes place on November 7th 2009 in Kaarst is a meeting of video game fans from whole Europe. The festival focuses on Atari and all consoles of the cult label. If you fancy playing in convivial gatherings on Jaguar, Lynx VCS 2600, 5200, 7800 or on one of the good old home computer dinosaurs from the 80's, then this is just the place for you. Playing is only one part of the meeting. Homebrew developers of all countries regularly use the opportunity to present and partly offer exclusively their new developments on the festival. Hence in recent years there have been offerings of limited e-jagfest versions of Starcat's "Jag Mind Bomb Squad" for Jaguar CD as well as further Starcat Developments releases. Additionally, some new VCS 2600 games, as " Raster Fahndung" and " Encaved" were shown. Matthias Domin also has shown us some betas of his in development games like the puzzle-game “Clicks” or the Breakout-Clone “Impulse” for the Jaguar System. Lynxman has presented the Lynx-Flash card as a prototype last year among others. Have you already tried a home-made VCS 2600 handheld with analog control? Or held a "Worms" match on one lovingly silver/blue lacquered Jaguar or enjoyed “Tempest” with the one and only " Tempest rotary controller"? Curiosities like these are quite normal at the e-jagfest. We all rememer the Europe-Premiere of the “Jaguar Virtual Reality Headset” in the Year 2007. These are only some examples from recent years. Someone may be lucky to possess a rare prototype game. You will be having the chance to exchange experiences about them on the festival or simply play. Furthermore there will be the rare opportunity to construct a "Battlesphere-Multiplayer-Network" up to 16 Players. This rare and expensive game is also one of the best ones for the Jaguar. Four-Player Lynx multiplayer matches are also very popular. Several competitions and cups, e.g. "Club drive” or “Kazumi Ninja" are providing atmosphere. Besides, the official annually European championship in Checkered Flag for Lynx will take place. Over the past years there has always been at least one merchant present, in order to offer new and second-hand Jaguar games as well as retro games in general. Further highlights this year: Presentations and Premieres: Lars Hannig will show on behalf of Joe Venor a demo of the “Atari Owl Project”. This is one of the most promising upcoming Jaguar-Homebrew-Games. This demo of a “3D Action/Adventure RPG” game was only presented once at the Jagfest UK and is therefore a German-Premiere. The former “Eclipse software “employee Dan Hericks (Iron Soldier 1& 2) will present screenshots of some unreleased Jaguar projects. Further is he working on a new Lynx game, based on the Iron Soldier brand. We can hope to get some first hand informations from him about it. Matthias Domin will show us the latest build of “Impulse” for Jaguar. This game is near to completion and with some luck, it will be sold for the first time at the e-jagfest this year. Special Guest: Garry Taylor will honor us again with his visit. For all who are not familiar with him, he's the owner of one of only two working prototypes of the famous "Atari Jaguar Virtual Reality Headset" and attended the event in 2007 already. If the problems of calibration are fixed until november, this will be the chance to try out the Jag-VR yourself. Competitions: Traditionally the European championship of Checkered Flag on Lynx will be hold as every year. Further there will be a cup for the game “Grenzüberschreitung “on the Falcon 030. This game represents a variant of “Tron”, which was written by Thorsten Butschke specially for the e-jagfest competitions. Last but not least after some years of absence, there will be again a “Club-Drive” fun-cup. This is surely one of the most funny trash-muliplayer-games for the Jaguar. This of course does not represent a complete list. Everyone having something to show, is invited to do so. A previous registration is not absolutely necessary, however in the interest of a smooth run it is always welcome. Certainly there will never be a dull moment! Everybody who is up for convivial gatherings, exchanging opinions with nice people and/or playing games are across-the-systems cordially welcome. Should you not possess an Atari system, no problem! Just bring your favorite classical console with you or come simply without. We will find a place for you. It will be the 9th anniversary of the festival and it takes place for the 6th time in Kaarst. Doors open: November 7th, 10:30 a.m, entrance fee: 5.00 Euro

Great to see the Project announced and I am too very pleased about the positive reception so far. It is well derserved. I think Atari Owl did an amazing job on this. sd32: Don't loose faith in developers or the jaguar. As sad as recent events were, there are still people who put a load of work into new original games that will see the light of day once they are finished. Of course game development is a very difficult and time consuming process, especially on a homebrew level, it can be very tough sometimes, but as Atariowl said. All is not lost. If you like the graphics so far, be sure to watch how the title develops in the future. I am it will get even more yaw dropping.

If you have this mouse adapter that matthias mentioned, you can use an Amiga mouse (IIRC) with the Eerievale demo of Ocean Depths. Regards, Lars.

Thanks a lot. Oh yes, heaven knows that things can be difficult in life sometimes. But to me that is what friends are for. I also really appreciate your and everbody else's enthusiasm about Eerievale after all those years. Good things will come to those who can wait.

Good point Al and Atariowl! I fully agree. It's your time and effort you put into something. It's your decision if you want to let it rot on a hard drive or share it with the world. And if you decide to charge a little bit for it, it's your choice. If people consider it worth the money they will be happy with a good game. If somebody feels like they want to give something away for free that's fine too. There are people who appreciate both in this community, but most remaining people are collectors to some degree who like to hold a box or cart / cd in their hand. If they want, why not let them?

Maybe you won't miss atariowl, but unless you speak for the whole reboot group, I don't see a reason for a "we". The Jag scene would loose one of the most promising developers, if Atariowl really decided to quit. If that's okay for you fine. But as much as it doesn't seem like it, there are people in the Jag community who DO care about promising projects and good people. It's just sad to see what's happening here. And it just proves why I don't read forums and why most developers got sick of the Jag scene. Single people always spoil it for the whole community. It's okay to have different opinions. What I see here is clearly the old fight regarding smaller free games and trying to get closer to a break even with a big project. Mr Morden, please, how long have you been around the Jag scene? Do you even know Atariowl? Let me answer for you, you DON'T. He is a very rational and friendly pal, with skill that I can't even dream of, coding wise and a great understanding of good game concepts. This is not a coding competition nor it should be an argument about philosophies. Atariowl just decided to return after a long time to the forums, and to be honest it really makes me mad to see how messages like yours ruin the motivation of very talented and (usually) motivated and enthusiastic game devlopers. It's THIS bevavior, not necessarily by you, but in general, that is the death of all bigger and promising projects for the Jaguar. If you don't agree then don't. But you can't judge people you don't even know, just because they share a different approach on their hobby. To me it was Atariowl who has kept me doing Jaguar stuff for the last 6 years. And in a way I guess I helped keeping his motivation up too. Come on, we all want new games for the Jaguar and as small as the community is, there shouldn't be competition. You create totally different games than we do. What's the point of all this bad blood? Regading game size, it is simply impossible to do a big game (unless you are rich and you have money to burn) on any system, without asking money. I have spend more time and effort into Eerievale than I could ever get paid for. Yet I continue, because it's my vision and my heart's blood that keeps the project alive. I am not doing it for the community or anybody else, but for me. And that's the only reason it is still alive. Otherwise threads like these would have taken my motivation years ago and my games would be on one of the countless other systems that are easier to develop games for. I am not doing it for the fun of programming, I am doing it because I want to create great games to entertain people. Just that. We're all here to have a good time with our hobby. Let's focus on that.

Game collectors unite against game devs... a certain irony there. Goodbye atari age, I'd like to say it was fun while it lasted but in the few days I spent here I'll I've seen if ultra cliquey fanboys, people who would rather buy your things then help you use them & very little else worth noting. Big thanks to the couple of people who did help, you know who you are. kZa/reboot It has nothing to do with atariage. Sometimes the scene can be frustrating to developers. There are flame wars sometimes, no matter if you are a developer or not. If you're putting yourself into the center of attention by doing something, you can't let flame wars touch you. That's how it's always been and will always be. Sad but true. But everybody has their own opinion and people state it. It can feel very ungrateful at times to create games for the jag, but if you create games not for yourself, you're probably not getting far with it. The best source of motivation is, creating the game for yourself in the first place. That said, Atariage is still the BEST regular forum.

If the rom images on the cart are unencrypted, they won't boot on a standard Jaguar. If they are encrypted they will also boot fine on a stub Jag by holding B on powering on. If neither nor work, I am puzzled. Could be that the roms are bad or maybe even empty?