Starcat

When I am at my parents house, I have my PAL BJL Jag and NTSC Alpine. Connected to a desktop PC with parallel port (quad core, 2GB Ram) running XP/2000. However upload tools don't work with XP, so I have to use 2000 and due to the system speed, sending is always a problem. Most of the time however I just don't have all that equipment next to me. (Desktop PC, Screen, TV, Jag, Alpine, all the cables and so on.) Most of the time I just have my notebook, and that way I can only use PT. If I had the skunkboard I could at least run it using usb and connect it to a TV. A Jag alone doesn't take much space. And of course the debug features, higher relieablity and upload speed would greatly speed up development. Also who knows, maybe the 4MB will come in handy my alpine is only 2MB. So I am really hoping for another run

Hey folks! I just recently heard about the skunkboard and I have to say it sounds very promising. Too bad I missed the first production run. At this point it has become very important to me, because the usual Jag dev has become almost impossible to do lately. My notebook with parallel port, which I used for jag dev, just died a little while ago and getting a replacement is a problem. I am rarely in the situation of having a whole dev environment (PC Screen, TV, PC with parallel port, win9x OS and Jag with alpine) near me, and even with that it's annoying due to upload errors, upload times and room consumption. So most of the time I already had to switch over to project tempest. And while that worked for small hacks, it doesn't for Eerievale. Try running a complex application with multiple uploads using project tempest. Or reloading data on the fly. Just impossible. There is only one upload. And recompiling the project to run as simple upload is a real pain and has resulted in massive problems. I really have to say, as neat as Project Tempest can be to code some Jag while traveling, where you have no TV, Jag and dedicated dev system next to you, it's really a problem when you care for compatibility. It's just not the same at all. What runs on PT might not run on the real jag and vice versa. So to make things short, I am really looking for a skunkboard to be able to continue coding. For now I can fortunately keep up development of graphics and design work, but it's of course an odd feeling not being able to test code really. I would really appreciate it when somebody could drop me a line once another production run of the skunkboards is done. Regards, Lars.

I will once there are important news. :-)

Hey ovalbugmann! I'm fine, thank you. It's really great to hear that you like my work. I asked about the cinepak tools, because when I did the euro jagfest 2k1 video back in the day, it really was a lot of work and also a while ago. So I was hoping maybe I could find a quicker way, that didn't require loads of CDRs to test. It's great to hear that you are looking forward to Eerievale. In the past, I didn't have as much time for my projects due to study & life, but I have always kept working on it. Just recently I made some changes to the storyline, which really create a lot more tension and are quite exciting. I'm also using the Christmas holidays to put as much time into the project as I can. You might want to check out my website from time to time again. The Jaguar section will be in english again and there you'll find important updates on my projects. Regards, Lars.

That's very true. :-) Funny though. I actually started an electronics study before this one and decided to switch to games, because I noticed, that I just didn't know enough about the basics in electronics engineering. Well, maybe because I want to understand the basics before doing something more advanced. In electronics I didn't know anybody who could teach me that or how to do it myself. So I focussed on what I could do. :-) Games. Probably a good choice. Regards, Lars.

Hey! Can somebody still provide the original files used in that video? I can't get it from that website anymore. Thanks :-) Regards, Lars.

Hehe I knew that question would pop up. In the past few years life and studying took most of my time. You may also have noticed, that I am hardly active on the forums anymore, due to limited time, but also because I want to put the little time I have into my projects. You'd be surprised how much time my study actually costs me. Some people would call me crazy. But I do it all for the degree and they I'm out of there. Especially as it turned out that the game design study I am taking is cold coffee. I haven't learned much at all, except for what I never want to do and what I hate about todays games. All graphics and no gameplay make me sick. The worst thing is, even my course mates don't understand anything about making games. They don’t have any own ideas. They can’t even tell a good idea from a bad one or a realistic idea from an impossible one. They think they will all be rich once this is over. They laugh about "classic" games like Resident Evil 4 for its graphics. Well, personally I think the game is amazing. But they can't see the game past the visuals. They laugh at me for creating Jaguar games. The Jag may not be as powerful as their beloved PCs with 4 gig ram and 3 GHz cpu and a thousand bucks graphics card, but still when they challenge me in the same area, I can do the same games on the Jag (reducing the resolution to 320x240), and at least make them fun to play. It's actually true. A group of six people who coniser themselves the elite of the course created an asteroids clone with deathmatch network mode using 2D Sprites, but OpenGL for effects (because then they don't need to program rotation, scaling, lighting, themselves). The game required a Dual Core system with 2GB Ram to even run the menu and actually a dedicated xeon server for network mode. Can you imagine that? I probably couldn't do the networking part on the Jag as I never looked into that, but except for that, the Jag would have wiped every smile of their faces by running a superior game on the 68k alone using the OP for displaying. We may have 2008, but so many games of today fail miserably against their ancestors of 10 or even 20 years ago, when it comes to gameplay, story or game experience. Personally I think, the key to creating something great always is mastering the basics. If I can do a jag game from scratch, with a thrilling story, nice graphics and solid technology, I can do the same on todays machines. When you know how to master creating a great game for one machine, then it doesn't matter which machine you choose. The games always can be adapted to the specs and still be fun and great. But if you can't even create a game that is fun or at least interesting, then the best specs won't help you. However my coursemates don't see that connection. Can you believe even the people who teach us pretend the DS couldn't be used for 3D. Of course you can't just load a 20 MB 3dsmax (worst 3d program ever!) scene into the system and expect it to run right away. You have to develop a decent 3d engine, maybe even your own modeling tools and data structure to store the models and actually know what you do. But what on earth happened to the good old 3D coders? On the Jag you need to do everything yourself and of course it's possible to do amazing 3D games on the jag for its time. These days people just don't seem to know the basics anymore. They forgot the roots. Well no surprise if they started gaming in 2001 or so They don’t even care to look back to understand their business. When somebody never feels the slightest limitation of a system, he will never learn to develop efficient code. Systems just are too powerful and hardly anybody cares to use that power properly. It’s like using nukes to get rid of some flys. (And at the same time, they introduce a lot new bugs. ) You won't believe what the people in my course are doing all day. They complain about not having the latest (still unreleased) versions of a program and use that as excuse of not being able to do any work. They claim tools have to become even better. It's hilarious. The best tools can’t help you when you just have no good ideas or talent or knowledge of what you do. Some people are making good progress in the artist area, but still they are lacking all of the basics. It's scary. They need tools and plugins for EVERYTHING. And when a tool doesn't cover a feature... well it's not possible to do, is it? No wonder so many of todays games are just unmotivated, bug infested and boring while requiring hardware beyond belief. In that university nobody seems to be able to tell a good idea from a bad idea. Nobody understands what making games is about. They think they are great, but in fact most of them haven't ever created a game themselves. Not even a pong-clone. Anyway. I don't want to bore you too much with all that stuff. Just let me tell you this: Nobody who hasn't been enjoying games of the 80s and 90s, should consider himself a gamer and nobody who hasn't been a gamer once, should even think about creating games. My study will probably be over in October 2009 and then a lot will change for me. Hopefully also having more freetime to work on my projects again. As of now, I spend most of my time of a study day with train journeys. I can use the time reading and writing, which is good. But of course it's not the same as being at home and working in front of a screen and having everything I need next to me. To finally answer your questions, Eerievale is coming along slowly but steady. Just recently I made some really important changes to the storyline, which make it all a lot tighter and more exciting. I am really excited about these changes and I am sure it will be worth the waiting. And I spend most of my freetime again to work on it. I finally have holidays now and I intend to put most of it into the project. Sadly my website is mostly german these days, also due to limited time. Writing everything twice is a lot of work But I will keep the Jaguar section in English from now on I think and also post important news about my projects in english. So be sure to check it out from time to time. http://www.larshannig.com Regards, Lars.

Being not only Jaguar developer myself, but also studying game design, I can probably comment on that Creating a game like Final Fantasy 3, is not a problem of specs, it's a problem of manpower, skill, time and budget. The game is considered one of the best console rpgs. Some would call it a masterpiece. It's not really a question of tools or technology. They simply had a really great team with countless years of experience working on the game for many many months. They had the best they could get, you could say. A painting by leonardo da vinci is considered a masterpiece. Yet anybody who wants to can buy paint and brushes and give it a try. The difference between a materpiece and something average, is the love to detail, the skill, the pure genius that becomes part of what is created. In other words, not many people can create a game like final fantasy 3. Good games, never are a questions of technology. They are a question of love to detail and experienced developers with great ideas. If the technology wasn't good enough for a game, you just strip down the visuals or whatever and it will work. The game would still be great. But technology alone can't make a crappy game fun, no matter how good it looks. Although people tend to forget that these days. Sometimes I have the feeling that todays generation of gamers are just all about graphics. They can't even judge gameplay anymore. They don't get deep enough into the games to experience it. They just sit in front of it and watch it like a movie. But back to topic... We are talking about homebrew here. In other words: People who do this as their hobby. Most Jaguar developers I know are actually programmers. Some have additional skills in creating graphics. But are they professional game developers? Talking about myself, I am not. Maybe I will be one day. Mabye I won't. Who knows. I have taught myself everything I know about programming, about graphics, about writing, about game design and still I will probably never stop learning new things about creating games for as long as I do it. I think the main problems of homebrew development are: Usually you have to work alone or online in very small teams of people who just do it as their hobby. They have limited time (life and job have priority over the hobby), limited manpower, limited skill (for example only mastering one thing, while only scratching the surface in a different area), no budget. Porting FF III wouldn't be possible due to legal reasons. And even if that wasn't the problem... Who should do it and why? Somebody would need a personal motivation to do that. And that is true for porting any game. Just ask yourself. Imagine you had the skill to do it. Would you spend many months or even years of your free time and engery to port somebody else's work? Maybe you would. But then that would be your motivation to do it, not somebody else's. So I would say it's pretty much pointless to suggest that this or that game should be ported, as it probably will never happen unless you do it yourself. Also, there are not many active Jaguar developers out there. And those that are there have projects already. Personally I wouldn't be interested in porting games, when I could instead create my own games. Bring my own visions to life. And even if somebody wanted to create his own game in the style of FFIII, it would never be the same. And it would take many years to accomplish. Oh and regarding graphics and tools: Sure the Jag tools aren't the best. But that doesn't matter very much. They do the job. I'd love to use better ones, but nobody is going to make them I guess. So I'll have to use what is there. I can understand what you mean when you say, all jag games look the same. The Jag has quite an uncommon color scheme. It uses RBG Instead of RGB, which PCs use. Still I would suspect it's more a problem of low budget games, 16-bit ports and average artists, which result in some games not looking as well, as they might. On the other hand, look at the really good games that were created especially for the Jag. Rayman for example or Native (unreleased, homebrew). Now THAT is how Jag games should look. And it is possible. You just need experienced artists and good developers. Regards, Lars.

Announcement of the Atari Jaguar Europe Festival 2008 The Atari Jaguar Europe Festival short "e-jagfest" will take place in Kaarst this year on November 15th. The Atari Jaguar Europe Festival is an annual event for all Atari Jaguar and Lynx Fans as well as developers and retailers of Europe. All open-minded fans of other videogame systems are of course welcome too. Atari Jaguar Europe Festival 2008 The Atari Jaguar Europe Festival short "e-jagfest" will take place in Kaarst, on 15th november this year. It's a meeting of Videogame fans from all over Europe. The center of attention of course is Atari and ist game consoles. All of you, who want to join friends and enjoy playing Jaguar, Lynx, VCS 2600, 5200, 7800 or homecomputers of the 80s, has found just the right place. Next to the classic originals, you can also see many modified systems as well. Have you ever tried a selfmade VCS 2600 handeld system with analogue controls? Ever played a match of "Worms" on a with love repainted silver/blue Jaguar or ever enjoyed playing Tempest with a true "Tempest Rotary controller"? These are just a few examples of what past years had to offer. Of course all other classic consoles are very welcome too. In the past we regularly had NUON setups with games such as Iron Solider 3 and Tempest 3000 among other exotic systems. Playing games is just one part of the event though. Homebrew developers from all over the world use the chance to show off their latest developments on the fest and offer exclusive releases for sale. In the past years you could find limited e-jagfest releases of Starcat's "Jag Mind: Bomb Squad" for the Jaguar CD, as well as other Starcat Developments releases. New VCS 2600 releases such as "Raster Fahndung" and "Encaved" were shown as well. Developer Matthias Domin was also often guest on our events and showed off different demos and games. We still enjoy remembering last year's Europe premiere of the "Jaguar Virtual Reality Headset". Gaztee from England, proud owner of one of only two existing and working prototypes of the never released Jag VR-Headsets joined us as guest. Some people have the luck of owning a rare prototype game. A great chance to show it on the event and talk about it as well as just using the chance of playing it. We also offer the rare opportunity of playing "Battlesphere" networked and thus playing one of the rarest and best Jaguar games, which can be played "theoretically" with up to 16 people. Four player duels using the lynx have also become a very popular part of the event. Smaller competitions and cups, such as "Club Drive" or "Kasumi Ninja" create a great retro atmosphere. We also hold the official European Championship of Checkered Flag for the Lynx each year. In previous years there also was always at least one retailer present to offer new and used games for the Jaguar and other retro systems for sale. Additional highlights of this year's event: For the first time, we will hold the Jaguar Worms European Championship on this year's event. This Challenge used to be part of the Jagfest UK, which is not taking place this year sadly. So it was moved to e-jagfest this year. Get the Cup and become European Champion! Of course there will again be the traditional European Championship in Checkered Flag on the Lynx. There will be a cup of "Grenzüberschreitung" for the Falcon 030. It's a game based on a variation of Tron, a game written by Thorsten Butschke for the e-jagfest competitions. The ex "Eclipse Software" employee Dan Hericks (Iron Solider 1&2) will show screenshots of previously unreleased Jaguar projects. Don't miss this exciting chance. Regarding retailers, Nick Harlow of "16/32 Systems" will finally be guest again after two years in which we all missed him. We also expect "Sijmen and Sandra Schouten" of Atari-Shop, who will also offer games for sale. This list of course is not yet complete, everybody who has something to show is welcome to attend. You do not need to let us know in advance, but of course this would be very kind, to make planning easier. You can be sure, boredom is not part of our vocabulary on e-jagfest! Everybody who wants to enjoy a great time with friends or wants to enjoy retro games should use the chance and drop by. You are very welcome! Even if you don't own an Atari system yet, no problem! Just bring your favorite classic system with you or just drop by to enjoy the systems installed. We will find a place for you. This year's event is already the eighth in total and the fifth in a row in Kaarst, Germany. Entry is on 15th November on 10:30 in the morning. Entrance fee is 5 euro. More information on: Atari Jaguar Europe Festival Page

Hey folks! My games are available again on my website. It's been a while and I guess it's easier this way than sending e-mails. :-) www.larshannig.com To get to the Jaguar section click on the Jaguar logo on the right. Then the games will appear as icons right above the blog. :-) Enjoy. Regards, Lars.

Hey my fellow Jag fans! I am currently working on an animated movie, which will be based on my reader’s long time favorite short story “the last chance”. Roughly summed up: It’s a story about a broken man and a desperate woman. Both feel completely lost and alone in a dark and decaying big city environment. Both made their way through this cold and desolate world on their own, until they meet each other for the first time on the roof of a building, planning to end their lives. In this desperate situation they begin realize for the first time, that they are the soul mates they have been searching for their entire lives. This gives their lives a new meaning. The characters of the movie will have a serious look, but based on cel shading. I imagine the look of the movie to be very dark and dirty in general. Maybe a bit like the noir style. A huge city, dark sky, neon light, trash lying around, burned out cars. Decaying buildings with lots of graffiti. But at the same time a city with huge skyscrapers where the big business takes place and millions are won and lost by the hour. The only reason for the rich to visit the neon district of the city is to enjoy themselves with the beautiful women or mocking the bums that are starving in the streets and living of what the rich throw at them. Nobody really cares about the people that actually have to live in this environment. Money and power rule the city and if you have neither nor, you have to fight for your survival. Some do it by selling themselves to the rich, some try it through gambling, some do hard honest work hoping to make it someday. And some try to take the quick way out by stealing, murder. Or suicide. It’s a very dark and atmospheric tale, but loosen up by a lot of black humor. Even though the setting is very mature, there is hardly (if any) violence or nudity planned for the flick, so we’re not talking about an offensive movie. It’s really a project you can be proud to show your friends. The movie will be freely available as download once it is finished, at the same time it will be for sale as Jaguar CD and DVD for those who prefer a professional looking packaging. Those who contribute to the project with music or voice-acting will be mentioned in the credits and they will of course also get a it for free with professional packaging on DVD and Jaguar CD. Now to what I need: I need at least one female and male voice actor to speak English text, preferably with a deep voice in terms of the male voice. The voice samples need to be submitted in mp3 format. Regarding Music, I am looking for dark sounding, metal, gothic, ebm like music. As well as melodic / symphonic music with flute, acoustic guitar, piano or violin for more emotional scenes. It also should be submitted as mp3 format. You are pretty open regarding the music except for that. Please feel free to contact me as soon as possible if you are interested in helping out, in that case please e-mail me first and then send me mp3 samples of your voice acting talents or music ideas or previous work. By submitting anything you agree that I am free to use it inside of the movie project. I am very excited about this project and I really hope to find help with it soon. You are welcome to read the original story on my website, that this movie will be based on. You can find it on: www.larshannig.com in the writing section after selecting english language in the upper right corner of the site. P.S. I have attached an early picture to show a bit of the look and feel of the movie. Regards, Lars.

Hi folks! All I can say is... wow. I just saw osmozys and facts... Hats off to you. I am really very impressed. Amazing work Jagware really rules I have just seen the videos and also the video of the Maxx. I think it looks good, but it also looks a bit choppy. Maybe it's just the video. But my favorites are the Jagware demos. They are definately a whole different level. Still it's amazing to see something new on the Jag. Congrats to everybody who submitted something, even if you don't win. Getting something so cool finished is already amazing. Regards, Lars.

Hi! If you are playing the demo included in Lost Treasures, it is different to the one in Ocean Depths. To be honest, I am not sure if the same puzzles are to be found in it. It's long ago since I put that demo together. It had a different game world though with completely different graphics. Regards, Lars.

Brian: JagCF is Jaguar Compact Flash. Check out www.jagware.org for details. Justclaws, good idea to do such a poll. Another idea, regarding additional polls might be to ask for what kind of games. That was the aspect I was missing in this poll. I voted that I would buy every proper game Cart/CD/CF. Which means, every game that I am really looking forward to. However I think to a developer that answer is not enough. What do the voters consider a "proper" game? That's just a matter of taste. Personally I prefer games that give me a new experience, a game with good ideas, and if possible a decent story that motivates me to play the game. I think the Jaguar needs more games like that. While I'm sure there are many retro fans on the Jaguar, personally I have played so many variations of retro games and remakes, that they just don't excite me long enough anymore. Same is true for typical puzzle games. Although I'm not saying that I wouldn't like a puzzle game, if somebody comes up with something new, innovative and fun. However I really want to see more new games with good level design, good storytelling, innovative game design or some other exciting new aspects on the Jag. That's the way I am going with my games from now on, remakes or retro games simply don't excite me anymore. I hope others will do the same at some point I also voted that I would buy JagCF for the new games, but of course also for dev in my case. Regards, Lars.

Hey folks! Isn't there a way for us all to calm down and find a way to stop this and other flame wars? Of course there are different opinions involved, but isn't there a way to respect opinions of others and live with them? About this pro and con JagCF topic: I don't think it makes sense to say JagCF is against the interest of developers or that it is in the interest of them, as both opinions are there. Some developers love the idea, other don't. If it really matters how many people are pro or con, only a poll where each developer states his opinion on JagCF will help I think. But even then, it wouldn't change anything, or would it? Does it make sense to discuss or even let a discussion turn into a flame war with personal attacks if it will not change anything and just end up with bad feelings? The way I see it, all this doesn't make much sense. JagWare will do what they consider best and there are developers who support their idea while there are also developers who don't like the idea. Wouldn't it be better to finally sit down and discuss a solution both can live with? Regards, Lars.

In case my previous post sounded different, I'm not supporting piracy, but I don't see it as a danger on the Jag either. Personally I only buy games that I know are my taste. I play them before buying them. On other systems there are demos that help with this or places where you can rent games to check them out. For Jag Games that's another reason I like JagFests so much. However after testing a game I really like I buy it. I know many people who do the same, with pirated software. After trying a game they like, they buy it. Certainly there may also be people who don't do this, but I think every collector will do it for sure and in the case of the Jaguar all die hard Jag fans will do it to. So again, I'm not supporting piracy, I just don't think the possibility of loading roms would be a valid reason to attack JagCF, as there are deviced around that can do it for many years at affordable price and it never became a problem in the Jag scene. For commercial systems piracy is a different topic of course, as many people probably copy games and don't care enough for the system, the community or the game to buy it. I don't think this is true for the Jaguar though. It would be a pity if it was that way. Also I wouldn't call JagCF a new console... It's a DSP, some RAM to buffer data that you load of CF and UART. It doesn't have video hardware, sound hardware and isn't a new architecture to begin with. I don't think it can be compared with 32x for example. Actually to me it is a lot more like a Super FX cartridge on SNES, i.e. a cart with more ram and a dsp. Just that you can exchange the game content and you are not bound to put the new hardware into each cartridge. Regards, Lars.

Hi! This discussion is giving me split feelings... Why all the talk about how hard it is to code the Jag and how piracy which is ruining it all? Not piracy is runing the scene! People who have no respect for developers, that is what ruins the scene. Those who contactly attack developers and sacre them away, that is what costs the scene games... Native, Age of Darkness, Assassin and many many more. Only god knows how many more in the future. Personally I think repspect and support (not necessarily in a money way), is the least developers deserve and while many may be glad developers are around a few people ruin it. That should be stopped, as it's a much bigger problem than piracy can ever be on the Jag. Think about it, those of you who said, people who want to pirate would do it anyway, they would find a way. Of course they find a way. You can rip cartridges with any dev kit that lets you read data from cartridge and send it to a computer from the Jaguar. That has been done very very long ago already. Anybody who cares to invest $100-200 can play any cart game that has been ripped. Flash Carts and Alpines can be bought at that price. There even are other devices built that allow this, even though they are not widely known in the Jag scene. Fact is, anybody who wants to can play roms if they care to. The emulator is another option, it supports many games. Regarding CD, it's even easier. Today it's not hard to find tools that read CDs without correcting the read data and thus creating working copys of Jaguar games. Anybody can do that. They can even download demo versions of such tools for free that make it possible. How could pirating games be easier for anybody who wants to do it. Even pirating games for current systems is way more difficult and as we all know many people do that all the time. I don't support piracy, if it harms developers, but I don't see how it does on the Jag. Seriously, those who care about Jaguar games, are fans anyway and they will buy the games, if they are worth buying. Even if it was merely to have a box for their collection. The fact is, even though piracy has been possible on the Jag since Alpines, Flash carts and other homemade devices were available, it never appeared widely and it never will. The Jaguar is a system for fans supported by fans in a way. Everybody who is really interested in Jaguar games will buy them when they are worth buying. I have yet to hear about homebrew games being pirated. And if they were, I think the most likely format for it would be CD. In fact, when you look at other communities, people feel that "free" software is inferior, and thus they prefer to buy the games, even if they previously were released for free. I am a Jag developer myself and still I can't imagine any better thing happen to the Jaguar than Jaguar CF. I can't wait. It's cheaper than cart games, offers more space, among other amazing features and offers security, that is better than cart and cd together. Piracy really is not a danger on the Jaguar in my opinion. It hasn't harmed the community of other abandoned systems either. Look at the VCS community, 8-bit community, even other newer systems such as Dreamcast. Another great example is the GP2X, it's whole idea is a system that is open for homebrew games, yet official games can be released that have to be purchased and the fans are craving for games even though they could get lots of homebrew games for free too. Regards, Lars.

Euro-Jagfest is a annual festival for all all Atari Jaguar and Lynx fans and developers as well as retailers in europe. All open minded fans of other systems are of course welcome too. Atari Jaguar Europe Festival 2007 The Atari Jaguar Europe Festival, short "e-jagfest" is taking place this year on 24th november in Kaarst. It's a meeting of Videogame fand of europe. In the center of attention is Atari and all their systems. Those of you who want to experience the fun of playing Jaguar, Lynx, VCS 2600, 5200, 7800 or the old homecomputers of the 80s has found just the right event. There are several modified systems to look at. Ever seen a VCS 2600 handheld with analog controls? Ever played a tournament of "Worms" on a lovingly silver/blue painted Jaguar? Or played Tempest with the one and only true "Tempest Rotary Controller"? Visit Euro JagFest. These are just some examples of highlights of the last years. Of course other classic consoles are welcome too. Frequent guests are the NUON with games like Iron Solider 3 and Tempest 3000 among other exotic systems. However having a blast playing games, is just one part of the event The event is also frequently used by homebrew developers from all europe to show their new developments and some were even exclusively for sale. One example was the limited e-jagfest edition of Starcat's "Jag Mind Bomb Squad" for Jaguar CD, as well as other "Starcat Developments" releases. There also were some new VCS 2600 games such as "Raster Fahndung" and "Encaved" on display. Matthias Domin was a frequent visitor too, always with different demos and games to show. This year we offer visitors something very special. Gaztee from England, owner of one of only two working and never released Jaguar-Virtual-Headsets took our invitation to Kaarst. Of course he won't keep his biggest treasure hidden away. Unless something unexpected happens, you will be able to experience and unveil the myth of the Jaguar VR-Helmet yourself. You may be excited. Some people have the priviledge of owning a rare prototype game. E-JagFest is a great opportunity to discuss about it on the event and let people experience it themselves. Another topic is network play. You rarely ever have the chance to play Battlesphere networked, and thus enjoying one of the rarest and best Jaguar games with theoretically up to 16 people. Four player duels in Checkered Flag on Lynx (no, not the Jag version ), are also very popular on the event. Smaller fun competitions such as "Club-Drive" or Kazumi Ninja" guarantee a great mood. In the last years there also always was at least one retailer attending, to offer new and used Jaguar games. Nick Harlow of "16/32 bit Systems" has announced his visit already. On E-JagFest we don't know the meaning of boredom. All of you who want to chat with fellow gamers or developers or who enjoy playing games are welcome, regarless of their favorite system. In case you do not own an Atari system, don't panic! Just bring your favorite classic system with you, or drop by as visitor only to enjoy the atmosphere and games and let the spirit amaze you. There is always room for you. This year's event is the 7th e-jagfest and taking place for the fourth time in Kaarst. Entry is on 24th november at 10:30 in the morning. Entrance fee is 5,00 Euro. The official e-jagfest website recently moved to www.jagfest.org/euro the home of all european Jag fest and the site is currently under construction. More information about the event will be online very soon.

Hi Walter! Currently Eerievale is still my main and only Jag related project in development. Due to my study I did a few smaller PC based projects but nothing serious. Except for the cartoon graphic adventure "HalMock FurBall" which also was a study project and is based on the Eerievale game engine. If there was enough interest in it, it might become another potential project for the Jag and other platforms like Eerievale. You can download a playable PC demo of the first chapter of the game on www.larshannig.com. Regards, Lars.

Hi folks! I recently updated the Eerievale site again. Eerievale Website Please also check out the new Eerievale Forum and register if you want to discuss Eerievale related topics, ask questions, contribute ideas or help to decide on important questions about Eerievale. Regards, Lars.

Hi! What I read in your posts did not come across that way. I'm sorry if it came over the wrong way. Maybe it is because english is not my native language. Maybe we should return to topic though. Afterall this should be a JagCF thread GT Turbo or SCPCD, can you tell me if a C compiler is planned for the DSP? Maybe this is rather a question for JagWare's developer forum, as I hope I don't start a new argument here. If not, is the assembler similar inspired by the existing jag chipset or 68k, so getting started not too hard? Another thing, you mentionend MP3 / Mpeg video in this thread if I didn't misunderstand it. Do you think the DSP will be powerful enough for it? Just curious. Regrads, Lars.

Hi! I never blamed anybody. Some people accused me of selling cds that do not work even though they are working. That is a fact. I merely said, the discs were tested and worked when I shipped them. I merely protected myself. If it sounded like anything else, that may be due to the fact that english is not my native language. It's also a fact that I always tried to help everybody with problems and in fact those who contacted me about it got help and can play the game flawlessly now. If people prefer flaming somewhere where may not see it and not even care to contact me about their problems, how can I help? And as I mentioned before, all the customers that contacted me about problems were able to fix the problems or get them fixed. It was either by using a different drive and the same CD, by creating a backup of the working cd to a media their unit liked better, or by sending them a new disc in case of the limited edition problem when the patch was not available yet. Just because you may not see that on public forums doesn't mean it was not done. Why do you claim the opposite if it's something you can not know about? Again, if people don't even care enough to contact me and prefer flaming my efforts, I can not help them. Regards, Lars.

...double post... sorry

Hi! Yes, Eerievale is still in development for PC, Jaguar and Dreamcast. Possibly other platforms as well, but those will come later. I prefer mouse support for adventures games too, so I hope to include Mouse and Keyboard support on the DC. I already have those accessories. In the case of the JagCF version I hope to do that too. King_Salamon: Eerievale for the Jag was never cancelled, the website always listed Jaguar as target platform. I assume those rumors came up, as it's been a long time since the last screenshots of the Jag version were shown. This is due to the fact, that I am developing the adventure game engine for PC to later port it to other platforms including the Jaguar. That way it's easier to test and design the game. You can be sure it will be worth the waiting time. Adventure fans will be pleased with the game once it is finished. Regards, Lars.

Hi! Yes, Eerievale is still in development for PC, Jaguar and Dreamcast. Possibly other platforms as well, but those will come later. I prefer mouse support for adventures games too, so I hope to include Mouse and Keyboard support on the DC. I already have those accessories. In the case of the JagCF version I hope to do that too. Regards, Lars.