justclaws

Hello Doc, The issue you want for the Jaguar feature is issue#23. It's not in every magazine. Well the predecessor to "games" back when the Jaguar was for sale in the shops was X-Gen, but it folded, it didn't follow the popular line of praise Sony, and bash everything else which was so popular in 1995. Well to be fair, "games" has featured every retro system, and so Jag just came round. I was beginning to wonder, because some previous ones were VERY obscure. In the UK you will have no trouble finding these other systems if you find the right stores, in particular some UK chains sell a lot of retro stuff. Sadly as I wrote above, they just ran out of other systems to feature first. The Jaguar's number came up. No#23. The Lynx was featured in issue #21, which is a copy to get from back-issues. Regards, JustClaws.

Hello, I'm not sure with UBG, because they seemed to go to so much effort with flyers and adverts at one time saying it would be available for Jaguar, but then nothing happened. Maybe they thought they had somebody to port it from Lynx(?) and it didn't work out. The other game was Graham Gooch Cricket, but I happen to know that a certain ex-developer was approached way-back by Telegames to work on this, but they never got the necessary material from Telegames, and so it was never going to be. It seems it was more a wish, than a plan them. (It was back in the days before Atari folded that I heard this from them...) Therefore one has to wonder if James Pond and Ultimate Brain Games were the same. I'd still like Ultimate Brain Games, it could be a novelty release still. Cheers, JustClaws.

Hello again, Another game which apparently was finished, but never published. Whether that's true, who knows, but the "X-Gen" magazine in the UK (an earlier publication by the publishers of "game" reviewed it and said it was ready for release I recall. They were widely circulated I guess, it was UK magazines like X-Gen I used to rely on in Jaguar days. That's another project which has a strange history, along with Telegames Graham Gooch cricket. However, I wonder if we can really believe that UBG was really complete and awaiting publication? It is indeed strange that nothing even came of that. (I hope Songbird gets it.) Also, another lost game is included. Page 144, 3rd column, 5th row, Robinson's Requiem. Now of course we hear from Jay Smith and our French friends that this game, and it's successor, were both finished. At least RR is apparently found, and could be published. What a mess Atari made, killing all these projects in the untimely ways, what a legacy. I think it's a cool feature, including lost and homebrew games. A+ Cheers, JustClaws.

Hello, I hope you're pleased you bought it! Yes, fascinating, and the next issue always has a list of the screenshots from the previous issue! Indeed, like a movie on DVD, the pictures on the box can be most enticing! I would have also loved to have those games, but then again I've got the early beta's of Black Ice White Noise, and I think it's absolutely dreadful. Yes, I just realised! It's Eerievale by StarCat Developments, a current home-brew project. How cool is that? http://www.eerievale.de/ Cheers, Richard / JustClaws.

Hey, I installed a couple of tools too, in particular the DART Karaoke tool, but the same thing happened. The CD-RW on my development PC is not compatible. However, my main PC CD-RW should be fine. I intend to create a CD after the E-Jagfest for the Jag, with content. I'll get back to you once I've actually written the CD+G successfully! Cheers, JustClaws.

Hello, Games Magazine (UK), Issue#23. (http://www.totalgames.net/) Page 146, right-hand, lower column, last page of Jaguar feature. For me, Games is now superior to Edge magazine, and I've been an Edge reader for so many years I can't remember. (I need to subscribe to both, I keep meaning to, but being in Holland I have distractions...) Hmm.... that might not read right to my wife. I mean I'm busy at work, and programming the Jaguar every chance I get, which isn't very often. Gaming seems to have become a luxury, even *my* Jaguar is dusty! Cheers, JustClaws. P.S. If anybody from Games dislikes me posting this review, I'm sorry, I can't remove it, there's no edit function on AA these days... and I think it's going to make more fans subscribe that lose copyright income.

Hello, I thought... oh well I'll post it anyway... it's only brief, but nice, if somebody else posted this already, sorry, I didn't see it before. Games Magazine (UK), Issue#23. (http://www.totalgames.net/) There is quite a nice feature, wrong on a couple of points (it says that Jaguar isn't really 64-bit except adding 32-bit processors up) and has some strange screenshots, some of games I don't know. However, it does have a screenshot of Painter among them, that's rather cool, also of Phase Zero, and I think Black Ice white noise. Another might be the kiddy ride, from Mario Perdue, name I forget. (At least 2 are from unreleased games though I think, and notably the screenshot of Defender 2000 is with the Flossie cheat active!) Among the six of the best feature, they review Protector SE in a very complimentary way, but the feature has many short-comings. I was pretty astonished to be honest that Games didn't manage to mention any of the other post-Atari games, like Iron Soldier II, or Worms, or of course, BattleSphere, but they didn't. I guess the reviewer (apparently called Martin Mathers) is a Defender fan and with Protector SE easily available, has played it to death, but with other titles scarce, and BattleSphere unavailable, he missed them. I'm sure the magazine has had a good deal deal of flak from fans about missing out other great titles, not least BattleSphere, but I don't get the magazine every month (it's expensive in Holland and I don't get to an import newsagent regularly, I was lucky with #23) so I can't really say whether issue#24 (if it's out already) fixed this. Cheers, JustClaws.

Hello Carl, I'm guessing you sold-out with UK orders after the RAVE review in UK magazine (and Edge rival/successor) "Gaming" magazine, iss#23, the edition which featured the Jaguar as the retro console. (At last...) If you didn't read it... I'll post it. Anybody else interested, not seen it? Cheers, JustClaws.

Hello Peter, So this confirms you'll be there! Cool. Just a tie would do, and an Atari T-shirt. Maybe your dad still has some at the back of his wardrobe? Another idea would a James Bond theme, everybody come in their dinner suits. Who knows, it's just an idea. 70's works though for me, but I don't actually have any clothes from that era myself, directly. Cheers, JustClaws.

Hello, So with all these plans, how is it you're not coming. (I heard from Lars!) JustClaws.

Hello, I had a bit of a mad idea talking to Lars yesterday... How about for the group photo, we have a 70's theme for the day? We wanted to take a portrait of everybody at the fest, we could do this in 70's style, just bring an awful tie from your father, (or maybe your own of course!) and I'll try to bring a 70's wig and moustache! Anything else of course, tweed jackets, glitter glasses, whatever... Then for the E-Jagfest 2004 portrait, we can have everybody in the 70's gear. 60's gear would be OK. I think we could maybe also have a prize for the best "retro dresser" at the show, just for an incentive. I think as the Atari 7800 is being reborn lately, by Atari/Infogrames, and retro is very chic, it would be funny to have everybody posing for the group photo this way. Individual portraits possible as well... (Americans friends probably think we dress that way every day... because you've watched the Austin Powers series... haven't you?) WHAT DO YOU THINK - I THINK IT COULD BE COOL AND A LAUGH... Cheers, JustClaws.

Hello Walter, Did you have any luck, 'cos I'm experimenting now here. Cheers, JustClaws.

Hello, No chance you'll be at the E-Jagfest then, with your soldering kit? Alternatively, anything from you or your friend, to demo at the fest? I need to pursue this some time... great work, seriously cool efforts. Cheers, JustClaws.

Did you resolve this Linko? Can you bring the video to E-Jagfest? Hope all is well, you've been off-the-map for ages lately. Work eh? Cheers, JustClaws.

SPECULTION being a typo for "speculation". :-(

Hello, Has anybody got one of these yet, and any comments? [RIDICULOUS SPECULTION] I wonder if it's a 7800 on a chip, if so, is it hackable to take other cartridges? Maybe it would fit in a Jag cartridge, as a special add-on, with shared RAM to upload games it it. [/RIDICULOUS SPECULTION] Cheers, JustClaws.

Carl, Did you ever have any success tracking down any NUON devkits? I've been in touch with a couple of ex-developers, but had no luck. (In fact, only one replied to me, I guess they're tired of enquiries.) I guess there's no change to the situation on lost NUON titles either? I'm still looking for a nice N501 if I can't track down an N504 or devkit. I think you're kind of busy right now though aren't you, with other new projects... but when you wife has that sorted let me know... Cheers, JustClaws.

Hello, A little better news on her journal now, via a transcribed phone entry. I've had the music playing with BS in the cart slot lately anyway, so it seemed kind of relevant to follow her progress, despite my being just being a random 3rd-party, but a caring human being sometimes. I think whatever your faith, or lack of it, keep up the good thoughts... Just trying to compose some music myself, I realise what a talent it is. Richard / JustClaws.

Hello, Yes, maybe you could add a link to say we're effectively going to be having a Euro-Nuonfest the same day, as part of Euro-Jagfest. Arethius and I will be taking NUON players and games, as well as a few other people I think, NUON's been adopted like an Atari. It would be wonderful if any of the German team who were part of VM-Labs could get over to Neuss, that would make our day... Cheers, JustClaws.

Hello, Lars, with E-Jagfest just a week ago... where's the buzz here? Now we know DragonForce won't be there, but lots of cool people will be... well lots of people with Atari stuff- they must be cool. With less than a week to go... I'm feeling the pressure, and I know you are... but anybody else from Netherlands heading down there? Also, remember everybody, NUON stuff will be on display too, it's just a pity it's not a week or 2 later, this fest, I hope to have some good news on the NUON front in due course... as well as Jag news. Cheers, JustClaws.

There's no comparison. Bubsy on Jaguar is a 2D platformer, similar to Zool-2 I suppose. It's a unique version, and I really enjoyed it, as did my wife back at the time of release, and more recently my gamed-up kids. Taking a 2D platformer and turning it 3D has failed so many times... It's not a top 10 Jaguar game perhaps but I never understood why people didn't like it or Zool-2. It's certainly a fun game, and some people who did not like it never liked platformers, or had played another Bubsy on another platformer, and so presumed it was the same. There are various themes for the levels, and it's a nice change from shoot-em-ups, but still very playable as a pick-up-and-play just as Zool-2 and Soccer Kid are. Cheers, JustClaws.

Hello, The Jaguar does a bit-by-bit check of the whole Jaguar cartridge at boot-up, and you get the famous red-screen if just a single bit is wrong. Thus, if the game gets past this screen, it's not damaged, no question of that. However, a black screen at these points suggests more likely that the Jaguar is damaged, but if it's only this one game that fails, who knows. I suggest the game may just crash at any point, and it's only coincidence that it's when you pick the player. Leave it running for a while on the menu and see if it black screens anyway. Is the Jaguar PAL or NTSC? There is another possibility, but I've not tried it. He doesn't have a BJL cable plugged into port 2 do you? I don't think it's relevant but in case... If one starts-up Club Drive with a BJL cable in port 2, the joypad signal is recognised by Club Drive as being something special, and it plays the music, but halts the game. Likewise, if you plug in the cable at any time, it resets back to the boot-up part of the game. (It would be nice to think it's looking for a steering wheel... but I think it's just a bug triggered by having so many signals from the BJL looking like button presses.) Most games do not display this behaviour, but a couple do something similar. Cheers, JustClaws.

Hello, In the UK normally, nobody ever sold the Cybermorph in a box, because every Jaguar sold came with one as the pack-in. There was never any variation to that, except for the version. Yes, as somebody else said, I'd really like that box myself, I've bid on a few auctions for one, just to add the item. However, they are still available new from a few places, so value must be capped at less than the NIB price, but I just never bit the bullet to buy one new. (I bought almost ever other game NIB on or soon after the day of release in the UK, from my local game specialist, who were buddies with Atari UK. Thus I paid top-whack I guess for most of my systems, but that was before I had kids, and so now with 3 kids, I'm a little more cautious...) Cheers, JustClaws.

Hello, I guess you mean this game? http://www.popcap.com/launchpage.php?theGame=bejeweled I think there are lots of options for a Clicks2, if Matthias ever could be persuaded to write one, but for now, Clicks is a great game, and adding more game modes could mean another year or 2 to wait.... besides the game isn't a clone of anything, it's a new production... However, that does look a nice game, I downloaded and played. There are other puzzle type games though, there's a nice one on the RealPlayer arcade at present, it's called ZUMA Deluxe on there. http://www.realarcade.com/ Matthias does have other games he could finish too of course, so we have to weigh up having one great game finished, against the idea to keep him developing new variations for years, and never get a single game in our hands. Besides, if Clicks is as successful and appreciated as it deserves, maybe a Clicks-2 with other nice features can come along. (He'll shout at me for this at EJagfest!) Cheers, JustClaws.

Hello Doc, I looked into the Sega Genesis/Megadrive home-brew scene a while back, thinking maybe there was something I could learn or use from there, but unless I just failed to find the good stuff, there isn't much going on there, and they lack so much information compared to the Jaguar (which with Sega still around, make sense, sadly, although it might seem the opposite should be true to some people....) and so there was nothing to do. Interesting little community of hackers... With regard to actually porting binaries, that looks just too impossible once again, as is the case with most binary ports. The Jaguar would need to run an emulation layer of some sort, to pick up writes to the Megadrive addresses, and remap them onto a "hardware emulation layer" running on the GPU or DSP perhaps. However, they would be needed in any case to emulate the Megadrive custom chips, and it is impossible anyway, because the 68000 has no support for memory protection of the sort necessary to trap these writes to such addresses. Now if somebody had source, that might be more possible, but then we are back to the age-old problem of somebody having the time and interest to rewrite lots of code to port a (probably 2nd-rate) game from Megadrive to Jaguar, avoiding any legal hassles, and an artist who could upgrade the 4-bit graphics to at least 8-bit to look better I guess on the Jaguar. (Not that I would object to playing a Megadrive game intact on the Jaguar... as I would any new games!) Anyway... sorry for the long slightly rambling post on the subject, but I'm just "thinking on the fly", so you've got a minor brain dump, and that is bound to be a bit ragged with all the things going on here! Cheers, and regards, JustClaws,