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Nebulon

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Posts posted by Nebulon

  1. Posted

    Nope. They didn’t have any Vector games in the Arcade I frequented in the mall in the late 90s. I think they had a Pacman , but I never played it. I was only interested in San Francisco Rush, Tekken 3, Street Fighter 2 Turbo, and Killer Instinct. I occasionally played Gauntlet Legends with my 4 friends. Oh, and Sega Rally GT. Which was a whole dollar to play. What a Rip off.

     

    My goodness. I'm guessing you've see color vector coin-ops in-person since? If not, you owe it to yourself to get an up-close look at an operational Major Havoc, Star Wars, Space Duel, or Gravitar cabinet.

    • Like 2

  2. Posted

    The first was probably the 80287 co-processor. It was really nervous installing that thing. It made a huge difference though. Well worth it.

     

    Other notables were:

     

    Adding RAM to a Color Computer 3 to bring it to 512K.

     

    Adding Genoa's top-of-the-line EGA card (this was the easiest of the three upgrades, by far). Oooh. All 16 colors. Not very impressive, but certainly better than CGA.

  3. Posted

    Hmm, I don't see why a PC can't do fine smooth scrolling. Or are you talking about the limitations of "normal" PC Operating Systems not being real-time?

    The first VGA cards were really slow. Plenty of colors, but slow. Even in the early to mid-90s, the PC just couldn't seem to scroll smoothly horizontally or vertically... especially vertically.

     

    As for the C64 vs A8 debate. I've seen great things on both machines. Regardless, I'm still astounded by how amazing Space Harrier looks and plays on a stock Atari 800XL hooked up to a 1084 monitor. Absolutely remarkable. Sound is great on both machines. However, I tend to favor the SID chip (it's got crazy bass)

     

    Something to keep in mind with the Atari 8-bit machines is that it's just the same technology (with very minor tweaks) re-packaged again and again. In reality, they're all pretty much the same as the 800 from 1979. And that's a mighty significant technological lead for a computing platform of that era (as opposed to today where it seems like little has changed in the last 10 years).

    • Like 1

  4. Posted · Edited by Nebulon

    After selling and doing tech work on PCs for ages (and really hating them), I had to admit they were finally good when the Pentium Pro showed up.

     

    Between that and the DEC Alpha, that was the moment in history where I was really impressed by the ratio of processing speed to price.

     

    And there's documentation out there to suggest that the Pentium Pro and Pentium II/III are related to the DEC Alpha. But that's another story....

     

     

    https://www.wired.com/1997/10/intel-dec-settle-alpha-chip-dispute/

     

    https://www.hpcwire.com/1997/05/16/dec-sues-intel-alleges-architecture-patent-infringement/

     

    https://www.forbes.com/forbes/1998/0323/6106042a.html#7b7a441ae07d

     

    https://www.nytimes.com/1997/05/14/business/suit-by-digital-says-intel-stole-pentium-design.html

     

    https://money.cnn.com/1997/10/27/deals/settle/

    • Like 3

  5. Posted

    "Retro computer"? Do you mean vintage computer? I thought something "retro" was a modern creation that was attempting to look/act like something vintage.

     

    Most vintage computers didn't surprise me because I already knew about them or used them years ago. There are many computers that I love, but they didn't surprise me.

     

    I'd say the Kaypro pleasantly surprised me - the nice keyboard, metal case, the long persistent phosphor green screen. It has no graphics, colour or sound (other than key beep) and you can't do much with it these days, but it sure looks nice.

     

    gallery_12824_521_83048.jpg

     

    Nice.

     

    Looks like the kind of interface that could give you the status report on the Nostromo's systems. However, any data concerning Xenomorphs would be strictly classified.

     

    A buddy of mine had an old terminal monitor. You could hook it up to pretty much anything and just start typing. Hollywood movies used to use them for simulating interactive texting between human and an A.I.s.

    • Like 1

  6. Posted

    I've always considered myself relatively good at games but man a lot you guys must be at that much higher speed-runner level to be able to tell a couple of frames.. :lol: Just saying.

     

    For me unless it's REALLY bad, I can't tell lag a lot of times.

     

     

    Actually, for twitch games, 100ms is really bad. This same issue comes up for digital audio workstations. Even a 20 ms delay on those will drive musicians batty. Again, latency mainly impacts the older style of games like Pac-Man, Demon Attack, etc... (as well as top-down shooters, and the like). And of course, those happen to be my favorite kinds of games.

  7. Posted

    Addressing a few tidbits here and there from various posts:

     

    1) Both lead designers of the Atari 800 worked on the Amiga (Jay Miner and Joe Decuir).

     

    2) Amiga 1000 software runs on the Amiga 500, so that's two years worth of software already built-up for the A500.

     

    3) There are things the Amiga audio chip can do that a lot of people don't realize. We already know it can be split to 8-channels in software, but there's more stuff than just that (much of it in hardware).

     

    Links and info:

     

     

    Audio: Define waveform (digital oscillator as sine, triangle, square, or custom), append one waveform with another, sum the four digital oscillator waveforms together or play them separately, modulate one with another, use as four independent audio state machines with its own DMA. This is all happening in hardware and there are special commands provided for this. Plus, the recording quality is very good for an 8-bit sampler and approaches the quality of a 12 or 14-bit sampler when coupled with a 68030.

    https://archive.org/stream/Amiga_Hardware_Reference_Manual_1985_Commodore_a/Amiga_Hardware_Reference_Manual_1985_Commodore_a_djvu.txt

     

    Example of Amiga audio chip approximating an analog synth using defined wave shapes (essentially a DCO-generator):

    https://www.blitter.com/~nebulous/otherworld/MP3/JS_Bach%20-%20Brandenburg4%20(Amiga).mp3

     

    I understand that the IIGS has a great DCO implementation. However, I'm not sure how it compares in both quality and handling of sampled audio.

    • Like 1

  10. Posted

    I see the ST the same way. Such a flexible system. Once saw a Falcon, I had to have one. It really is an impressive unit. I have A1200, A3000, A4000 and CD32/SX1, but to me, the TT and Falcon just smoke them. Don't get me wrong, they are nice machines, but, Atari just got it right in the OS dept for me.

     

     

    In may case, I'd have to vote for Amiga OS 2.06 and up. I can't really think of another OS that performs at its level prior to Windows 95 (other than perhaps IRIX). Heck, there's things that an A4000/040 running AmigaOS 3 or 3.1 can do that even Win95 has trouble doing.

     

    Having said that, MultiTOS looks pretty nice running on the Falcon. However, since I've never had the opportunity to put it through its paces, I can't really say which OS is better. If a buddy of mine hadn't sold his Falcon, I'd be able to try it out.

    • Like 2

  12. Posted

    Wanted the Atari 800 when it first hit the shelves (but had to settle for a CoCo 2 -- which turned out okay though). Still not my first choice, since I was heavily into graphics.

     

    Then the ST and Amiga arrived on the scene. Almost got the ST, but waited for the Amiga 500 since I needed as many colors as I could get my hands on.

     

    On a related note, here's a 45-minute edit of Joe Decuir and Ron Nicholson's presentation of the Atari 8-bit and Amiga tech history:

    • Like 2

  13. Posted

     

    Hmmm.... Hearing mixed reviews about these.

     

    Apparently Gauntlet is 2-player, a bit laggy, and stalls out at level 31.

  14. Posted · Edited by Nebulon

    Regarding 80s arcade games. Wal Mart is selling them new at retail right now. That's never happened before. I'd say that means at least some people are interested.

    Wow. You're not kidding!

     

    https://www.walmart.com/search/?cat_id=2636_1101552_4530062&query=arcade%2B1up&typeahead=arcade%2B1&u1=05a7ZSUK3m4iCBsGPuM4ZVc&oid=623515.1&wmlspartner=50DJ9wK/dbY&sourceid=24200573670021129925&affillinktype=10&veh=aff#searchProductResult

     

     

    Figured I'd add that if I were to get one of these, it would be Centipede (includes Missile Command, Millipede, and Crystal Castles):

    https://www.walmart.com/ip/Arcade1Up-Centipede-Machine-4ft/617089098

     

    And then I saw this...

    https://www.walmart.com/ip/Arcade1Up-Asteroids-Machine-4ft/828150107

     

    Major Havoc and Tempest. Woot!

    • Like 1

  15. Posted

    I was born in the 80s and grew up playing the NES. I didn’t know their was Atari anything until about 5 years ago. I remember a very faint memory of playing an Atari 2600 at my cousins house when I was around 3 years old, but it’s hard to tell for sure.

    Anyway, I am very much the opposite. I think Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft are great and all but they have capitalized on what Atari, Coleco, Mattel, Magnavox and others already built. At the very least they learned from there mistakes and capitalized on those.

    I missed out on going to Arcades in the 70s and 80s because I was born in 1981. I wish I could have gone to an arcade and had a serious game of defender, Robotron 2084, Black Widow, Gravitar, Asteroids, PACMAN, Qbert, Galaga, Space Invaders, and many others I can’t think of. But I was stuck playing Street Fighter 2, X-men, San Francisco Rush, and eventually Tekken 3. Not bad games, but certainly not the greats. I wish I could have enjoyed learning to program on a machine that enables you to actually control the hardware at such a simple and direct level. I wish instead of reading about the Ultra 64 in Next Generation magazine that I could have been learning to code in assembly by typing in programs from Antic and Analog.

    Kids now days(including me) are overly entertained by the ease of access to anything we want at a whim. It takes away the necessity of learning because you are bored and want more. The birth of computers and video game technology is the time I long to understand and experience. So I’m trying to do so now. Unfortunately I don’t have the time a child and teenager have to mess with these amazing machines and type in long programs for a few hours everyday.

     

    Wow. What a great comment!

     

    If I could beam what I saw from 1980 through 1984 into your brain, I would. Hollywood's tried to present some of it, but they keep falling short of the mark (which is weird, since they usually make things larger than life).

     

    I find that constraints can make things a lot more fun in certain cases. I know for music that quite a few people just pick out two or three instruments and just spend a day working with only those. They tend to get more stuff done that way. I've yet to take that approach to retro-gaming or old computers, but I can't see why that wouldn't work. So maybe that's an idea. I suppose a person could select one 8-bit machine and make it a goal to learn how it works at the hardware level and then try to learn to program that hardware.

     

    Hints: Pick a platform that has existing examples of games that you find interesting, don't expect instant results (this stuff is difficult for sure), and just pick away at it a bit at a time (kind of like the idea of practicing guitar 15 minutes a day).

    • Like 1

  16. Posted

     

    Is this in reply to me? If so congratulations, you are right! Those are very different examples of storytelling in video games. Both are still critically acclaimed to this day (although I could personally forget about MGS and be fine). Anyway, thanks for pointing out that games have been telling stories both Pre and Post NES and providing very successful examples.

     

     

     

    Bioshock 2 is a great game, but it is pretty much an example of a "If it ain't broke, don't fix it" sequel when compared to the original. All three games are credited with excellent story elements by critics, but 2 is usually the lowest rated of the group. Personally, I can't make any big distinction between 1 and 2 in terms of the raw quality of the story. They rank about the same to me. Honestly, in the case of that series, I like them and the story kept me entertained, but I didn't get quite as excited as most peopled seemed to. Still a great example of excellent storytelling in video games.

     

    Bioshock 2 fixed a few things here and there: A few strategic voice-actor changes, improvement on the audio FX and mix, some refinements to the graphics, and -- IMHO -- a better and more cinematic ending than the first installment.

     

    And yes, I'm glad someone mentioned text games like the Zork series. There were some great story-telling games back in the day. In fact, I recall a few text adventures that really worked on me (despite their extremely simple graphics).

     

    It may not be the NES, but it's related; I actually got into the game Brainlord on the SNES a few years ago. And I actually kind of enjoyed MS Saga on the PS2 (up until a boss fight that was so tough that I gave up after about 50 attempts). Then there's Starship Titanic. Missed out on that one the first time... might actually go back and give it a try.

    • Like 1

  18. Posted · Edited by Nebulon

    This, this, a THOUSAND TIMES THIS!

     

    I know some people really care for the stories and the characters within that modern games have. Frankly....I just don't get it. I actually think video games are an AWFUL story telling medium--maybe because they aren't a passive form of entertainment like movies or books, I don't know. But I never feel there is any real tension in video game stories....after all I can always start over/re-load my save/have another life/whatever. There is no stakes, no real tension. And the switch from passive (watching a cutscene/reading a dialog box/whatever) to interactive (playing the game) always removes me from any gravitas the story might have.

    As a rule, cut scenes should always be skippable and then made available in an index for playback on demand.

     

    Only one modern game ever told a story effectively for me and that was Bioshock 2.

    • Like 2

  20. Posted

    Neither of my parents were at all into video games.

     

    However, when my dad was in his late 70s, he actually started to like a few of them (Missile Command [Atari 800XL] and Time Pilot [Vector Pilot] in particular).

     

    And my mom actually tried playing a game once -- about a year ago. It was strange seeing a classic 50s mom swear at the ghosts when they caught Ms. Pac-Man. She didn't play any more games after that because she said it, "made her too angry."

     

    It really says something when simple pixelated characters can create such an emotional reaction in people across generations.

    • Like 1

  21. Posted

    There are still some fun experiences to be had pre NES, but those games just cannot compete with the best NES has to offer. The NES offered a level of immersion in games that wasn't seen before. Then you add the much improved controller pad that was a night and day improvement over anything else that came before. There is a reason why the Classic NES Mini sold so well, because after all these years NES games still hold up. The graphics while dated by modern standards still look nice in a retro way. The characters are definable unlike say Atari 2600 where everything is a blocky mess. Then there is music in NES games. SMB and Zelda's main theme are probably the most recognizable video game music of all time. You don't really get that pre NES.

     

    There were so many new gameplay mechanics found in the NES that totally changed the way people thought about games. It came to a point where Nintendo became synonymous with "Video Game". How many times have you heard people generically refer to anything video game related as a "Nintendo". Its easy to understand why its hard for a lot of people to enjoy most pre NES games when you consider how much ahead the NES was in comparison.

     

    Of course, that depends on whether or not 'immersive' (often repetitive and laborious) adventure games are your thing.

     

    Personally, I'd take Frenzy on the ColecoVision over anything I've played on the NES (and I've play a crap-ton of NES games).

     

    As for the idea of people generically referring to anything video game related as a "Nintendo".... Consider that the same thing happened for decades with people referring to anything video game related as an "Atari".

    • Like 1
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