Is there a game you would buy the hardware for to play it? (Atari 8 bit)

[shoestring]

After moving from the UK to the US I got a PAL 800xl so I could play Dropzone properly again.

 

The reason I got my first A8 in the first place, just to play Dropzone.

 

I used to spend hours playing it on th c64 but the POKEYs more focused spot sfx make the whole experience more fun. There is something more satisfying about shooting and blasting enemies in the A8 version.

[+davidcalgary29]

One of the main reasons I upgraded to a 130XE in 1987 was to finally be able to play The Eidolon. And Tempest Elite certainly has the potential of being a VBXE killer app if can ever be stabilized on NTSC systems.

[Mclaneinc]

 

The reason I got my first A8 in the first place, just to play Dropzone.

 

I used to spend hours playing it on th c64 but the POKEYs more focused spot sfx make the whole experience more fun. There is something more satisfying about shooting and blasting enemies in the A8 version.

 

I used to see Archer at the shows and he recognised me from Maplin as that where he got his disk drive from (me in fact) and a couple of us were mad drop zone fans and my mate was saying to him that he found the C64 version a bit easy and Archer said and I think it was also quoted at other times in an interview (not 100% on that) that he said "when you have mastered the C64 version then you are ready for the Atari one" which was a much tighter game. And he wasn't kidding as I had barely played the C64 one and went home that night after the show, played the C64 one and indeed found it a softer more slowed game, the Atari in turn was far more responsive and later on dying was very very easy

 

And Super Dropzone on the SNES was good but I still prefer the Atari 8 bit one every time..

[Mclaneinc]

One of the main reasons I upgraded to a 130XE in 1987 was to finally be able to play The Eidolon. And Tempest Elite certainly has the potential of being a VBXE killer app if can ever be stabilized on NTSC systems.

 

I still find the Eidolon a bit hit and miss for me, I love the CEL (or was the name GEL?..Sure it was CEL) tech they used to make it and the use of the fractal type match look ie layers version but I just never got attached to it unlike Koronis Rift which I loved to death, finicky at first but rock solid...

 

I think the lovely monitors at the start just hooked me, just the clever use of colour and graphical tricks made me think "Wow" when I saw it and then the game itself was just so fun..

Edited December 15, 2018 by Mclaneinc

[+davidcalgary29]

So true! I played The Eidolon for about an hour and then went back to stuff like Pooyan, which is much more fun. I really didn’t use extended memory beyond Atariwriter until modern coders really started to take advantage of it. Now it’s completely worth it.

[doctorclu]

I am a sucker for all shiny things lLamasoft. After seeing Colourspace probably in 86, I bought (in this order) a:

• Jaguar for Tempest 2000
• Jaguar CD for VLM
• Nuon for Tempest 3000 and VLM2
• ..
• PS4 for Polybius (many other games I love on it, but I bought the PS4Pro+VR for release day of Polybius. I was one of a dozen people to get Tempest 4000 a few months early too)

 

That is basically me, but instead of Jeff Minter I have Bubsy Bobcat. To date I have bought a SNES, Genesis, Playstation 2 and 4 primarily for Bubsy.

 

(Already had the Jaguar, that is where I first saw the Bubster..)

[Gunstar]

 

I still find the Eidolon a bit hit and miss for me, I love the CEL (or was the name GEL?..Sure it was CEL) tech they used to make it and the use of the fractal type match look ie layers version but I just never got attached to it unlike Koronis Rift which I loved to death, finicky at first but rock solid...

 

I think the lovely monitors at the start just hooked me, just the clever use of colour and graphical tricks made me think "Wow" when I saw it and then the game itself was just so fun..

It's was and is the opposite for me, I really got into The Eidolon, probably only ever made it to level 5 or 6 back in the day, and I finally finished it about 5-10 years ago. Koronis Rift, on the other hand, is more my type of game, and I do love it, but I was never able to master the aiming cursor, it always felt too slow and unresponsive to me, and tough to aim. I have never gotten past level 2. I almost always die fighting the saucers in level 1, if I get lucky and survive, I'm dead with the first wave in level 2. Got any tips for me to turn this around and get good with the Koronis gun?

 

But if I didn't buy my first 130XE for other reasons, and had known about the Lucasfilm games at the time (I bought it the same year these two were released, in '85), they would have been killer apps causing me to by an Atari 8-bit in '85.

Edited December 19, 2018 by Gunstar

[carlsson]

Hm. I gotta download The Eidolon for the Atari and see how much more impressive it is compared to the C64 version which I tried to like but never got very far into.

[Mclaneinc]

I love the fact that Star Raiders still is the top draw to the Atari after all these years, when I saw it I thought "great a that I can shoot stuff with, right up my street and its got a real snazzy way of doing it" without even realising just how much there was to the game, the look alone had me hook, line and sinker and then I started to get lost in the game for HOURS and HOURS.

 

Totally compelling to this day.

 

Mind you I was the same when Jaggi lines leaked, not as much as SR but not far behind, another game that lost me HOURS on end.

 

Either one of those would have taken my cash for the machine but what hooked me was the machine itself, the 400 and 500 were just so different with the 800 still being my fave machine with the Amiga 1200 just behind. When the 800 was in front of me I had to have it, the games helped but the machine sold itself...

[pixelmischief]

I love the fact that Star Raiders still is the top draw to the Atari after all these years

 

You wanna hear some ridiculous shit? I've never played Star Raiders. Not one time. I think I'll treat myself to that experience this weekend.

[pixelmischief]

Hm. I gotta download The Eidolon...which I tried to like but never got very far into.

 

The Eidolon is more to be admired than loved. It's a tech demo, and a damned impressive one. But as a game? There's really not much there.

[Gunstar]

I love the fact that Star Raiders still is the top draw to the Atari after all these years, when I saw it I thought "great a that I can shoot stuff with, right up my street and its got a real snazzy way of doing it" without even realising just how much there was to the game, the look alone had me hook, line and sinker and then I started to get lost in the game for HOURS and HOURS.

 

Totally compelling to this day.

 

Mind you I was the same when Jaggi lines leaked, not as much as SR but not far behind, another game that lost me HOURS on end.

 

Either one of those would have taken my cash for the machine but what hooked me was the machine itself, the 400 and 500 were just so different with the 800 still being my fave machine with the Amiga 1200 just behind. When the 800 was in front of me I had to have it, the games helped but the machine sold itself...

400 and 500?

[Gunstar]

 

The Eidolon is more to be admired than loved. It's a tech demo, and a damned impressive one. But as a game? There's really not much there.

There is a LOT there, you obviously haven't gotten far. lots of strategy, game play, exploration, excitement and puzzle solvimg. There is a LOT there, which makes it a classic beyond it's graphic brilliance. By the last levels it is very impressive as a whole.

Edited December 19, 2018 by Gunstar

[pixelmischief]

There is a LOT there, you obviously haven't gotten far. lots of strategy, game play, exploration, excitement and puzzle solvimg. There is a LOT there, which makes it a classic beyond it's graphic brilliance. By the last levels it is very impressive as a whole.

 

Damnit! I played it a bit for a while, but didn't get too far. Then I heard from some sources that it was kinda shallow and I've been regurgitating that mantra for decades. My bad. Guess I have TWO great games to get into now.

[Ransom]

Star Raiders is definitely one I'd buy the hardware to play if I didn't already have it. In fact, I have both an A8 and a 5200 so I can enjoy both versions of the game. It's a never-gets-old game for me, as well as a must have.

 

Same for Intellivision's AD&D Cloudy Mountain. That's another game I can happily play again and again, enjoying the challenge of it every single time.

[+davidcalgary29]

You wanna hear some ridiculous shit? I've never played Star Raiders. Not one time. I think I'll treat myself to that experience this weekend.

Ooh...there’s a true A8 pearl-clutching moment.

 

I have to admit that I actually like Star Raiders II more.

[Gunstar]

 

Damnit! I played it a bit for a while, but didn't get too far. Then I heard from some sources that it was kinda shallow and I've been regurgitating that mantra for decades. My bad. Guess I have TWO great games to get into now.

The main thing (to progress in levels) is learning what color crystal shots you need to defeat each Dragon, a hint of which is given when you use the right one, with a small explosion and color flash, but on some Dragons it's multiple color shots needed. Also, you have to learn to shoot the shots fired by the dragons and then catch them with the space bar after turning them into energy you can use, this will keep you alive long enough to figure out color crystals needed and with later dragons, you don't have enough energy to kill them without collecting their shots.

 

Of course there's more with finding the crystals, getting past creatures that protect them, which gets harder with each level and some puzzle solving for some similar to the right colors to shoot at dragons, managing time and energy, etc. And the last level and the last dragon is worth it all just to see!

 

Don't spoil it by finding a long-play video on youtube, if there is one! it's worth the effort to see on a real Atari for the first time/

 

i'm in the same position as you but with Koronis Rift, there's so much more to it than I've seen, from word of mouth and that fantastic article about the Lucasfilm games and interviews with the developers in issue 3 of EXCEL.

 

As a matter of fact, issue 3 of EXCEL has maps of all Eidolon levels and tells you how to defeat the creatures and dragons, if you want an easier time of it. Get the digital download PDF is issue 3! There's a special on the fist 5 issue PDF's right now!

Edited December 19, 2018 by Gunstar

[kiwilove]

Star Raiders is a game that must be played to appreciate what it is all about - the incredible details present - it is not that impressive when you first view it. Is there a video that does point out the various things present in Star Raiders? A nice commentary that explains what is happening - would help.

Most will know about how to find your starbase when your computer is battle damaged - because they were told about how to do it - rather than experimenting to find out how to do it? But maybe there are other stuff in the game - few will know of?

I never got into Eidolon nor Koronis Rift because the graphics didn't work for me - thought they could be a bit better still.

 

Harvey

[+davidcalgary29]

I am a sucker for all shiny things lLamasoft. After seeing Colourspace probably in 86, I bought (in this order) a:

 

• Jaguar for Tempest 2000
• Jaguar CD for VLM
• Nuon for Tempest 3000 and VLM2
• XBox 360 for Space Giraffe (yes, a $500 colsone for a $5 game) and it also had Nuon
• Gamecube for Unity (sadly did not come out - I sold the Gamecube)
• ST to revisit ColourSpace2 and Trip-A-Tron
• PS4 for Polybius (many other games I love on it, but I bought the PS4Pro+VR for release day of Polybius. I was one of a dozen people to get Tempest 4000 a few months early too)

Add my Atari Video Music to that, and I have one hell of a light synth collection!

...but...but...you’re missing TxK for the Vita!!

 

Oh, okay. I’ve been playing it for the past week, and can’t see it as a system seller. It’s fun, and has some nice visuals, but T2K is a better game. I’ll keep playing it until someone builds me my PortaJag (with SainT’s SD cart, of course).

[Pengwin]

Looking back, I would definitely get an A8 for Rescue on Fractalus, Star Raiders and Archon (the A8 original is still the best IMO). But as I still have my A8 and those games... no problem

[+davidcalgary29]

Looking back, I would definitely get an A8 for Rescue on Fractalus, Star Raiders and Archon (the A8 original is still the best IMO). But as I still have my A8 and those games... no problem

Archon is great fun, but I sure wish someone would do an update of Triad. So underplayed.

[pixelmischief]

Looking back, I would definitely get an A8 for...Archon

Archon is a game that truly shines n the Atari. The animation and character movement are so fast and smooth. Its one of those games that even my NES friends could not deny was a step ahead of what they had on their system.

[+Stephen]

...but...but...you’re missing TxK for the Vita!!

 

Oh, okay. I’ve been playing it for the past week, and can’t see it as a system seller. It’s fun, and has some nice visuals, but T2K is a better game. I’ll keep playing it until someone builds me my PortaJag (with SainT’s SD cart, of course).

Ah - knew I was missing one. Yes, I do have a Vita, and did in fact get it when TxK came out I managed to snag one of the last ones with built in 3G as well as OLED screen. I love the thing. Integrates so well with the PS4.

[Pengwin]

Archon is a game that truly shines n the Atari. The animation and character movement are so fast and smooth. Its one of those games that even my NES friends could not deny was a step ahead of what they had on their system.

 

 

I've tried other versions, including the Spectrum and C64, neither are as well polished as the A8 version.

Even the modern incarnations (Archon Ultra and Archon Conquest (?) on iOS) seem to lose something, which brings me back to the A8 version every time.

[pixelmischief]

Ooh...there’s a true A8 pearl-clutching moment.

 

I have to admit that I actually like Star Raiders II more.

 

I never played Stars Raider II, either; or, at least, not AS Star Raiders II. I did play the bejeezus out of The Last Starfighter, which I understand is a development branch of Star Raiders II? I might have been misinformed. Anyone have any info about that?