** New ** Most wanted game poll

[+pixelpedant]

While we're all posting videos, here are some reference points for how Space Harrier looked on the various 80s home computers. As food for thought, with respect to how it might look in a TI 99 port:

 

Arcade Original

 

Then, In rough order of graphical complexity:

 

C64

 

Amstrad CPC

 

MSX (Space Harrier 2) (using TMS99x8)

 

PC-88

 

Sharp X1

 

PC-6001

Edited December 29, 2018 by pixelpedant

[+Ksarul]

Interesting that there are 14 games with 10 or more votes already. . .

[+Omega-TI]

We might be getting some votes from non-TI users, or we have a boatload of lurkers voting.

[carlsson]

We might be getting some votes from non-TI users, or we have a boatload of lurkers voting.

 

Guilty as charged. Ideally I would want to vote on games on the principle "this game is so awesome that I would reevaluate my 10+ year old viewpoint and finally get myself a TI-99/4A in order to play it" but as the majority of games suggested are on the principle of "this game exists on every other platform already, so it ought to exist on the TI-99/4A as well", I'm not sure it will have the outcome I hope for. Sure, there are a bunch of unknown to me titles in the list, but I was too lazy to look those up in order to make a more informed choice plus that such oddball titles won't make the top list anyway.

[1980gamer]

I am not a lurker... I am a TI user and would love to see Winter Games.

And

GALAGA, for 2 reasons. 1, I love the game! 2. It has a lot of moving characters on a horizontal plain, I want to see if it can be done?

Even with 5th sprite hardware, it will be a challenge

I have a few ideas how I would attempt to do it... But this game has too many fast moving objects and collisions for me to try to make.

Edited December 31, 2018 by 1980gamer

[+InsaneMultitasker]

I took the poll/question as a means to provide Rasmus ideas and insight versus a 'the game with the most votes is what will be programmed' expectation.

[globeron]

While we're all posting videos, here are some reference points for how Space Harrier looked on the various 80s home computers. As food for thought, with respect to how it might look in a TI 99 port:

 

Arcade Original

 

Then, In rough order of graphical complexity:

 

C64

 

Amstrad CPC

 

MSX (Space Harrier 2) (using TMS99x8)

 

PC-88

 

Sharp X1

 

PC-6001

 

That's a big difference with the arcade version. I think the TI with F18A video enhancement is closer to the Arcade version than any of the other systems. Rasmus?

[Asmusr]

 

That's a big difference with the arcade version. I think the TI with F18A video enhancement is closer to the Arcade version than any of the other systems. Rasmus?

 

The F18A is closer only because the 100Mhz GPU should be fast enough to draw a reasonable number of scaled sprites, but it doesn't have the video RAM required to store all the sprite patterns, and the best F18A mode for this game would be 128x192 in 16 colors, which is actually worse than the Amstrad CPC (160x200 16 colors). The original game hardware allows up to 6144 colors. If and when the F18A MK2 is released I would expect it to support this type of games (including Afterburner, etc.).

 

Games with a (pseudo) 3D world moving at a reasonable frame rate seems to be something we lack on the TI-99/4A. Which examples do we have? I'm thinking of games like 3D Deathchase on the ZX Spectrum:

Edited January 1, 2019 by Asmusr

[Iwantgames:)]

I can't believe Chuckie Egg only got 3 votes! One of my favorite platformers

[+pixelpedant]

 

Games with a (pseudo) 3D world moving at a reasonable frame rate seems to be something we lack on the TI-99/4A. Which examples do we have? I'm thinking of games like 3D Deathchase on the ZX Spectrum:

 

Well, Buck Rogers: Planet of Zoom being the conventional example. Not only because it's an into-the-screen shooter (like Space Harrier) featuring sprite scaling (like Space Harrier, albeit more primitive in its methods), but because it's a Sega arcade game which was ported to a whole array of others systems (like Space Harrier), three years in advance of the latter example.

 

Buck Rogers: Planet of Zoom - Arcade Original

 

Buck Rogers: Planet of Zoom - TI 99/4A Version

[+Ksarul]

Congo Bongo might fit into that niche, as might Arcturus, although I think Congo Bongo is somewhat closer to Knight Lore than it is to what you're looking for here, Rasmus.

[+pixelpedant]

Congo Bongo might fit into that niche, as might Arcturus, although I think Congo Bongo is somewhat closer to Knight Lore than it is to what you're looking for here, Rasmus.

 

Yeah, isometric 3D (a la Zaxxon) is a completely different kettle of fish. The challenge of making Buck Rogers or Space Harrier for whatever platform consists almost entirely in representing proximity of flying objects to the player in terms of scale rather than location, and thus, scaling them continuously (or more likely, iteratively at some acceptable rate). And this isn't done at all in an isometric shooter.

 

Solaris on 2600 is another example (maybe the most remarkable example) of doing this impressively on primitive hardware:

 

[matthew180]

The top two are Galaga(24) and Zaxxon(18)... really? Yawn. Classics they may be, but there are many other titles on the list that are better than those two. If I *had* to pick between them, Zaxxon would be first. I hope Rasmus is not going to choose strictly based on the numbers.

[+fimbulvetr]

Yeah, I love space shooters, but I would prefer something like Bosconian or Juno First.

[Opry99er]

^^agreed^^

 

Galaga and Zaxxon, meh. Great games, but I've played them ad nauseam---they're on every plug and play, every multicade, and you can even play Galaga on a smart TV. I don't find them interesting. But they seem to have the votes, so perhaps I'm in the minority.

[+fimbulvetr]

How about Fix-It Felix Jr.?

[Iwantgames:)]

^^agreed^^

Galaga and Zaxxon, meh. Great games, but I've played them ad nauseam---they're on every plug and play, every multicade, and you can even play Galaga on a smart TV. I don't find them interesting. But they seem to have the votes, so perhaps I'm in the minority.

I agree. Galaga is everywhere! I'd prefer Rampage if we talking Arcade ports even tho I have it on about 20 systems lol

 

I think porting some of the good yet still slightly obscure games off other classic computers is a better way to go as it's stuff everyone hasn't played to death already

[mizapf]

I suggested and voted for Galaga, and I am quite happy to see that there are many people with similar attitude.

 

In my view, Galaga is at first sight simple graphics (just at first sight), but also very fast-paced with lots of seemingly parallel actitivies on the screen. It was one of those games that simply proved, leaving no doubts, how far ahead the C64 gaming experience was to the TI. It would be a dream to play it on the TI (with stock graphics)... not althouh but just because it's almost everywhere.

 

As for the types of games that I'd like to see, I'd strongly prefer ports of old games instead of new ones.

 

This is just my opinion, with no expectations implied, of course.

[Tursi]

Well.. obviously more people like Galaga than don't, despite the vocal anti posts. The poll proves that.

 

I love Galaga, and the version that's in all the clones you mention, Opry99er, is almost entirely the NES port. Which is competent but not great.

 

A lot of people confuse Galaga with Galaxian, too. Don't be fooled. There's a lot more going on in Galaga.

 

Anyway, I think the poll is just a curiosity poll, not a dictation. (My poll's a dictation )

[Opry99er]

Yeah... I love Galaga... I have it on a couple systems,

A couple TV plug-and-plays, etc..

 

I also am a big fan of Galaxian on the Atari 2600.

 

I'm not anti-Galaga in any way. . It is a great game, as I've previously stated--and if it gets made, I'll likely buy a copy. But if we as a group could collectively choose virtually any period-appropriate game for our esteemed Rasmus to port to the TI-99/4A, Galaga seems like something of a vanilla choice. It's all opinion... and mine looks to be minority. I'm okay with that. If Galaga is the ultimate choice, I would lay money that it'll be the best port of that game on any classic system out there. Then I'll buy it and will be content, I'm sure.

[+save2600]

Too bad these are often forgotten:

 

Bagman

Black Widow

KAOS

Turtles

Zookeeper

 

[+arcadeshopper]

zookeeper would be interesting.. but tough to do with our sprite limit

[adamantyr]

One that isn't on the list, Castlequest. I like the idea of a multi-screen side scroller type game on the TI, we haven't had too many of them.

[Opry99er]

^^Faxanadu was my suggestion for this type of game. ^^

 

Castlequest, however, may even be a better choice, looking at it now.

Edited January 2, 2019 by Opry99er

[carlsson]

Perhaps do a cross of Galaga and Tapper (!) called Malaga, where you are a bartender throwing wine bottles at attacking tourists until they disappear.

 

Many of the game mechanisms could remain the same, just different setting plus that you'd circumvent both trademarks and original graphics. Or would that not be as interesting as a perfect port of the original game?