What's a game NO ONE likes?

[iliketurtles]

I mean, try not to beat me up for this, but I don't like Picnic Paranoia at all.

 

The only Atarisoft game I don't like.

[+save2600]

10 minutes ago, iliketurtles said:

I mean, try not to beat me up for this, but I don't like Picnic Paranoia at all.

 

The only Atarisoft game I don't like.

 

I might be able to forgive a game like this if it cost $4.95 BITD, was programmed in BASIC and you loaded it from tape. But since it's a cartridge AND produced by Atari - umm, no.  

[Tempest]

10 minutes ago, save2600 said:

 

I might be able to forgive a game like this if it cost $4.95 BITD, was programmed in BASIC and you loaded it from tape. But since it's a cartridge AND produced by Atari - umm, no.  

 

Speaking of Atari, anyone know why Atarisoft published Synapse's games on the TI-99 (Picnic Paranoia, Shamus, Super Storm (aka. Sime)?  Seems like an odd arrangement to me.

[+adamantyr]

A big part of why I find many of the TI games boring is that they are shallow and simple. Basic shoot-em-ups that you wouldn't spend more than 30 minutes playing.

 

This in itself isn't a surprise, since the platform was originally intended to be a console. (And in that, wow did they fall short compared to the MSX, which is considerably better designed for both cartridge AND disk/cassette gaming.) The 32K / Disk system upgraded TI would be a much better platform for more nuanced and deep gaming, but unfortunately it was difficult to acquire during the active phase of the TI-99/4a (1980-1983) so most of the best games on that came out long afterwards.

 

That's one reason I'm doing my CRPG... it's the kind of game we never had. (P.S. I'll be hopefully starting beta testing with external people next month.)

[pixelpedant]

21 minutes ago, adamantyr said:

 

That's one reason I'm doing my CRPG... it's the kind of game we never had. (P.S. I'll be hopefully starting beta testing with external people next month.) 

 

 

?

 

Can't wait to hear more.  Also, just discovered your site for the first time.  What a great read. 

[Airshack]

On 6/18/2019 at 4:05 PM, InfernalKeith said:

 

That's why I gravitate toward the turn-based strategy games, the Not Polyoptics titles and such.  

Which one(s)?

[Airshack]

6 hours ago, iliketurtles said:

The only Atarisoft game I don't like.

So why do you figure Pole Position is so ugly when their other ports are good looking?

 

Did TI in-house programmers do the Atarisoft ports under some kind of arrangement?

[Omega-TI]

37 minutes ago, Airshack said:

So why do you figure Pole Position is so ugly when their other ports are good looking?

 

Did TI in-house programmers do the Atarisoft ports under some kind of arrangement?

Yeah, Pole Position on the TI is rather 'lacking' in the visuals, but it's still one of my favorites on the TI.  The playability is pretty good too.  Now a few years back Rasmus got me REAL EXCITED when he made a demo of what I thought was going to be an awesome looking replacement, but alas, a completed version was not to be. ? 

[InfernalKeith]

8 hours ago, Airshack said:

Which one(s)?

I love Khe Sanh, it's one of my favorites.  I still get really wrapped up in it when I play.  I like Sengoku Jidai but I haven't spent enough time with it yet.  Ant Wars is a great idea but the AI's pretty lacking.  Hordes was ambitious but so clunky (and only two player!!) that I don't think I've ever actually gotten very far into a game.  Tickworld is great.  Maze of Ariel I remember liking, but I haven't played it in years.  I need to go back and revisit Starship Pegasus and Treasure Trap, but I feel like both of them were in that "good idea, not so hot execution" category.  99'vaders, Ophyss and Backgammon are solid games.  I know Winging It was their big title back in the day, but I've never been into flight sims, so it's always been on the "I gotta spend some time on that some other time" pile.

 

 

[unhuman]

On 6/13/2019 at 3:15 PM, adamantyr said:

There was no Zaxxon on the TI. Sega literally told Texas Instruments they were insane when they said "You have to fit it in an 8K ROM".

DataSoft did the computer versions.  They had an ad looking for developers in some computer magazines...  TI was on the list. I applied when I was 13 or so...  I never heard back.

[unhuman]

On 6/14/2019 at 11:49 PM, pixelpedant said:

 

Good point. Haven't heard it defended. And certainly wouldn't venture to do so myself.

I'll do it.  I had fun playing that with my Dad.

[digdugnate]

I thought this was interesting:

 

"Gerry Humphrey, Datasoft programmer: "... Regarding Zaxxon, I don't remember a TI99/4 version being done, however, there

were a handful of games that were done (such as Canyon Climber) that were never released. Some of them did make it on to diskette

and get copied around in the mid 80s. I don't have any copies of them. I don't remember the main TI programmer (I think his first name

was Jeff and he did work at Big Five Software (the Miner2049er people - although they started out as a TRS-80 software company)

before coming to Datasoft. I haven't had any contact with my Datasoft co-workers in the last few years. Bryan, I am not sure, but the

following sounds like they were done or at least considered

Canyon Climber looks about the same on all platforms. If I remember correctly the background was green on a TI version (as opposed to

the orange on other versions.) I am not sure about the Wizard in the Forest game. The Zaxxon port might have been outsourced. If you

can put it somewhere where I can get it to take a look, it would be cool. Also, I would need to know where to get a compatible TI

emulator. The TI hardware sucked for gaming development compared to most other platforms. But we were not putting out high

resolution 30fps games back then either. As far as the list goes, I am definately not an expert on what we did on the TI. This is the first

time that I even had to think about it in years My favorite game to work on was Pooyan as it had a lot of moving objects, some basic gameplay, and could be played via keyboard just as well as via joystick..."

Terry Heim, Technical Editor of Enthusiast '99 Magazine: Terry Heim: "Actually, I was the Technical Editor for that publication back

in the early 80's during the hayday of the TI 99/4 Home Computer. Probably one of the coolest things I've done in my career to date."

-- Terry

 

http://www.ti99ers.org/timeline/time2001.htm

[xabin]

So, having tested either the original Pac-Man or Ms. Pac-Man on the multicart we got for trade from arcadeshopper (forgot which one I played), I like it very much, but I can see how it can be seen as slow, especially with the incredibly squishy and spongy TI joysticks. No wonder people want to get adapters to use the Atari 2600 controllers with it...

[+adamantyr]

7 hours ago, unhuman said:

DataSoft did the computer versions.  They had an ad looking for developers in some computer magazines...  TI was on the list. I applied when I was 13 or so...  I never heard back.

Ah that's right... I forget where I read about it, it was an article somewhere, where someone (must have been from DataSoft) expressed shock and dismay that Texas Instruments expected Zaxxon to be portable within such a tight technical confine.

 

3 hours ago, digdugnate said:

I thought this was interesting:

 

"Gerry Humphrey, Datasoft programmer: "... Regarding Zaxxon, I don't remember a TI99/4 version being done, however, there

were a handful of games that were done (such as Canyon Climber) that were never released. Some of them did make it on to diskette

and get copied around in the mid 80s. I don't have any copies of them. I don't remember the main TI programmer (I think his first name

was Jeff and he did work at Big Five Software (the Miner2049er people - although they started out as a TRS-80 software company)

before coming to Datasoft. I haven't had any contact with my Datasoft co-workers in the last few years. Bryan, I am not sure, but the

following sounds like they were done or at least considered

Canyon Climber looks about the same on all platforms. If I remember correctly the background was green on a TI version (as opposed to

the orange on other versions.) I am not sure about the Wizard in the Forest game. The Zaxxon port might have been outsourced. If you

can put it somewhere where I can get it to take a look, it would be cool. Also, I would need to know where to get a compatible TI

emulator. The TI hardware sucked for gaming development compared to most other platforms. But we were not putting out high

resolution 30fps games back then either. As far as the list goes, I am definately not an expert on what we did on the TI. This is the first

time that I even had to think about it in years My favorite game to work on was Pooyan as it had a lot of moving objects, some basic gameplay, and could be played via keyboard just as well as via joystick..."

Terry Heim, Technical Editor of Enthusiast '99 Magazine: Terry Heim: "Actually, I was the Technical Editor for that publication back

in the early 80's during the hayday of the TI 99/4 Home Computer. Probably one of the coolest things I've done in my career to date."

-- Terry

 

http://www.ti99ers.org/timeline/time2001.htm

 

I'd have loved to have seen Pooyan on the TI. Ever since I saw it on my brother's TRS-80 Color Computer, I love the colorful graphics and hectic gameplay. I've mused at times doing a port myself, but I got other TI stuff I need to finish first, no distractions.

 

It doesn't surprise me that TI hardware was difficult to work with. I do remember reading somewhere (again, I don't recall the source) that the Atarisoft developers had nothing but base TI's and the Editor Assembler. I'm SLIGHTLY skeptical of this because some of the things done with games like Donkey Kong are pretty advanced.

[digdugnate]

10 hours ago, xabin said:

So, having tested either the original Pac-Man or Ms. Pac-Man on the multicart we got for trade from arcadeshopper (forgot which one I played), I like it very much, but I can see how it can be seen as slow, especially with the incredibly squishy and spongy TI joysticks. No wonder people want to get adapters to use the Atari 2600 controllers with it...

fortunately those can be gotten pretty cheaply, too.  every now and then i like using the stock sticks, but i prefer using an Atari stick or another (better) joystick.