Pole Position for Apple II?

[zzip]

2 minutes ago, Tempest said:

Joust for the C64 did exist, it was shown at a CES show.  The problem was that the programmers copied the 8-bit version's graphics almost 100% without permission.  I don't know what happened to it, but there are pictures of it.

But it was to be published by the same company, why would this be a show-stopper?

[cbmeeks]

Sorry for OT, but this reminds me of how naive I was as a kid (maybe as an adult?? lol ).

 

When I was a kid and played all of these cracked games, I never knew what that meant.  I just assumed you went to the store, bought the disks and they had all of those scrolling text messages and splash screens.  Ah to be young again...

[+FujiSkunk]

1 hour ago, Tempest said:

Joust for the C64 did exist, it was shown at a CES show.  The problem was that the programmers copied the 8-bit version's graphics almost 100% without permission.  I don't know what happened to it, but there are pictures of it.

Atari programmers got busted for using other Atari programmers' code without their permission?

 

I mean, given how tribal the company was back then, I'm not surprised, but it's still funny to hear about.

[zzip]

35 minutes ago, FujiSkunk said:

Atari programmers got busted for using other Atari programmers' code without their permission?

 

I mean, given how tribal the company was back then, I'm not surprised, but it's still funny to hear about.

You would think Atari would rather have the C-64 version be a clone of the A8 version, rather than a multi-colored sprite version that would make the A8 version look inferior... 

[Tempest]

Atarisoft was just Atari's way of farming out ports to other systems to 3rd party companies. Few Atarisoft ports were done in house. I think whatever 3rd party did the C64 version didn't have permission to copy the graphics.

[Keatah]

I think H.E.S. Ware's Tax-Man, was given to Atari to cover a lawsuit. The game was/is a good clone. And Atari then put their name on it.

 

As for farming out ports to other systems; I'm fairly certain it was a popular practice to have a 3rd party handle it. Br0derbund was big on this.

Edited October 22, 2019 by Keatah

[tschak909]

Even more than a few of Atari's first-party titles were farmed out. Joe Hellesen @ Roklan did the 8-bit PAC-MAN port. (irony: AtariSoft's C64 port was pretty much identical)

 

-Thom

[Tempest]

Here's a picture of it:

 

https://www.gamesthatwerent.com/gtw64/joust/

 

[zzip]

17 hours ago, Tempest said:

Atarisoft was just Atari's way of farming out ports to other systems to 3rd party companies. Few Atarisoft ports were done in house. I think whatever 3rd party did the C64 version didn't have permission to copy the graphics.

Many companies farmed out ports.   But since Atari owned the license, and the copyright on the graphics,  I don't see why they would have killed the port over this.  They could have simply told the 3rd party to redo the graphics.

 

If I was to guess,  the Atarisoft brand started to wind down after the Tramiel purchase.   This is probably what ultimately killed the port

[R.Cade]

14 hours ago, Tempest said:

Here's a picture of it:

 

https://www.gamesthatwerent.com/gtw64/joust/

 

That doesn't look like a C64 game to me, at least not by Atarisoft "standards". The sprites appear to more than 2 colors - actually more than 4. It's certainly possible by using multiple overlayed sprites, but out of character.

 

Edited October 23, 2019 by R.Cade

[magnusfalkirk]

There is another first person racing game for the Apple II. Formula Nibble, a type in program from Nibble magazine, puts you behind the wheel of a gran prix race car. Your car is the only car but there are several options you can set and three tracks to race on.

 

The disk image can be found here: ftp://ftp.apple.asimov.net/pub/apple_II/images/games/driving/formula nibble.dsk

 

I have the Dec 86 issue this came out of and can type up the instructions for this if anyone is interested.

 

magnus

[Tursi]

On 10/29/2019 at 12:38 PM, magnusfalkirk said:

There is another first person racing game for the Apple II. Formula Nibble, a type in program from Nibble magazine, puts you behind the wheel of a gran prix race car. Your car is the only car but there are several options you can set and three tracks to race on.

 

The disk image can be found here: ftp://ftp.apple.asimov.net/pub/apple_II/images/games/driving/formula nibble.dsk

 

I have the Dec 86 issue this came out of and can type up the instructions for this if anyone is interested.

 

magnus

I typed that in back in the day on the computers at school! It's educational but not terribly exciting. Frame rate is okay but in the high single digits.

 

I was thinking about this thread, and you should be able to improve frame rate by drawing only every other scanline. There would still be enough detail to look decent... actually Formula Nibble might be a good testbed to try that idea, since it's well documented.

 

[Airshack]

On 10/12/2019 at 9:04 PM, spacecadet said:

Not many ports are arcade perfect, and an Apple II version of Pole Position almost certainly would have been as good as or better than the Vic-20, TI-99/4A or ZX Spectrum ports.

I agree with the space cadet on everything he said but the TI-99/4A part. That system has dedicated sound and video processors. There’s simply more video capability with the TI. 

 

Centipede and Shamus for the TI look and play superior to the Apple2 ports. TI’s Defender, not so much. A lot of it has to do with the skill of the programmer. 
 

As it stands, TI-99/4A Pole Position is superior to the Apple2 version. One can tell from the title screen that TI’s Pole Position didn’t get the same attention to detail as other superb TI Atarisoft ports. Still, the TI-99/4A has often underutilized powers.

[spacecadet]

3 hours ago, Airshack said:

I agree with the space cadet on everything he said but the TI-99/4A part. That system has dedicated sound and video processors. There’s simply more video capability with the TI. 

I dunno, maybe I just didn't play the right TI games, but I never played anything on that machine that came close graphically to the Apple II, especially in its later years when developers were aiming at 64 or even 128K machines and had figured out all the graphical and sound tricks (including stuff like digitized speech and faking multiple voices through the speaker). Not that the Apple II was any sort of graphics powerhouse itself. But it was tremendously underrated, as this thread proves, just as you say the TI was.

[GameGeezer]

10 hours ago, spacecadet said:

I dunno, maybe I just didn't play the right TI games, but I never played anything on that machine that came close graphically to the Apple II, especially in its later years when developers were aiming at 64 or even 128K machines and had figured out all the graphical and sound tricks (including stuff like digitized speech and faking multiple voices through the speaker). Not that the Apple II was any sort of graphics powerhouse itself. But it was tremendously underrated, as this thread proves, just as you say the TI was.

Look at Dragon's Lair for the TI:

 

 

[+FujiSkunk]

That's pretty impressive!  I mean, sure the game itself is just memory/twitch and video playback, but the video playback alone is nicely done!

[littleman jack]

I think there was a Pitstop II for the Apple II. Does anyone remember that one? The Atari 8-bit version was pretty good. It was similar to Pole Position and pretty fun to play, at least back in the 1980s as I remember.

[youki]

I didn't read this thread entirely.  but i was googling about Pole Position on Apple 2  and google pointed me to that thread .

 

I was googling for Pole Position on Apple 2  because this afternoon, i have dig in my old computer collection .  And i found a box where there were an Apple IIc and few boxes of floppy disk.

 

I have decided to plug the machine to see if it still worked and it does.   (  i have even a couple of Paddle Controller for Apple 2 , i did not know it existed )

 

But in the bunch of floppy disks i have , i'm sure to have seen one labelled Pole Position.   I did not have the time to test that particular floppy today.  But it let me perplex because i was not aware that pole position has been done on Apple 2.

 

So tonight i was searching some video or screenshot.  And i found this thread.

 

So now i'm very very curious to try the floppy disk i found,  i will do next week.  I hope it will still work and that i will be apple to start the game , i really never used an apple 2 before...  if the disk boot alone  like the conan or lode runner i tested this afternoon it is ok... but if i have to start with a command line, i guess i will have to read all the manuals i have

 

 

 

[The Usotsuki]

Most legit games self-boot.

[Loafer]

21 hours ago, youki said:

I didn't read this thread entirely.  but i was googling about Pole Position on Apple 2  and google pointed me to that thread .

 

I was googling for Pole Position on Apple 2  because this afternoon, i have dig in my old computer collection .  And i found a box where there were an Apple IIc and few boxes of floppy disk.

 

I have decided to plug the machine to see if it still worked and it does.   (  i have even a couple of Paddle Controller for Apple 2 , i did not know it existed )

 

But in the bunch of floppy disks i have , i'm sure to have seen one labelled Pole Position.   I did not have the time to test that particular floppy today.  But it let me perplex because i was not aware that pole position has been done on Apple 2.

 

So tonight i was searching some video or screenshot.  And i found this thread.

 

So now i'm very very curious to try the floppy disk i found,  i will do next week.  I hope it will still work and that i will be apple to start the game , i really never used an apple 2 before...  if the disk boot alone  like the conan or lode runner i tested this afternoon it is ok... but if i have to start with a command line, i guess i will have to read all the manuals i have

 

 

 

IF you are talking about original disc and not a copy, please take a picture of the disc and label and post it here!

[youki]

no, it is copy unfortunately .  But i will try next week , i'm not so curious to know what there is on that disk.

 

[youki]

ok Mystery Solved,  in fact the floppy was a PC/MS DOS floppy lost between the Apple 2 ones.

 

i would love it was  Pole Position for Apple 2.

[Aunty Entity]

Back to the road racing for a moment, even Arcade Bootcamp had a weirdo driving course... wasn't very pretty though.

 

[magnusfalkirk]

Just recently found another Apple II racing program. Formula 1 Racer, it's sort of similar to Speedway Classics. You can find a copy of it here:

 

http://www.virtualapple.org/formula1racerdisk.html 

 

or

 

https://jbretro.wordpress.com/2019/07/22/formula-1-racer-gentry/

 

the second link you can find the simple directions for plating the game.

[Felyx]

Speedway classic is the closest Pole position clone existing on Apple II