Interesting Games

[4ever2600]

I have to say I disagree with Kevin on this.  I hope the guy makes 10x his investment on these.  Although i would have been happy to get the rom emailed to me after purchase so i can play via emulators,  I totally understand why he doesn't release the roms at least until his money is made back. 

 

I don't see it as dirty, I see it as smart.  Allthough just my opinion.  From my perspective, he did exactly what he said he would.  Get these games, not one but all of them in the hands of lynx fans quickly and relatively inexpensively.  I for one can't actually believe I may have my hands on these by next weekend!  For that I am extremely and unbelievably happy and satisfied with all of this. 

 

Again, think of the alternative... these could be sitting in a closet like that of the original owner for the next 30 years or more, or someone's upcoming projects tab on a website for 20 years with no light at the end if the tunnel.  Not picking on anyone impetiular, but it happened, you all know this.

 

Some homebrew authors won't release a Rom until a year after the physical release to curb piracy.   Can't say I blame them.  Would I like to see these just released in rom form?  Sure, but also happy that I can purchase in physical form now.

 

These could easily be lost to time forever given the current status of our planet's situation.  Could also be last opportunity to ever see this game.  I for one want the opportunity to see what could have been with these unreleased titles.

 

Again, just my 2 cents.

 

And for what it's worth,  Thank you, thank you for doing what you said you were going to do.  Release these games in a timely and not too expensive fashion and not hoard them so no one can play them ever. 

 

Again I was only expecting a character select screen on Guardians given the limited info from the original owner and past rom dump.  Come to find out its actually a playable demo.   Couldn't be happier with that news...

 

 

[4ever2600]

6 minutes ago, davidcalgary29 said:

Well, look what happened with XE Xenophobe -- that was a terrible thing to see.

 

I really do see both sides here, but the point is that it's a miracle that someone didn't buy this lot, pack it away in their Lynx tchochke shelf, and refuse to release it to the rest of us...under any terms. I have no problem paying the price to play now, and MacRorie's indicated, unlike most people that he's going to release the ROMs for free. This is a win for all of us.

Agreed!!

[LordKraken]

Same here, considering the context and the fact that this will come back to the community at some point, I think this is unfair to MacRorie. He took a risk advancing a substantial amount of money for prototypes in undefined states. So I hope he will make his money back and even a little more. Let's keep this community humble, honest and friendly: nobody has been harmed, or robbed, and at the end of the days, everyone will be happy.

 

(that said I would definitely be happy to help if there was rom versions available.)

Edited May 27, 2020 by LordKraken

[PFG 9000]

I'm kinda split on this, but my $0.02 are mostly in line with KevinMos3.  I felt let down reading MacRorie's update.  I would have loved to have bought the prototypes myself in order to get them to Carl Forhan for free distribution and saleable printed copies.  The community would get the roms and I would have the unique originals - a win-win.  When I learned that the auction was over before it had even been posted here, I felt equally bummed.

 

I don't think MacRorie is doing what he said he was going to do.  Yeah, he'll release the roms...eventually.  But first he wants to make back his purchase price by taking advantage of fans too impatient to wait another year to see these protos.  If things go optimally for him, he'll come out of this with the original prototypes, essentially for free, and he'll make profit off of whatever additional orders roll in.  It's like he wants to have his cake and eat it too.

 

At the same time, he has every right to do what he's doing.  I'm not entitled to any of this content.  And I would probably buy a few of these on cartridge anyway, to add to my collection.

 

It's just the releasing of the roms after a year that bothers me.

[agradeneu]

No further infos and screenshots on the proto of Guardians?   

[+MacRorie]

On 5/28/2020 at 2:29 AM, agradeneu said:

No further infos and screenshots on the proto of Guardians?   

No rest for the wicked it seems.   I am going to leave this right here for you.

https://thebrewingacademy.com/collections/atari-lynx/products/guardians-storm-over-doria-prototype-reproduction-1

 

Scroll Down for the YouTube link

 

EDIT:  More will follow as I have more time. Plus, there are many out in the wild right now.

[+davidcalgary29]

On 6/3/2020 at 12:11 AM, MacRorie said:

Plus, there are many out in the wild right now.

Now you're just teasing us. Is that "there are many more prototypes in the wild that I'm hunting down right now" or "there are many repro-protos that have left the shop and are heading into the wilds of Northern Canada right now"?

[+MacRorie]

Just now, davidcalgary29 said:

Now you're just teasing us. Is that "there are many more prototypes in the wild that I'm hunting down right now" or "there are many repro-protos that have left the shop and are heading into the wilds of Northern Canada right now"?

The latter, not the former.  I am sure there will always be prototypes out there and I will always be hunting them.  ?

 

[Turbo Laser Lynx]

On 6/3/2020 at 9:11 AM, MacRorie said:

No rest for the wicked it seems.   I am going to leave this right here for you.

https://thebrewingacademy.com/collections/atari-lynx/products/guardians-storm-over-doria-prototype-reproduction-1

 

Scroll Down for the YouTube link

Thanks for making a video of it! Really fun to see it after everyone's been wondering about the game all these years.

Edited June 5, 2020 by Turbo Laser Lynx

[+davidcalgary29]

On 5/26/2020 at 8:55 PM, 7800 2 said:

How complete is Daemonsgate? Is it different from the other prototype versions?

Just got my copy, played it for a hot minute...and then my Lynx "died" (I think it's a battery issue; had to order a new power adapter, as mine's fried). I obviously didn't get very far, but can tell you right off that this version is different than the widely-available ROM that's floating around, as it has a title screen with music and thunder-and-lightning sfx. In my other proto, players just begin in Tormis. The title screen looks pretty similar to the PC box, which is interesting, to say the least.

[7800 2]

15 minutes ago, davidcalgary29 said:

Just got my copy, played it for a hot minute...and then my Lynx "died" (I think it's a battery issue; had to order a new power adapter, as mine's fried). I obviously didn't get very far, but can tell you right off that this version is different than the widely-available ROM that's floating around, as it has a title screen with music and thunder-and-lightning sfx. In my other proto, players just begin in Tormis. The title screen looks pretty similar to the PC box, which is interesting, to say the least.

Maybe I should have ordered a copy.. Please let me know if it's worth ordering when you get your new power supply.

[+davidcalgary29]

2 hours ago, 7800 2 said:

Maybe I should have ordered a copy.. Please let me know if it's worth ordering when you get your new power supply.

It was just some bad batteries. I've just spent half an hour on this version of "Daemon's Gate", and it's got some interesting differences with the common proto:

 

-The title screen is the same as the available proto, but it immediately leads into a thunder-and-lightning animated screen (complete with Daemon) that isn't in the already-released version.

-You start the game in the middle of the world in this version. Credits flash by: this is, apparently, "Daemon's Gate I: Dorovan's Key" and "Dave's Internal Copy". I'm going to call this version "Dorovan's Key"

-Your character here is the hairy Gustavus. In the released proto, the hero is the blond "Ferritt".

-The music in "Dorovan's Key" is extremely annoying and repetitive. Fortunately, it shuts down itself shortly into the game.

-You can make potions in "Dorovan's Key", but can't seem to use them. The herbs are also organized differently, and there are more of them.

-You have the choice of many new weapons, and all of them are unlocked. The best one appears to be something that looks like part of Q*bert's playing field. There's also a noticeable difference when you use magic weapons, which is not the case in the known proto.

-Graphics are different in "Dorovan's Key", and are generally better. Your player has few colours, but looks better. Buildings, enemies, and the playing field all look nicer. Unfortunately, in this version, there aren't many buildings to explore.

-"Dorovan's Key" is much smaller than the available proto. I can't seem to visit any towns or talk to any characters. 

-"Dorovan's Key" is still murderously difficult (and especially with hit points reduced to 100), but somewhat easier than the old proto.

-The game's clearly not finished, which is dissimilar to the released proto, which seems to be complete until you spend some time with it. You can walk Gustavus right off the screen in "Dorovan's Key", and just have him wander around a black void if you wish. That's not much fun, though.

 

My overall impression is that two programmers at Imagitec took the same game kernel and spent a couple of weeks with their teams developing competing ideas. "Dorovan's Key" has an overall much better look and concept than the old prototype, but this team didn't get very far. If both protos had been mashed together (taking the graphics from "Dorovan's Key"), this game could have been excellent. If you want to actually try to play the game, stick with the old version. "Dorovan's Key" is a very nice "could've been", though.

 

BTW, "Guardian: Storm over Doria" is graphically stunning, and shows great promise with just a few playable areas. The cancellation of that one is a true tragedy.

 

 

[+davidcalgary29]

On 5/12/2020 at 12:40 PM, gambler172 said:

,Although Guardians is not playable....would be great to see it ?

It's semi-playable. Actually, playing it is a lot like "playing" the Duranik demo cart where you can move a character around, and explore a beautiful environment...but that's about it.

 

Some additions to MacRorie's game description on his Brewing Academy Page:

 

-You can actually pick one of four characters. They aren't named, but are basically clones from Gauntlet, and are shown carrying the same weapons. Thor is replaced by some knight, though, so I suppose this was Telegames' nod to originality. Strangely, I could only enter the city, Darith, playing as Merlin (or perhaps Gandalf?). 

 

-The dungeon (it looks like a cave on the map) is pretty big, but I couldn't go up or down stairs. And, yes, you can kill the monsters, which look like orcs. You don't lose any HP yourself when you're hit, though.

 

-There's no in-game music, although there is a nice tune at the title screen.

 

-You aren't limited to one shop in Darith: there are lots of them! Unfortunately, they're all staffed by the same clone whose conversation is limited to the weather. You can't buy, sell, or examine anything in the shops.

 

-You can't really wander around Darith. Darith looks quite large, but you can't actually travel down most of the streets. You can get around many of them by wandering off path, but there's little of interest to explore.

 

-This game is GORGEOUS. The world map is animated with sea dragons (which sometimes appear in the middle of glaciers), and characters are colourful and well-detailed. Each of them move differently in the cave and their weapons are clear and distinct. I particularly enjoyed watching Merlin hobble along with his magical staff. This would have been stunning if it had even been half-completed.

[+MacRorie]

Here's some footage:

 

 

[+davidcalgary29]

18 minutes ago, MacRorie said:

Here's some footage:

 

 

I just realized that it looks like they mixed up player sprites between the two versions. This sprite looks like Ferritt, who’s blond, in the old proto, while the player sprite in the old proto has brown hair, just like Gustavus in “Dorovan’s Key”.

[LordKraken]

Interesting fact is that the music is from legendary Barry Leitch who is the man behind the lotus turbo and top gear music... still in activity today as he wrote the music for Horizon Chase!

[agradeneu]

6 hours ago, LordKraken said:

Interesting fact is that the music is from legendary Barry Leitch who is the man behind the lotus turbo and top gear music... still in activity today as he wrote the music for Horizon Chase!

Same music as Viking Child title!