BattleSphere is Actually Fun

[+cubanismo]

I turned 40 a few weeks ago, and my brother came down to visit for the first time in quite a while. Generally whenever we visit each other, we spend a good deal of time enjoying a beer (or two or three) and some old video games. For the occasion, I decided it was time to actually test out my new JagNet from @Doomy Doomer's shop and one of my original JagLinks to make sure they actually worked. What to play? Well, BattleSphere of course. If we wanted to play Doom, there were plenty of PCs around for that and I've never heard much love for AirCars.

 

I made a video of us getting things set up for posterity, since I assume it's not every day someone gets to play multiplayer BattleSphere these days:

 

 

To be honest, I was pretty amazed to see everything just work on the first try. After all, this is 90's technology, we didn't bother reading any manuals, and after a few beers it took us a few tries to even get a Starcraft II game started up right. We spent a lot of time reminiscing about playing Command and Conquer over our 10base-T coax network and praying the "slow" computer would load the level before the other one timed out and we had to start all over. We generally considered ourselves lucky if we got into an actual game after 4-5 tries back then if I'm remembering right. Compared to that, this JagLink experience would have seemed like something from Back to the Future.

 

Unfortunately, I didn't plan ahead at all, so I didn't have any actual capture equipment handy, and I had to put the camera down once we started playing. I had to strip the audio off too, as we uh.. weren't making audience-appropriate commentary at the time. Regardless, what was most surprising to me was that the gameplay was ridiculously fun. I'd played single player a few times before, and we tried out the single-Jaguar co-op mode when I visited him last time, but the game is so much better in actual multiplayer mode. We tried Gauntlet first, but spent most of the time trying to remember the controls and uh... it froze after a few minutes actually. Rock solid networking code my.... Anyway, when we rebooted, we started up Free for All, that's when we really had fun. The first round was pretty bad, with the computer ships trouncing us both pretty thoroughly. The second round we were starting to get the hang of it, and we both placed pretty highly, though some computer ship took 1st. We were going to play one more round, but we were getting hungry and had planned on heading to some local bars that have 90's arcade machines for dinner and more beers (The first place had a 2-player Daytona USA cab with working force-feedback on the wheels and was only charging a quarter per game. I think I paid $1/game at the local arcade back in the 90's, and the force feedback was always broken there, so this was bliss. We also played Area 51 on the cojag no less). I wish we'd had more time for BattleSphere, but it was great fun while it lasted. Good times all around.

 

I assume none of this post is news to the long time members, but I thought I'd share my experience as a relatively new Jaguar fan anyway. BattleSphere seems to have become kind of a running joke/white whale for collectors in the community, and I don't really see that much commentary from the last decade about it as a game, just quips about its price/rarity and strange history. We played it to cap off 2021, and we had fun.

[Isgoed]

Do you know why you don't see much commentary about it as a game?

Because very often a topic about Battlesphere turns into a negative "discussion" about things/facts/history/personal dislike surrounding the game.

 

I see that you played the gold version, and while I have this and the original, I must say that -despite the upgrades- the original version is what I prefer to play due to some minor differences.

 

The networking in Gauntlet mode is much fun imo, but, as you mentioned, can sometimes freeze up.

Free-for-all mode is bugfree in my experience, and also much fun.

 

One thing worth mentioning is the excellent music, which suits the game very well and has a unique style that especially seems to apply to Battlesphere.

 

Btw, nice little story

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited December 31, 2021 by Isgoed
typo

[+LS650]

1 hour ago, Isgoed said:

Do you know why you don't see much commentary about it as a game?

Because very often a topic about Battlesphere turns into a negative "discussion" about things/facts/history/personal dislike surrounding the game.

Very true.  If you ignore the background drama, B/S is a very decent game.  Unfortunately some folks can't separate the drama from the game itself.

[phoboz]

I think if it had missions, like TIE Fighter does, it would have been a much more enjoyable in single player mode.

It has all the basic ingredients to be a classic, but due to the lack of story, and missions as mentioned above, it misses to mix these ingredients in a perfect blend.

 

Unfortunately this is true for many Jaguar games. They resemble tech demos supposed to demonstrate the power of the 64-bit console, more than full games. I just whish they spent some more time putting the final touches on them, and play tested the games properly (the worst example being Bubsy, but Zero 5 is also frustratingly hard).

Edited December 31, 2021 by phoboz

[+Stephen]

It's always was, and still is a great game.  It's too bad it did not see a regular release when Atari was still alive, so more people could have experienced it without all the soap opera drama surrounding it.

[tripled79]

What drama are we talking about here?

I miss owning this game...

Edited January 3, 2022 by tripled79
Blah

[+madman]

1 hour ago, tripled79 said:

What drama are we talking about here?

I miss owning this game...

Do a search for the game title on here and you'll find plenty of threads. Or maybe someone can tl;dr it as the kids say.

[UHATEIT]

18 hours ago, madman said:

Do a search for the game title on here and you'll find plenty of threads. Or maybe someone can tl;dr it as the kids say.

I've seem some "kids" on facebook using that TL DR thing. I swear its like new abbreviations get created all the time, especially by the young crowd! I had to lookup what the hell TL DR meant.

 

I'll have to lookup what the drama is as well. I don't remember any drama honestly just people complaining about the price to buy one. On playing he game I personally just couldn't get into it, and I like space shooter type games but this was more strategic like Star Control which wasn't what I was into. To me doesn't mean it's a bad game it just wasn't what I was hoping for. Something along the lines of Starblade or Star Wars 32X are the kind I like with regards to space shooter games

[+cubanismo]

3 hours ago, UHATEIT said:

On playing he game I personally just couldn't get into it, and I like space shooter type games but this was more strategic like Star Control which wasn't what I was into.

The single player mode has a learning curve, and isn't that fun if you just jump in IMHO. I did best starting with the training missions so I could figure out simple stuff like how to target an enemy ship without just spinning around in circles forever.

 

Multiplayer was much easier to just jump into and have fun. It took us all of 2 rounds to get a feel for things and start really enjoying it.

[+LS650]

4 hours ago, UHATEIT said:

I've seem some "kids" on facebook using that TL DR thing. I swear its like new abbreviations get created all the time, especially by the young crowd! I had to lookup what the hell TL DR meant.

TL;DR has been around for close to 20 years: https://www.howtogeek.com/435266/what-does-tldr-mean-and-how-do-you-use-it/ 

[UHATEIT]

1 hour ago, cubanismo said:

The single player mode has a learning curve, and isn't that fun if you just jump in IMHO. I did best starting with the training missions so I could figure out simple stuff like how to target an enemy ship without just spinning around in circles forever.

 

Multiplayer was much easier to just jump into and have fun. It took us all of 2 rounds to get a feel for things and start really enjoying it.

My problem would be finding a second player! Tho I really should learn to play this one properly. It appears strategic as if you need to get to and from various grids to get to where the enemies are. 

18 minutes ago, ls650 said:

TL;DR has been around for close to 20 years: https://www.howtogeek.com/435266/what-does-tldr-mean-and-how-do-you-use-it/ 

Oh man I've been around longer than 20 years and only recently saw an influx of TL DR usage through Facebook. My bad!

[Rick Dangerous]

It's a great game!  Just not worth $700+ dollars. Sold my copies and now have a reproduction of Gold to play when and if i really feel the urge to give it a go; which isn't often, so that was the right decision it turns out.

 

I talked to Scott about making another run, or selling the rights to @Songbird, anything, but basically one of the original creators wont' agree to it and so the game and code rots instead of being reissued and enjoyed by the next generation of Jaguar gamers.  What can you do; such is life sometimes! 

[tripled79]

15 hours ago, ls650 said:

TL;DR has been around for close to 20 years: https://www.howtogeek.com/435266/what-does-tldr-mean-and-how-do-you-use-it/ 

Never heard of it.

[Austin]

Battlesphere was pretty well received when it was new. I never could get into it (free roaming space flight games aren't really my thing), but I've always heard high praise for the multiplayer and I would like to try that some day.

[KidGameR186496]

12 hours ago, Rick Dangerous said:

It's a great game!  Just not worth $700+ dollars. Sold my copies and now have a reproduction of Gold to play when and if i really feel the urge to give it a go; which isn't often, so that was the right decision it turns out.

 

I talked to Scott about making another run, or selling the rights to @Songbird, anything, but basically one of the original creators wont' agree to it and so the game and code rots instead of being reissued and enjoyed by the next generation of Jaguar gamers.  What can you do; such is life sometimes! 

IIRC, and take this with a grain of salt, Scott mentioned on his Twitter account that he was planning something BattleSphere-related but after the passing of Atari historian Curt Vendel, those plans fizzled out....

 

9 hours ago, Austin said:

Battlesphere was pretty well received when it was new. I never could get into it (free roaming space flight games aren't really my thing), but I've always heard high praise for the multiplayer and I would like to try that some day.

If by some stroke of luck BattleSphere is ever ported to modern platforms like Steam, it would be damn cool to have online multiplayer integrated. I know BS is not for anybody but as someone who had the chance to play it, it's a pretty fun title for the Jaguar in vein of Star Raiders for the 8-bit computer, 2600 and 5200... But its asking price on eBay is way too much for average joes like me.

[doctorclu]

Game is a lot of fun.    I've had fun playing multi player games with friends and their kids.  At JagFests... just wonderful times.

 

I bought the game when it came out both original and gold, and got to enjoy them.  The people that didn't get the game afterwards, well, I felt for them.  It truly was an exciting time for the Jaguar when it came out.

 

Looking back the developers were pretty cool all and all, especially Stephanie who did all the music.   It was like they wanted to release several hundred copies (which IS quite a fan effort) say "wasn't that cool" and be done with it, and well by and large the Jaguar community took a "sour grapes" approach to the game when it became unavailable or they had to shell out a lot more money than it originally sold for ($80 ish for regular, and $125 for gold).   And the more that continued, the more sour and jaded the developers became.

 

My take on it.   That all has nothing to do with the game which is, again, quite fun, especially when you multiple Jaguars for multiple ships, and their gunner in tow.  Would still like to see if a 16/32 player game is possible.  Last I heard, I think a eight Jaguar network was achieved once.  And from what I heard it took them quite a few tries to get the timing of it all to work.

 

Still, would like to be at the JagFest where it is tried again.  Might have to bring a Jaguar/Battlesphere setup or two. 

[ZylonBane]

19 hours ago, KidGameR186496 said:

If by some stroke of luck BattleSphere is ever ported to modern platforms like Steam...

Please, if you transplanted BattleSphere into the realm of PC gaming, it would be utterly steamrolled by 20 years worth of far superior space combat sims.

 

Besides which, you say "ported" as if that would be any less an effort than rewriting the game almost from scratch. BattleSphere's code is intimately tied to the Jaguar's weird architecture to get the performance it does. Making a PC port would likely be pretty damn non-trivial.

 

As for the developer drama, we're talking about a team who thought naming a company "Scatologic" was a good idea, among the many other infantile puns that made it into their products. They may have been talented, but they clearly had some maturity issues that didn't play out well in the long run.

 

 

[+Stephen]

1 hour ago, ZylonBane said:

As for the developer drama, we're talking about a team who thought naming a company "Scatologic" was a good idea

Lest we forget, it was 4-Play before Tom Harker bailed (or was ousted)   Jugs, Jugs DD.  I'm surprised a code for the game isn't 69420

 

It was fun while it was new though.

[JagChris]

They were working on a PC version of Battlesphere over a decade ago. I'm positive they haven't lost that work. For some reason they have not moved forward anywhere else with this. 

 

Scott said he wanted to release the code in 2020 but was up to Tbird. Hell i knew that wasn't going to happen. Third doesn't share code that isn't even his let alone his own code.

[KidGameR186496]

15 hours ago, ZylonBane said:

Please, if you transplanted BattleSphere into the realm of PC gaming, it would be utterly steamrolled by 20 years worth of far superior space combat sims.

 

Besides which, you say "ported" as if that would be any less an effort than rewriting the game almost from scratch. BattleSphere's code is intimately tied to the Jaguar's weird architecture to get the performance it does. Making a PC port would likely be pretty damn non-trivial.

 

As for the developer drama, we're talking about a team who thought naming a company "Scatologic" was a good idea, among the many other infantile puns that made it into their products. They may have been talented, but they clearly had some maturity issues that didn't play out well in the long run.

 

 

You say that but i've seen old titles for less successful consoles being ported to Steam, but what the heck do i know XD

[+Sauron]

I don't think anybody has ever said that Battlesphere wasn't a decent game. The developers were obviously very talented and worked hard on the title. The main problems come in from two different areas: 

 

1. The game wasn't quite as good as the hype made it out to be, and

 

2. The developers had problems getting along with anyone who didn't kiss their arses.

 

Problem #1 may seem ridiculous to those who weren't around the Jag scene in the late 90s/early 00s, but you only have to look at the prices that BS carts go for on eBay to see proof of it. As far as the "drama" that's been referenced here, that all stems from problem #2, and has been rehashed over and over and over. Granted, much of it started almost 20 years ago (damn, can't believe it's been that long...) and led to what would become a large split in the Jag community that persisted for a number of years. However, time does seem to have a healing effect and here we are, in 2022, with a large Jag community that, outside of a few castaways who refuse to play nice with others, is no longer suffering from a civil war. 

 

In the end, regardless of what your opinions are of the game itself, there's no denying that it's had a huge influence on the Jag community, and will probably be the subject of conversation in one form or another as long as a Jag community exists. Even if you're not a fan of the developers or the game itself, you can at least appreciate that.

 

[Silver Back]

I just picked this one up, buy it now for 99 dollars on eBay. It said Battle sphere Gold and the description said this is not the super valuable original release but is the gold version. I always wanted a copy but is that a good price? 

 

After seeing second opinion games review a few months ago I've been looking for a copy as he praised it to no end.  I hated games like air cars but I do enjoy iron Soldier, cybermorph and iwar and this looked like it would be at least as good as those. 

[+Stephen]

[Silver Back]

Sorry if I come off as trolling but I just haven't seen any for sale and jumped on the chance to get it. But I got thinking maybe the gold version is more common. But it seems none of them are very common. I know the non gold version goes for a lot. 

 

It seems most people like this one but I play jaguar almost exclusively single player and it seems people really dig the multiplayer in this one. So I was just curious if there was anymore opinions on the game itself and if the price was good. 

 

I see too that drama surrounds this title for some reason so if I'm digging up hard feelings that's not my intent although idk how asking would do so. 

[Shaggy the Atarian]

I think he forgot an extra 9 in there.

 

As to the discussion, if you liked Star Raiders then you'll probably enjoy BS. If you want something with a story and missions as mentioned above, then it's not the game for you. I've only played it networked once, but that was fun and problem free from what we played