So... What IS the deal with Air Raid??

[Jumpman Jr.]

Hey everybody.

I think the thread in the "Marketplace" forum died.

People were bringing up points in the thread:

 

I thought the last Air Raid that sold, turned out to be Pal.    

They are all PAL.

Is that a fact? Or is there something I'm missing? What's the latest NEWS on Air Raid?

 

The latest news is that after years of hype it turns out its just an overseas bootleg.

 

so... what the hell is this thing? Forgive my stupidity, as I do not know the slightest thing about Atari. Is this actually an overseas bootleg or what?

And if it was, how come some were found in the States?

[rolenta]

If it is a bootleg, what game is it a copy of?

[pinball22]

Space Jockey

[sku_u]

If it is a bootleg, what game is it a copy of?

 

It shares a fair amount of code with Space Jockey. No one really knows for sure the what/who behind Air Raid.

 

I had been talking to someone in Argentina who claimed ownership to a bunch of these and even sent me some pictures of some similar carts, but I've long since lost touch with him and the site that he used to host the pictures is gone. What was intriguing about them is that they all had the same T-handle style blue carts that only Air Raid has as far as anyone knows. Where they were different was in the labels. There were three different labels. Whether these were legitimate or a hoax, I have no idea since I was never able to acquire any of them.

 

There are some people here and at DP who want to believe that this was an NTSC North American legitimate release. I personally don't have it included on my list of missing games. :wink:

[rolenta]

There are some people here and at DP who want to believe that this was an NTSC North American legitimate release.  I personally don't have it included on my list of missing games

 

Well i hope I could take it off my list. Then all I'll need to complete my collection is NTSC Mangia (if it exists) and Gauntlet (which I'll never see again)

[sku_u]

Well i hope I could take it off my list. Then all I'll need to complete my collection is NTSC Mangia (if it exists)

 

I bought a Mangia cart from Canada and it doesn't roll on my TV, not that that means anything. I think R might have one.

[HawgWyld]

Space Jockey

 

Wow! That's sure to cool interest in the thing quickly. Space Jockey sucks!

[pinball22]

People are always so mean to poor little Space Jockey... I kind of like it.

[Red 5]

After all the controversey that happened last time, I would be very careful about spending any sort of money on Air Raid.

 

From all the 'in between NTSC and PAL' to nobody ever seeing a box for it or knowing anything about the maker(s) I don't know what to believe about it anymore.

 

(Right about now, shouldn't someone be popping in here claiming they have 9 or 10 of them?)

[Lost Monkey]

I pooped 9 or 10 of them.

[HawgWyld]

People are always so mean to poor little Space Jockey... I kind of like it.

 

Aha! Proof, once again, that every 2600 game out there has at least some fans.

[pinball22]

I pooped 9 or 10 of them.

 

Bet those T-handles hurt.

[Robert M]

As to the NTSC/PAL thing. Since the game does not produce a steady set of scanlines per frame, on a PAL TV the color goes in and out from B&W. Whereas on NTSC the color remains (crappy as it is). I find it hard to believe (even though the code is extremely poor quality) that the programmer would try to sell a PAL game that could not generate the stable frames needed to maintain a color image. The problem is immediately obvious on a PAL only TV. Or fire up Stella and turn on PAL mode, you can see it happen there.

 

Regards,

[sku_u]

I pooped 9 or 10 of them.

 

You should see a doctor about that. That can't be good.

[Lost Monkey]

I pooped 9 or 10 of them.

 

You should see a doctor about that. That can't be good.

 

They were in baggies.. someone was trying to smuggle them out of South America.

[candiru]

I'm counting 11. You might need to go back to the doctor.

[SteveW]

[Lost Monkey]

...and that is the story of Air Raid...

[keilbaca]

 

Very funny, thanks for the laugh, I needed it.

[dragonpup]

People are always so mean to poor little Space Jockey... I kind of like it.

 

Seriously, I like Space Jockey, my Dad and I played it all the time.

[deathtrappomegranate]

The whole Air Raid thing seems very weird to me.

 

If it's a direct copy of a fairly common game, then it can be classified along with all of the other pirates as a minor label variation.

 

However, it does seem to be programmed at least somewhat differently.

 

Much of the discussion seems to revolve around whether it's PAL or NTSC.

 

Now, if you live in the USA, and there are PAL and NTSC versions of a game floating around, I can understand that you would want the NTSC one rather than the PAL. Fair enough. But if a game is unique, and is only available in one format, then why would it matter if it was PAL, NTSC, SECAM or none of the above?

 

I don't have any modern TVs from the US, but I have several from Europe. All of them can display PAL and NTSC and SECAM signals without any difficulty. Since most of them were manufactured in Japan, I would suspect that many US TVs from Japan would have equivalent capabilities.

 

I guess that some people only want to collect those games that were available in the US, way back when. I'm not sure that I understand why, though.

[+Propane13]

Tangental thought-- Has anyone hacked Space Jockey to turn the ship into:

a) a pair of underwear, or

b) a horse with a little guy on it

This would truly make the player a Space Jockey.

 

Bringing it back around-- how close are the ROM's (%-wise)?

 

-John

[keilbaca]

Tangental thought--  Has anyone hacked Space Jockey to turn the ship into:

a) a pair of underwear, or

b) a horse with a little guy on it

This would truly make the player a Space Jockey.

 

Bringing it back around-- how close are the ROM's (%-wise)?

 

-John

 

Better yet, a Air Raid cart!

[sku_u]

Now, if you live in the USA, and there are PAL and NTSC versions of a game floating around, I can understand that you would want the NTSC one rather than the PAL. Fair enough. But if a game is unique, and is only available in one format, then why would it matter if it was PAL, NTSC, SECAM or none of the above?

 

If a game is unique to PAL and is an original title (not a hack or pirated cart) it's desirable to me as a collector. If a game is available in both formats, NTSC is the more desireable to me.

 

I do collect pirate carts, but I do not pay more than $20 for any of them. They are not as interesting to me as a legitimate release is and are definitely not worth $2K-$3K to me. :wink:

[Lost Monkey]

I guess that some people only want to collect those games that were available in the US, way back when. I'm not sure that I understand why, though.

 

I think that puts a quantifier on a "complete" collection for certain collectors.. ... however...

 

you have to consider that there are a few folks out there who have a shitload of money tied up in their Air Raid cart and they don't want the game classified as a hack or a pirate cart.