Atari Explorer Online: 16-Jan-95 #0401
From: Bruce D. Nelson (aa789@cleveland.Freenet.Edu)
Date: 01/19/95-08:58:55 AM Z
From: aa789@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Bruce D. Nelson)
Subject: Atari Explorer Online: 16-Jan-95 #0401
Date: Thu Jan 19 08:58:55 1995
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:: Volume 4, Issue 1 ATARI EXPLORER ONLINE 16 January 1995 ::
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
:: ::
:: ATARI .............. News, reviews, & solutions ............ ATARI ::
:: EXPLORER ............ for the online Atari .......... EXPLORER ::
:: ONLINE ................. Community .............. ONLINE ::
:: ::
:: Published and Copyright (c) 1993-1995 by Subspace Publishers ::
:: All Rights Reserved ::
:: """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" ::
:: Publisher .................................... Michael Lindsay ::
:: Editor ........................................... Travis Guy ::
:: Assistant Editor GEnie......................... Ron Robinson ::
:: Assistant Editor CompuServe................... Albert Dayes ::
:: Assistant Editor Delphi.................. Andreas Barbiero ::
:: Assistant Editor Internet................. Timothy Wilson ::
:: Unabashed Atariophile ............... Michael R. Burkley ::
:: Atari Artist ............................. Peter Donoso ::
:: User Group Coordinator ................... Ron Whittam ::
:: Jaguar Editor .................... Dimitri M. LaBarge ::
:: Jaguar Editor ................... Christian Svensson ::
:: UK Correspondent .............. Darren "Dooz" Bates ::
:: ::
:: Contributors: ::
:: """"""""""""" ::
:: Chuck Klimushyn, Eric Michard, Jeremy Reimer ::
:: Mark Stephen Smith, Tim Steed, David A. Wright ::
:: ::
:: Telecommunicated to you via: ::
:: """""""""""""""""""""""""""" ::
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Table of Contents
* From the Editors .................................. Our Designer Edition.
* Third Annual Reader's Survey ................. Your chance once again to
tell us what you want.
* Rare Gems ......................................... Quotes worth quoting.
* John Mathieson ................. The designer of the Atari Jaguar on the
history and inner workings of the cat.
* Computer Civilisation .................. A different way to approach the
computer corporate world.
* Andrew Whittaker .................. The man who gave the Aliens the gift
of intelligence chats with Sven
about his new software company
and Jaguar game plans.
* Jaguar Tackboard ................ An even dozen NEW titles grace our new
and expanded AEO Development List -
Press Releases - BattleSphere -
Cheats & Codes - CS Offers.
* Surfing the Jagged Edge ............ WCES online reports - Jaguar to the
Core - Behind Battlesphere -
Developer highlights.
* Cuppa with the Dooz .......... From the UK: Telegames' titles - gossip -
Dooz' views on Sensi Soccer & Zool 2.
* Iron Soldier ........................... War is fun in this 42-foot tall
robot. C'mon EGM. Try to trash
THIS top-notch title.
* Kasumi Ninja ........................ Featuring digitized gore a'plenty,
this Jaguar fighter pummels its
way onto the video game stage.
* Zool 2 ............................. Be-bopping action, and Travis' pick
for "Best Jag music this side of
Tempest 2000" mark this frantic
Jag platform title.
* Bubsy in Fractured Furry Tales ........... "Cute kitty kiddie platformer
seeks nimble dpad operator."
* Stello 2.0 ............................. A review of the shareware title.
* "From a Saved Backup" ...................... The Ease of Atari computing.
* The Unabashed Atariophile ................... PD and Shareware files for
_your_ Atari computer.
* Developing News ................................ Atari Safari 1995
Dave Munsie Open Letter
* Shutdown ............................ Around the world and up your block.
--==--==--==--==--
||| From the Editors ........... Atari Explorer Online: Jaguar Voyagers
||| Travis Guy
/ | \ GEnie: AEO.MAG Delphi: AEO_MAG Internet: aeo.mag@genie.geis.com
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Hello all, welcome to the first issue of AEO for 1995. Your window on
events in the World Atari offers you special insight this go-around.
We've been able to score two outstanding interviews. The first one up
is a long chat I had over the past two days with Jaguar designer John
Mathieson. There's plenty of insight provided into the development of
the Jag, the place of the Panther in Jaguar history, a glimpse or two
into some of the "hows" and "whys" of Jaguar, and a bit of background
on the man himself. This interview is a MUST READ for all Jaguar
owners and fans.
Next up is a chat between Andrew Whittaker (designer of AvP), his
new business partner, and AEO's Christian Svensson. Fresh off of AvP,
Andrew has some interesting tales about design time, as well as a
peek ahead at his next video game project.
There's the usual AEO banter, four reviews of the pre-Christmas batch
of Jag games, the Third Annual Readers' Survey, a funny look at
Civilization as computer wars, and we welcome our new UK Jaguar
columnist.
Atari has lots of surprises in store for Jaguar owners, and for those
who will be new Jaguar owners in 1995. Join us in the electronic
pages of AEO throughout the year as we chronicle Atari's return. I've
a few more surprises of my own that I hope to be able to dole out as
we go along.
Next issue, reviews of Cannon Fodder and Pinball Fantasies, and who
knows what else.
Have =you= played Atari today?
--==--==--==--==--
||| The Third Annual AEO Readers' Survey
||| By: AEO Magazine
/ | \ GEnie: AEO.MAG Delphi: AEO_MAG
-------------------------------------------------------------------
It's an issue later than normal, but it's once again time for you
to tell us, the editors of AEO, what you want us to focus on.
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The rules are simple: Every response must come from an _active_ user
name/user number. Don't vote more than once, and feel free to take as
much space on the essay portion of the survey as you need!
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""""" """" """""" """""
News from Atari (Press Releases, Interviews) ------------------
News from TOS Developers (Press Releases, Interviews) ---------
News from Atari User Shows ------------------------------------
News from Atari-attended Trade Shows --------------------------
Computer Industry (non-Atari) News ----------------------------
Online News (Recaps of the major Online Atari Nets) -----------
Online Conference Reprints ------------------------------------
Jaguar Material (reviews, news) -------------------------------
Lynx Material (reviews, news) ---------------------------------
Portfolio Material (reviews, news) ----------------------------
Editorial -----------------------------------------------------
Atari Computer Product Reviews --------------------------------
"Build-it-Yourself" Hardware Articles -------------------------
IV. Many readers get AEO for Jaguar/Lynx coverage and don't care for
Atari computer coverage. Then again, many readers get AEO strictly
for its Atari computer coverage, and don't care about video games.
Please indicate, through a percentage breakdown, how you would
balance the two types of coverage.
____% Atari computer coverage
____% Atari gaming coverage
The two percentages have to add up to 100% in order for the input
to be considered valid.
V. This is the essay portion of the survey. Please answer the
following questions.
A. What did you like _most_ about AEO in 1994? Be as chatty as
you like:
B. What did you like _least_ about AEO in 1994? Again, be as
chatty as you like:
C. Please complete the following sentence. "In the next year, I
would like to see AEO cover...."
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Thanks for your input into Atari Explorer Online. Please EMail your
responses to AEO.MAG on GEnie or to <aeo.mag@genie.geis.com> via
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This survey will be valid for three weeks (until February 7, 1995). At
that time, the results will be tabulated and posted in the next
available issue of AEO.
--==--==--==--==--
||| Rare Gems
||| Compiled by: David A. Wright
/ | \ Internet: centaur@hartford.com
----------------------------------------------------------------
The following are the "Rare Gems (sm)" selections for December 11 to
17, 1994. "Rare Gems" is a service mark (sm) of Rare Breed Noninc. and
David Alan Wright. (Internet: CENTAUR@HARTFORD.COM) Compilation
copyright 1994 by same. All Wright's rights reserved. Each weekly
collection may be distributed freely as long as this notice is
retained. No other format may be distributed without further
authorization. All quotes covered by "fair use" of copyright law.
Don't run with scissors. --:Dave
The difference between a dog and a fox? About ten drinks. --Unknown
Gay females spying: Lesbionage. --Uknown (and lucky he is)
People who fly into a rage seldom make a smooth landing. --Unknown
The art of acting consists of keeping people from coughing.
--Sir Ralph Richardson
There is only one good substitute for the endearments of a sister,
and that is the endearments of some other fellow's sister.
--Josh Billings
When a man fell into his anecdotage it was a sign for him to withdraw
from the world. --Benjamin Disraeli
Those who wish to pet and baby wild animals, "love" them. But those
who respect their natures and wish to let them live normal lives, love
them more. --Edwin Way Teale
===
The following are the "Rare Gems (sm)" selections for December 18 to
24, 1994. "Rare Gems" is a service mark (sm) of Rare Breed Noninc. and
David Alan Wright. (Internet: CENTAUR@HARTFORD.COM) Compilation
copyright 1994 by same. All Wright's rights reserved. Each weekly
collection may be distributed freely as long as this notice is
retained. No other format may be distributed without further
authorization. All quotes covered by "fair use" of copyright law.
--:Dave
This just in... Federal authorities have averted another attempt by an
unauthorized aircraft to land at the White House. The incident
occurred early Christmas morning, while the First Family slept. While
details are sketchy, it appears the pilot may have been in some
distress, as the roof of the plane was missing, and the lowered
landing gear appeared to be stuck. He still had control of the craft,
however, and was ordered away from the White House. He veered off and
authorities lost track. They say that that was unfortunate, as they
wish to investigate the matter further. They are concerned about the
large number of boxes seen in the plane, which may have been
explosives, and they want to bring animal cruelty charges against the
pilot, who had inexplicably tied several deer to poles mounted in the
front of the plane, perhaps in protest of game and wildlife
regulations.
The President was not awakened during the incident, and when informed
of it in the morning, he was understandably upset. He has ordered
staff to awaken him if any other such events happen at night, and to
review their security procedures so that certain measures he outlined
could be implemented. The measures include allowing the pilot to land,
deposit the suspicious packages, and leave unhindered. White House
security is extremely opposed to the measures, but the President is
insistant. Political analysts speculate that the President may be
thinking of crisis control procedures that recommend complying with an
assailant to avoid exacerbating a dangerous situation.
See, what'd I tell ya? He spots our new chimney, some kind of primal
urge compels him to go down, and, -presto-... We have Christmas
dinner. --Cannibal, "Non Sequitur" strip by Wiley Miller
All our decisions are made in a state of mind that is not going to
last. --Marcel Proust
I need some duck tape. My duck has a quack in it. --Unknown
I could not, at any age, be content to take my place in a corner by
the fireside and simply look on. Life was meant to be lived.
Curiosity must be kept alive. --Eleanor Roosevelt
Be wiser than other people if you can but do not tell them so.
--Lord Chesterfield
Had the Greeks held novelty in such disdain as we, what work of
ancient date would now exist? --Horace
They are not all saints who use holy water. --English proverb
===
The following are the "Rare Gems (sm)" selections for December 25 to
31, 1994. "Rare Gems" is a service mark (sm) of Rare Breed Noninc. and
David Alan Wright. (Internet: CENTAUR@HARTFORD.COM) Compilation
copyright 1995 by same. All Wright's rights reserved. Each weekly
collection may be distributed freely as long as this notice is
retained. No other format may be distributed without further
authorization. All quotes covered by "fair use" of copyright law. Now
serving number 95. --:Dave
What did -you- answer when you very first died and that angel asked
you if you preferred smoking or non-smoking?
--Man in Hell to another, "Bizarro" cartoon by Dan Piraro
It is easy to be beautiful; it is difficult to appear so.
--"Meditations in an Emergency" by Frank O'Hara
Yield to all and you will soon have nothing to yield.
--"The Man and His Two Wives" by Aesop
I will never do an Evil Twin Story. (Yes, you will.) No, I won't.
(Yes, you will.) No, I won't. (I've got chocolate.) No, I - what?
--J. Michael Straczynski
Darkness reigns at the foot of the lighthouse. -- Japanese Proverb
The man who can smile when things go wrong has thought of someone
else he can blame it on. --Robert Bloch
I do not know what I may appear to the world. But, to myself, I seem
to have been only like a boy playing on the seashore, diverting myself
in now and then finding a smoother pebble or a prettier shell than the
ordinary, whilst the great ocean of truth lay all undiscovered before
me. --Sir Isaac Newton
===
The following are the "Rare Gems (sm)" selections for January 1 to 7,
1995. "Rare Gems" is a service mark (sm) of Rare Breed Noninc. and
David Alan Wright. (Internet: CENTAUR@HARTFORD.COM) Compilation
copyright 1995 by same. All Wright's rights reserved. Each weekly
collection may be distributed freely as long as this notice is
retained. No other format may be distributed without further
authorization. All quotes covered by "fair use" of copyright law.
Available in moist air-- er, most areas. --:Dave
No man can sit down and withhold his hands from the warfare against
wrong and get peace from his acquiescence. --Woodrow Wilson
Mixed reaction: Having your boss breathe in helium before saying,
"You're fired." --"Wizard of Id" strip by Johnny Hart and Brant
Parker
The task of an educator should be to irrigate the desert not clear the
forest. --Unknown
If I reach for the moon and miss, I will still be among the stars.
--Unknown
For real sponge cake, borrow all the ingredients. --Unknown
If you want a place in the sun, you have to expect a few blisters.
--Loretta Young
Lean too much upon the approval of people, and it becomes a bed of
thorns. --Tehyi Hsieh
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--==--==--==--==--
||| A Weekend with the Jaguar's Dad
||| Interview by: Travis Guy
/ | \ GEnie: AEO.MAG Delphi: AEO_MAG
----------------------------------------------------------------
Known world-wide as the "father of the Jaguar", John Mathieson is seen
by many as Atari's 35 year old savior. Born and raised in Scotland,
Mathieson obtained his education at Fettes in Edinburgh, then at
Cambridge University. He currently holds a master's degree in
engineering and in computer science, as well as the title of
Vice-President of Advanced Technology at Atari Corp.
Over this past weekend, I was able to participate in a special treat.
AEO was given permission to conduct an interview with Mr. Mathieson,
who graciously gave up some of his free time to answer all questions.
(Finishing up I might add, during the San Francisco/Dallas NFC
Championship game on Sunday, his first viewing of an American football
game.)
[] AEO: What were your interests/hobbies while growing up?
John Mathieson: Electricity generally, and stereo systems. I owned and
ran my own mobile disco system while a student. I still have parts of
it, but it doesn't run so well on 110V!
[] AEO: <Grin> You're an engineer, can't you design a converter?
John Mathieson: I just hate compatibility problems!
[] To whom did you look up to as a child?
I can't put my finger on anyone in particular. I always wanted to
become a millionaire before I was 30 (now put back to 40).
[] Are you a video gamer? What's your favorite game?
Well, sort of. I spent a lot of time on Sinclair Spectrum games, Manic
Miner being my favourite. In recent years I have enjoyed Doom and
Cybermorph particularly.
[] How did you get into the silicon industry?
When I left university, I was offered a job by Clive Sinclair, at
Sinclair Research. At that time Sinclair was about to launch the
Spectrum (a very cheap Z80 based home computer), which dominated the
UK home computer industry for a few years in the early 80s. My first
job was to sit and write BASIC programs to find bugs in the BASIC
interpreter - and this led into writing the demo program used at the
launch, and doing technical support to the marketing and PR people.
>From there I moved into doing real engineering.
[] What other past hardware design projects have you been involved
in?
At Sinclair, I did a lot of cost reduction work on the Spectrum, and
then moved into peripheral design work on the QL (an early 68000 based
machine). I was lead hardware engineer on a project called Pandora,
which was a portable machine based on the Spectrum architecture, and
which used the Sinclair flat CRT plus some optics as a display. It was
never manufactured.
[] How did you come to work for Atari?
Sinclair folded in 1986, and the name was bought by Amstrad. With two
other colleagues, Martin Brennan and Ben Cheese, I started a company
called Flare to design a revolutionary games computer (from an idea
that floated around in Sinclair called Loki), which we dubbed Flare
One. This had a fast Z80, plus a decent video controller, a Blitter,
and a simple DSP. We targeted the Amiga, and this system was designed
to be faster and a lot cheaper. We funded this doing design
consultancy work. The Flare One system never made it as a games
machine - we sold a lot of chip-sets to a company who made video quiz
machines for UK pubs; and we also licensed it to a Welsh company who
intended to sell it as a games machine called the Konix Multi System.
This never happened, sadly. (Jeff Minter actually wrote a game for
it!)
Having done Flare One, we knew how we would do it better next time,
using a few year's advance of technology, plus all the experience we
gained. We also realised that we needed the backing of a larger
company to fund the development. At this point, Martin Brennan was
doing the design work on the main Panther chip as a piece of
consultancy for Atari, so we presented our ideas to Atari in late
1989. We set up a new company called Flare 2, which Atari owned 80%
of, and set out to design Jaguar. At this point, Ben Cheese left us
(he went on to design the Nintendo Super FX chip), so Martin Brennan
and myself were the design team. Martin designed the Jaguar video
system (which is loosely based on Panther), and the memory controller.
I designed the RISC processors and Blitter.
In late 1993, having finished Jaguar, Martin decided to move on to
something else, so I proposed to Atari (on the morning after the
Jaguar launch), that I move to the USA to continue work on Jaguar
technology. I moved here in January 1994.
[] Did you have anything to do with the design of the Panther?
Martin was employed as a contractor by Atari in late 1989 to work on
Panther. He made a lot of improvements to the concept, which already
existed when he started. We (Flare) took it through to working
developers systems.
[] Do you know what prompted the jumping from the Panther to the
Jaguar project?
I think it became clear to Atari that Jaguar would be launched one to
two years after Panther, and this made no commercial sense. Jaguar was
well advanced in design at the point Panther was cancelled, and it was
clear that it would be a far, far better machine.
[] Is there any Panther hardware in existence? <grin>
I think there is still a pile of developers systems in the office.
Make us an offer. <bigger grin>
[] Can you tell us a little bit more about Martin, and about any of
your other colleagues that assisted in the design/development of
Jaguar?
Martin, like me, is a Scot and a Cambridge graduate. Most of the best
engineers in the world are Scottish. (Beam me up....) Martin and I did
all the work on the chip-set, but honorable mentions should also go to
Richard Miller at Atari who was our engineering contact (who is also
ex-Sinclair (and has now left Atari)), and Tim Dunn who worked at
Flare and is now in Sunnyvale at Atari (and is also ex-Sinclair), who
did a lot of the PCB development work, and the design of the
developers systems around the Jaguar core.
[] Are you currently involved in the design, planning, consulting or
overseeing of Jaguar peripherals?
I am involved in the planning, but that is all.
[] What do you presently do for Atari?
I am Vice-President of Advanced Technology. I run a group whose
primary responsibility is the Jaguar ASICs. We do support and
cost-reduction of the existing chips, plus the development of future
versions.
[] For those readers who aren't engineers (like me), what is an
ASIC, and why does it sound so terribly important?
It would be perfectly possible to put together a machine with the
performance of Jaguar using chips picked out from the catalogs of the
major chip vendors. Unfortunately, doing it that way would give a
retail price of a thousand dollars or more. What I do is work out the
leanest, most efficient way of doing the functions we need, and then
design the chip-set to do it. By making the hardware do just what is
needed for games, and no more, there are a lot of cost savings to be
made.
We then put this design into custom chips called ASICs (application
specific integrated circuits, if you really want to know), and it is
the two Jaguar ASICs (Tom and Jerry) that make it so special. Having
done these, they then become unimportant, and the games become
everything.
[] How long did it take to develop the Jaguar?
Three years from start to being production ready.
[] Was there a single guiding principle behind the design of the
Jaguar?
Our main aim was to guess what technology would be practical when
Jaguar was in production (chip sizes, DRAM architecture, speeds, and
so on), and to leap-frog the rest of the world. Compare Panther which
was more of a "me-too" response to the SNES and Genesis. We took the
leap to 64-bit DRAM, and very large ASICs and package pin-counts.
We also set out to make it cheap and very fast!
[] What was the first "breakthrough" in the Jaguar design process?
The main one was realising that designing our own RISC processors made
sense. By integrating all the video animation logic - RISC processor,
Blitter, and Object Processor - in one chip, performance could be
higher and cost lower.
The CRY colour scheme Jaguar uses, which allows smooth shading of
16-bit pixels, was also a useful discovery.
[] <Laugh> I would guess that your CRY scheme is now patented by
Atari!
Yes. As you know from the Sega deal, Atari has a strong portfolio of
patents, and Jaguar has added to that. (Sega paid Atari $90M because
the Genesis infringes some key Atari patents.)
[] All other companies are now on official notice.... <grin>
What was the most difficult obstacle to overcome in the Jaguar
design process?
I think we underestimated the problems that would arise because we
were pushing the technology envelope. The first Jaguar silicon, which
was effectively beta test hardware, proved much harder to lay out and
get working in simulation than we expected. We believe at the time
that it was the largest ASIC, apart from test chips, that the major
Japanese silicon vendor we were working with had ever done.
[] The 68000 aside, how were the chips decided upon? How were Tom
and Jerry arrived at?
It's basically a simple division into a video chip and an audio chip.
The names were arbitrary.
[] What was the reasoning behind using the Motorola 68000 in the
Jaguar? Was it a "last minute" decision?
We had no strong feelings about an external CPU in the early days of
the Jaguar design. Atari were keen to use a 68K family device, and we
looked closely at various members. We did actually build a couple of
68030 versions of the early beta developers systems, and for a while
were going to use a 68020. However, this turned out too expensive. We
also considered the possibility of no CPU at all. I always felt it was
important to have some normal processor, to give developers a warm
feeling when they start. The 68K is inexpensive and does that job
well. I maintain that it's only there to read the joysticks. (Although
Leonard Tramiel now recommends that developers do that with the GPU
too!)
[] What do you say to those outsiders who insist on calling the
Jag's 68000, "The CPU of the machine?"
Call it what you like. It may be the CPU in the sense that it's the
centre of operation, and boot-straps the machine, and starts
everything else going; however, it is not the centre of Jaguar's
power. The centre of Jaguar's wonderful abilities come from the two
RISC processors for graphics and sound, and the two 64-bit animation
co-processors, the Blitter and Object Processor. The 68000 is like a
manager who does no real work, but tells everybody else what to do.
[] Here's a fresh question for you, I'm sure. <grin> Is Jaguar
really a 64-bit machine?
Jaguar has a 64-bit memory interface to get a high bandwidth out of
cheap DRAM. We achieve over 100 Mbytes/second, which is very
respectable, and gives the system its speed and flexibility. Where the
system needs to be 64-bit then it is 64-bit, so the Object Processor,
which takes data from DRAM and builds the display is 64-bit; and the
blitter, which does all the 3D rendering, screen clearing, and pixel
shuffling, is 64-bit. Where the system does not need to be 64-bit, it
isn't. There is no point in a 64-bit address space in a games console!
3D calculations and audio processing do not generally use 64-bit
numbers, so there would be no advantage to 64-bit processors for this.
Jaguar has the data shifting power of a 64-bit system, which is what
matters for games, so can reasonably be considered a 64-bit system.
But that doesn't mean it has to be 64-bit throughout.
[] What was the rationale for the "small" caches on the RISC chips?
Well in chip area they are not small at all, but huge.
[] I guess it'd depend on how a programmer approaches it, wouldn't
it? People who are used to writing tight code don't have any
troubles, while coders who are used to letting compilers "do the
hard part" for them see the RISC caches as tiny.
The most vocal criticism of the Jaguar architecture I have heard is
from John Carmack, who wrote Doom. A lot of his points are well made;
but he brought his game from an architecture with lots of central
processing power, and dreadful graphics rendering speed (the PC). Doom
was therefore a difficult port; as Jaguar presents both a very
different programming model and a much more balanced system. I don't
think many good games writers let compilers do the hard part - they
increasingly let them do the easy bits, but I believe most developers
still hand code the important stuff.
Getting the best performance out of Jaguar is not simple - and
programmers complain about it. But almost all of the developers I
spoke to expect to get much better performance out of their second
generation games, as they are now up the learning curve.
[] What about the Jaguar's hardware are you most proud of?
The RISC processor design.
[] Can you elaborate, or would that give too much away?
Well, without giving anything away, the performance worked out better
than I had hoped for. A lot of the early design decisions turned out
to be right in ways that may not have been clear at the time. There
was no single moment of invention, they just slowly evolved into
something that I am pleased with. Of course, it's not perfect.
[] You've already indicated that a custom-designed RISC processor
would be better suited in a fast video game console than a
processor taken "Off the shelf." Knowing Tom and Jerry as
intimately as you do, can you offer us a general comparison
between them, and the RISCs used by other consoles? (ARM-60,
SH-2.)
The ARM has a code size problem, as it uses 32-bit instruction words,
compared to our 16 bits. It's quite an old design now, and it does not
achieve the same performance we do at the same clock speed. The SH-2 I
know less about, but it appears to be slower at multiplication, which
is the key to 3D maths and audio synthesis. I know Sega changed both
the 32X and Saturn from one to two SH-2s to get better performance.
(The rumour is this happened after they saw Jaguar.)
[] Is there anything about Jaguar that you would change if you could
hop into a time machine and go back?
Well, I would of course have to fix all the bugs, and do it in half
the time as there would be two of me!
[] How paternalistic are your feelings towards Jaguar? Do you see it
as a design, or as something more?
It's like a child which has grown up and left home. For three years
it was ours alone; but at the Jaguar launch in New York I suddenly
realised that it was no longer mine. It was quite a surprising feeling
at the time, but now it's just a design. Now, all I see are the
day-to-day problems - the production glitches, developers' problems
and so on.
[] You feel that Jaguar is the most powerful "video game" machine on
any market?
In the U.S. today, certainly. World-wide, the Saturn and PlayStation
are serious opposition. But in terms of entry price, Jaguar offers
much more bang-per-buck than those machines.
[] How hard would it be to turn Jaguar into a full-fledged computer?
Would such a task be feasible?
It would be possible. There was a proposal within Atari before the
Jaguar launch to do a computer version as well, although it never came
to anything. If it looked like the market was going to go that way,
then Jaguar would make a very nice computer system. It can drive a VGA
monitor with the right software, and just needs a keyboard and a
storage device. However, I think the PC has that market sewn up, and
Atari has no plans to do a Jaguar computer.
[] Atari has announced plans for the Jag II in their 1993 financial
statements. Do you have any input or information you can share
concerning the development of this new platform? Will it be
marketed as "Jaguar II"?
Jaguar 2 is currently in development, and that is my main
responsibility. I cannot discuss technical aspects of it, and I don't
think anyone knows what to call it yet.
I spoke to a lot of developers regarding where they saw the
shortcomings of the current hardware. As a result of this, and our own
experience, I set out with main design aims of better polygon
performance, better texture map performance, better audio, and
compatibility. You will have to wait and see how well we do with these
aims.
[] Fair enough. We're waiting to see. Jaguar 2 aside, where do you
see the video gaming industry going, in terms of hardware, in the
next few years?
It is a technology led industry, so you should look to SGI
workstations, and state-of-the-art arcade machines, to see what will
be console priced in a few years. It is interesting the way 3DO, Sony
and Sega all think there is a market at $400. I believe that the real
volume remains at a much lower price than that.
[] "The lower, the better." Right? <grin>
Absolutely. I think if you look at Nintendo's public statements on the
Ultra 64 (no CD drive, simple fast architecture), you will see they
think the same. The really high sellers, the old Atari games consoles,
the NES, SNES and Genesis are all around the hundred dollar mark.
[] Not a hardware question, but do you think that future video game
consoles will rely on operating systems?
No, not really. There may be some movement to standard libraries, but
I believe that the best performance will always be had by going
straight at the hardware.
[] Ever since the late 70's, video game hardware have followed, and
sometimes led home computer hardware in terms of innovation and
performance. CD-ROMs for storage, and parallel processors for
computational ability are the current rage. While many companies
are seeking to increase the amount of data that can be stored on
CD-ROM, and others are working to develop faster processors, what
do you see as the next leap in innovation in video gaming
hardware?
Realism and interactivity are what makes these machines exciting.
Realism is what we pushed for in Jaguar, by allowing 3D games. I
wonder if VR headsets will be the next leap....
[] Full color or monochromatic? I wonder as well.
We will see. The Jaguar headset we are working on with Virtuality
should be a lot of fun.
[] One final question; at the end of your day, how does it make you
feel to know that there are so many people around the world who
enjoy your design - both users, and developers?
It's a good feeling. Having been in this industry for 14 years, this
is the first product I have designed to make it into six figure
volumes. (And here's hoping for eight figures! (Tens of millions for
the non-mathematical.)) But as I said earlier, the baby has left home,
and my work on it is over. I think more about Jaguars 2 and 3.
[] On behalf of my readers, I wish to thank you Mr. Mathieson, both
for spending this time with us, and for all of the hard work
you've put in on Jaguar. We wish you and your creations the best!
--==--==--==--==--
||| Computer systems as opponents in the game Civilization 1.0
||| An extremely silly commentary by: Jeremy Reimer
/ | \ Internet: jreimer@wimsey.com
----------------------------------------------------------------
//// This text is Copyright 1994 by Jeremy Reimer, and may not be
//// reprinted in whole or in part without the consent of the author.
You would think that computers and their respective operating systems,
software and versions of Wing Commander would be interesting enough
that they could stand on their own, without comparison to all sorts of
other things. Why then is it that people are -constantly- trying to
compare their favourite beige box to a brand of car, or an airline or
train service, television set, dining experience or vacation spot? It
is quite obvious to those of us with more than two brain cells to rub
together that such discussions are superficial and bogus. The only
valid comparison that can be made is quite obviously that between
computers and the artificial players in Sid Meier's Civilization, the
best game that isn't Wing Commander that was ever made. (Emperor
level, random world, 7 opponents, of course! Those of you who have
scored over 300 percent without cheating on version 5, please stop
lying to us.)
Anyway, after a couple of drinks, it all becomes clear: the number of
cities an enemy civilization posesses is equal to its marketshare.
The amount of trade can compare to software support, and cash can
indicate the financial stability of the company. The differing levels
of computer technology (pre-emptive multitasking, document linking and
embedding, grape-flavoured bananas) correlate rather nicely to the
various levels of technology in Civilization in a rather elaborate and
highly interesting manner which I cannot discuss as I have run out of
space in this document.
So without further ado, let's establish once and for all which
computers compare to which civilizations, and then let a thousand
flamewars bloom.
//// The PC, running DOS and Windows - Americans
Obviously the Americans. Expansionistic and arrogant, yet militarily
weak, they have run over 70% of the planet. They are highly advanced
in some technological levels but extremely low on others (especially
things like literacy) Lowest levels of contentment of all the
platforms, frequent unrest, riots and food shortages, but they keep
forming new cities all the time (which any good Civ player knows is
one sure-fire way of always keeping one step ahead of your
competitors) Threatens to take over the entire planet but doesn't have
the military power to do so.
Microsoft maintains that the fully debugged, 32-bit starship to Alpha
Centauri will be "included in the next version of Windows, due in six
months". However they have been saying this for years now and have
only just finished building the first power module.
//// The PC, running OS/2 - Egyptians
Due to a civil war between IBM and Microsoft, the PC empire split
between Windows and OS/2 several years back. The Egyptians enjoy
better standards of living and better, if monolithic and by some
standards rather old fashioned, technology. Every once in a while one
of the American cities will admire the prosperity of Thebes and
defect, although there are still very few cities, military defenses
are poor and trade almost non-existant.
Microsoft says that Thebes is irrelevant and in any case they'd better
not get any ideas as the Americans are (as usual) itching to run them
over with cannons.
//// The Macintosh - Russians
The only civilization more arrogant than the Americans, Stalinist
Russia owns most of the planet that the Americans don't, and are
constantly waging wars and sending in diplomats to sabotage the enemy
with lawsuits. In typical Russian fashion, they claim to have invented
every technology before anyone else (remember Russia's claim that they
invented baseball?) but most of them conveniently forget that ever
since the suits came in and took over the company (Communist
revolution) that the Macintosh's technological growth curve has been
far behind everyone else, even the Americans. Their trade levels are
far below the Americans but better than the Egyptians. Every time a
new technology is discovered (e.g., PowerPC) they promptly announce to
the world that now they have this new power they are about to destroy
everyone else, but their defiant words are rarely backed up in the
real world.
Microsoft has just recently discovered a way to increase their trade
and cashflow and also destroy the Russians from within: they have sent
two diplomats carrying Excel 5.0 and Word 6.0 accelerated for Power
Macintosh, the Trojan Horses of software.
//// Unix - Mongolians
Barbaric and arrogant, all they ever do is attack. They have no idea
what trade is or how money works. Years ago in the days of chariots
and catapults they had better technology than anyone on the planet,
but failed to conquer more than a small, barren piece of land despite
all predictions that they would take over everything. They have a few
cities that are well-fortified and almost impervious to attack. They
could have been a greater force if only their ranks weren't riddled
with internal power conflicts. Still, they have a few good
technologies that help them survive any attack.
Microsoft continues to tell the world that the Mongolians are
irrelevant, but fails to mention the fact that their diplomats have
already stolen their best technological secrets for their own sordid
uses.
//// NeXTstep - French
The greatest snobs in the world, they have the highest levels of
technology on the entire planet but only own one city, and most people
haven't even heard of them. Continue to be amazed that everyone in the
entire world doesn't simply lay down their arms and join the French.
They used to be the Germans (back in the days of black hardware) but
then the Barbarians took over their city and they were reincarnated as
the French, now running on Intel boxes. They keep trying to steal
other cities by using diplomats (NeXTstep on HP, Suns, PowerPC, etc)
but they never have enough money and nobody can ever decide which city
they should try and buy out next. Their capital (Paris) is one of the
most beautiful, advanced and elegant cities in the world, but it is
just one city, and is rather poorly defended and has almost zero
trade.
Microsoft believes firmly that the French do not exist, and most of
the rest of the world reluctantly agrees with them.
//// Amiga - in limbo (sacked by Barbarians - used to be Babylonians)
They are of course the Babylonians because all Amiga users ever do is
talk about Babylon 5. They conveniently forget that just before
Barbarians sacked Nineveh they were $200 million in debt and most of
their key technologies had already been stolen by foreign diplomats,
everyone had stopped trading with them and they were down to one city
with a population of 1, and all their scientists had left.
Nevertheless most Babylonians feel that any day now they will be
reincarnated as the Zulus and go running all over the planet taking
over everybody, forgetting of course that in the meantime the other
civilizations have caught up and surpassed their once superior
technologies. Of course as in Civilization, if they wait too much
longer (after 1 AD) then there will be no hope of revival as another
Civ.
//// Atarians - non-existant (got bought out by Americans)
They used to be the Greeks but had to sell all their cities for lack
of money.
//// Acorns - English (what else?)
This civilization does nothing but sit on a tiny island and complain
that nobody knows about them. Which is true to some extent. Unlike the
historical English these English never had an empire, and have almost
no trade and no military potential.
Well that is definitely the last word on that! Stay tuned for an
in-depth review of why computers are really like breakfast cereals,
coming in some other lifetime.
--==--==--==--==--
||| From Golgotha to... Orlando
||| Interview By: Christian Svensson
/ | \ GEnie: EXPLORER.5 Internet: svensson@bucknell.com
----------------------------------------------------------------
The darkness of the metallic halls seemingly encroach further (as if
that were physically possible), and your feelings of claustrophobia
increase. Engine hissing and the distant screaming of aliens fill the
corridors, giving yourself and all others present goosebumps.
Suddenly, you react to the surprise clawing attack of an Alien - its
attack cry as it jumps out at you, making your heart skip as you let
loose with both shotgun and invectives.
To whom do we owe this genuinely Giegeresque experience? Why, the
people on the Alien vs. Predator development team at Rebellion and
Atari of course.
One of the key members of this team was Andrew Whittaker, whom I have
recently had the pleasure of spending some time on the phone with.
Much has happened to Andrew professionally since work on AvP initially
began.
Andrew got into the computer field working as a member of the Grafgold
development team at Hossent Computers, then moved to the USB software
company, then on to Commodore Computers doing hardware development.
Finally, he wound up at Rebellion.
Andrew started at Rebellion as one of the two programmers for AvP and
was responsible for all the artificial intelligence (which took six
months alone to develop) and much of the 3D engine used in the game.
During the course of the project, Andrew left Rebellion in order to
join the ranks of Atari's in-house programming staff.
In my conversation with Andrew, I learned several interesting tidbits
that others might like to know about the development of AvP.
[] There can be over 3500 creatures in the game.
[] Before all of the objects and creatures were placed,the 3D engine
was running at about 50-60 frames per second. Due to the tracking
and AI of all of these creatures (not all at once mind you) the
engine slowed down to its present pace. Andrew was willing to
sacrifice speed for more realistic (and devious) AI.
[] Some people complained about the "cohabitation" of Aliens and
Predators in the same room (or some other unbelievable
combination). Well, Andrew had the AI so realistic, that in the
Marine scenario, the Predators went around the levels killing most
of the Aliens until they themselves were killed by the Marine -
thus making that game considerably more easy.
[] The ever present delays were due to the changing development
systems. Because they started development before the kits were
finalized, Rebellion would receive a "revised" development system
on almost a weekly basis. This forced them to backtrack and redo
certain parts of their earlier code from time to time.
A few short months after Andrew left to join Atari, Atari UK made the
somewhat surprising decision that they would no longer perform
development in-house, but instead would contract the work out to third
party developers. While this decision may be a wise move for Atari, it
left little reason for in-house programmers like Andrew to stay on
there.
//// Stalking One's Prey
Andrew's next move was to post what would become a "career changing"
(if not life changing) message to rec.games.video.atari asking if
there were any Jag developers with programmer openings. With AvP as a
huge success on the Jag, Andrew had numerous job and project offers.
In the midst of all of these was a reply from Jon Taylor, an Orlando
based computer engineer. Jon's career has taken him from Adventure
International (creators of the "Scott Adams Graphics Adventure"
series) eventually to Visionix Software (where he was doing low level
device driver, graphics and sound development). Jon proposed a
multinational development company, Springer Spaniel Software, a
concept that Andrew found very appealing. The concept started moving
towards reality in October 94 when Andrew and Jon began searching for
members to fill out the ranks of the teams on both sides of the
Atlantic. Only four weeks ago, a meeting was called in Orlando,
Florida amongst 20 potential team members, Jon, and Andrew. It was
from these 20 people, the English and American team members were
selected. These people were artists, programmers, musicians, business
personnel and other specialists.
//// Going in for the Kill
The business operations for Springer (distribution, legal operations,
publishing, etc.) will be handled in England and New York (where they
are in the process of setting up an office.) Meanwhile Andrew will be
leading the development team which will be split between Orlando and
England. The wonders of the Internet will allow the development teams
to communicate and share information continuously.
The development team's first project is what Andrew has defined as "a
revolutionary, fantasy role-playing game" for the PC on CD ROM. It is
slated to ship in the first quarter of 1996 and ports for the Atari
Jaguar (Jon emphasized that he is a BIG Atari fan), Sony PSX and Sega
Saturn are slated to follow in the second and third quarters of 96.
Andrew has emphasized the importance of artificial intelligence,
character interaction and superlative graphics. The projects name is
presently "Artemis" but Jon and Andy wanted to emphasize that this
titles shouldn't even be considered a working title yet.
Right now, Andrew is leaning towards an orthogonal, overhead view RPG,
but the gaming concept is still open to other (and multiple)
interpretations. Furthermore, Andrew and Jon are negotiating with an
unnamed fantasy author concerning the writing of a novella (which may
or may not be part of a series) to bundle with the game, thereby
developing the plot and description of the world in which it is set.
In closing, Jon and Andrew wanted to express that development will be
starting in earnest and with Andrew leading the development team, the
future is looking rosy for their first project.
--==--==--==--==--
||| Jaguar Tackboard
||| Confirmed information about Atari's Jaguar
/ | \ Compiled from online and official sources
----------------------------------------------------------------
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
//// Independent Association of Jaguar Developers
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
The IAJD (Independent Association of Jaguar Developers) has started
accepting members on GEnie. The IAJD is a private group where
confidential discussions can be freely held. (Category 64 of the ST
RoundTable is the IAJD meeting place.) Consequently, membership in the
IAJD is limited to Jaguar developers who are registered with Atari
Corp. To apply for membership, send EMail to ENTRY$ on GEnie (or
<entry$@genie.geis.com> if you're not on GEnie). Regular EMail
correspondence with the IAJD should be sent to IAJD$ (again, or
<iajd$@genie.geis.com> if you're not on GEnie).
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
//// Internet Jaguar Mailing List
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Anyone with Internet EMail access can join the discussions on the
Jaguar mailing list. To "subscribe" to the list, send an EMail to
the following address: <listserv@ctrc.fs.saci.org>
Leave the subject line blank. In the body of the EMail, include this
line:
subscribe jaguar-l FirstName LastName
(Where "FirstName" is your first name and "LastName" is your last
name.)
To send mail to be read on the Jaguar list, address your letter to:
<jaguar-l@ctrc.fs.saci.org>. It will go to the list server and be
sent to the over 250 readers of the list.
IMPORTANT: If your mail server charges you by the character or by the
letter, please be aware that the Jaguar list can generate dozens, and
up to a hundred EMails in a day.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
//// Jaguar FAQ
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Robert Jung <rjung@netcom.com> maintains the Jaguar FAQ (Frequently
Asked Questions) file, an updated list of Jaguar specs and facts. The
Jaguar FAQ is posted to rec.games.video.atari on Usenet around the
first of every month, and can also be found via FTP, address:
ftp.netcom.com, in Andy Eddy's /pub/vidgames/faqs directory.
E=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
//// AEO Development List 2.01
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
//// Editor: The following list of game titles has been confirmed to
the best of AEO's ability as of January 13, 1995. Entries in the
"S"tatus column reflect any "e"rrors, "u"pdates, "n"ew titles, or
"?"uestionable listings since the last AEO list. Entries in the
"M"edia column reflect whether the title is "C"D-ROM or "H"ardware.
(Blank entries are assumed to be cartridge software.)
ETA dates are dates that have been provided by the developer. AMMV.
I have updated the basic format of the list since the Version 1.xx
series. Version 2.xx of the AEO Development List has titles divided
into three categories. First are titles in development, listed
alphabetically, followed by unnamed titles, with currently released
titles comprising the third section. I hope you will find this to be
an easier to use list.
//// Titles in Development
S M Title ETA Company Publisher
""" """"" """ """"""" """""""""
AirCars Q1/95 MidNite MidNite
Arena Football League Q1/95 V Real Productions V Real
n C Artemis Mid96 Springer Spaniel Springer
C BIOS Fear - All Systems Go
n C Baldy Q2/95 Atari Atari
n Batman Forever Q3/95 Atari Atari
? C BattleChess ? Interplay
C Battlemorph Q1/95 Attention to Detail Atari
Battlesphere Q2/95 4Play
Battlewheels 1995 Beyond Games Beyond Games
C Blue Lightning Q1/95 Attention to Detail Atari
C Brett Hull Hockey Q2/95 Atari
Burn Out Q2/95 Virtual Xperience Atari
Cannon Fodder PRODU Virgin Interactive C. West
u Casino Royale 4/95 Telegames Telegames
H Cat Box PRODU Black Cat Design
n C CD League Bowling Q2/95 V-Real Productions
Center Court Tennis ? Zeppelin Games
C Chaos Agenda - Atari Atari
Charles Barkley Basketball Q2/95 Atari
Commando ? Microids
n Conan ?
u C Creature Shock Q2/95 Argonaut Software Virgin
'Dactyl Joust Q1/95 High Voltage Atari
Defender 2000 H2/95 LlamaSoft Atari
C Demolition Man Q1/95 Virgin Interactive Atari
Dino Dudes 2 ? Imagitec Design Atari
Double Dragon V Q1/95 Williams Enter. Williams
C Dragon's Lair Q1/95 ReadySoft ReadySoft
Droppings ? Delta Music Systems
Dungeon Depths ? MidNite
? Evidence ? Microids
F1 Racer - Domark Group Ltd.
u Fight For Life Q1/95 Atari Atari
Flashback 2/95 Tiertex Ltd. U.S. Gold
C Freelancer 2120 - Imagitec Design Atari
Galactic Gladiators ? Photosurrealism
? Gunship 2000 ? Microprose
Hammerhead Q2/95 Rebellion Software Atari
u Hardball 3 7/95 Atari Atari
C Highlander Q1/95 Atari Atari
C Highlander II - Atari Atari
C Highlander III - Atari Atari
u Horrorscope Q2/95 V-Real Productions
u C Hosenose and Booger ? All Systems Go
Hover Hunter Q2/95 Hyper Image Hyper Image
Hover Strike Q1/95 Atari Atari
Hyper Force - Visual Impact
Indiana Jags - Virtual Xperience
u International Sensible Soccer 2/95 Williams Brothers Telegames
C Jack Nicholas Cyber Golf Q2/95 Hand Made Software Atari
n James Pond 3 Q2/95 Telegames
? Kick Off 3 ? Anco Software Ltd.
Legions of the Undead Q2/95 Rebellion Software Atari
? Lester the Unlikely ? DTMC
C Lobo 1995 Ocean Software Ltd.
Mad Dog McCree ? American Laser Games
? Mountain Sports ? DTMC
H MPEG - Atari Atari
Nanoterror ? Delta Music Systems
Nerves of Steel ? Rainmaker Software
? C Neurodancer ? PIXIS Interactive
n Phear Q1/95 H2O Design Corp. Atari
Pinball Fantasies 2/95 21st Century C-West
n Pitfall II: The Mayan Adventure 12/95 Activision
u Power Drive Rally 5/95 Rage Software Time-Warner
n Powerslide 1995 Telegames
u C Primal Rage Q4/95 Time-Warner
Rainbow Warrior ? 3D Games
u RayMan 6/95 UBI Soft UBI Soft
C Redemption Q2/95 Atari Atari
C Return to Zork ? Activision
Rise of the Robots - Time-Warner
u C Robinson's Requiem H2/95 Silmarils Atari
Ruiner Q2/95 High Voltage Atari
u Soccer Kid Q1/95 Krisalis Software Ocean
n C Soul Star Q2/95 Atari
C Space Ace Q2/95 ReadySoft ReadySoft
u Space War 2000 Q2/95 Atari
Super Off-Road ? Telegames
u Supercross 3D 6/95 Atari
Syndicate Q1/95 Bullfrog Ocean
n C Thea Realm Fighters Q3/95 High Voltage Atari
Theme Park Q1/95 Bullfrog Ocean
Tiny Toons Adventures Q2/95 Atari
u Troy Aikman NFL Football 2/95 Telegames Williams
Ultimate Brain Games 3/95 Telegames
Ultra Vortex 1/95 Beyond Games Beyond Games
? Valus Force ? JVC
u C Varuna's Forces 4/95 Accent Media
n C Vid Grid Q1/95 Atari Atari
H Video Jukebox ? All Systems Go
Virtual Warriors ? Rainmaker Software
n Virtuoso 1995 Telegames
Waterworld - Ocean Software Ltd.
White Men Can't Jump Q1/95 High Voltage Trimark
n Wild Cup Soccer 1995 Telegames
u World Class Cricket 4/95 Telegames
? World Cup ? Anco Software Ltd.
Zzyorxx II - Virtual Xperience
//// Unnamed Titles in Development
S M Title ETA Company Publisher
""" """"" """ """"""" """""""""
H Jaguar / PC card ? Sigma Designs Sigma
3D shooter ? iThink
Football - Atari
H IR controller station - All Systems Go
Miniature Golf ? DTMC
RPG ? Level 7 Software
Racing - Gremlin Graphics
Soccer - UBI Soft UBI Soft
n Wayne Gretzky Hockey title Q4/95 Time-Warner Time-Warner
//// Current Releases
AEO
M Title Rated Company Publisher
" """"" """"""" """"""" """""""""
Alien vs. Predator 9 Rebellion Atari
Brutal Sports Football 7 Millenium/Teque Telegames
Bubsy 6 Imagitec Design Atari
Checkered Flag 5 Rebellion Atari
Club Drive 7 Atari Atari
Cybermorph 7 Attention to Detail Atari
Doom 9 id Software Atari
Dragon 7 Virgin Interactive Atari
Evolution Dino-Dudes 6 Imagitec Design Atari
Iron Soldier 10 Eclipse Atari
Kasumi Ninja 8 Hand Made Software Atari
Raiden 6 Imagitec Design Atari
Tempest 2000 10 LlamaSoft Atari
Trevor McFur...Crescent Galaxy 3 Atari Atari
Wolfenstein 3D 8 id Software Atari
Val d'Isere Skiing... 5 Virtual Studio Atari
Zool 2 7 Gremlin Graphics Atari
Pts Stars AEO Ratings
""" """"" """""""""""
10 ***** GAMING NIRVANA!!! - You have left reality behind... for good.
9 ****+ Unbelieveable GAME!! - Your family notices you're often absent.
8 **** Fantastic Game!! - You can't get enough playtime in on this.
7 ***+ Great Game! - Something to show off to friends or 3DOers.
6 *** Good game - You find yourself playing this from time to time.
5 **+ Ho-hum - If there's nothing else to do, you play this.
4 ** Waste of time - Better to play this than play in traffic.
3 *+ Sucks - Playing in traffic sounds like more fun.
2 * Sucks Badly - You'd rather face an IRS audit than play this.
1 + Forget it - ... but you can't; it's so badly done, it haunts you.
0 - Burn it - Disallow programmer from ever writing games again.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
//// Atari & Jaguar-related Press Releases
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
//// Jag Snags Big Titles for 1995
Coming attractions for Atari Jaguar
SUNNYVALE, Calif. - Jan. 6, 1995 - Batman Forever, Thea Realm Fighters
and Primal Rage top the list of coming attractions for the 64-bit
Atari Jaguar Interactive Multimedia system in 1995.
"The focus at Atari for 1995 is great software and lots of it," said
Sam Tramiel, CEO of Atari Corporation. "We are working with over 200
developers to bring a wide variety of new games to the 64-bit Atari
Jaguar in 1995. The powerful Jaguar technology can handle popular
arcade games like Primal Rage or provide the speed and graphics
necessary for brand new games like Batman Forever and Thea Realm
Fighters."
Batman Forever, based on the much-anticipated Warner Bros. movie
scheduled for release this summer, pits the caped crusader and his
sidekick Robin against Gotham City villains Two-Face and the Riddler.
The Atari Jaguar Batman Forever game will incorporate the movie's
characters and feature the films newly-designed costumes and high-tech
equipment.
Market research demonstrates that over 90% of the U.S. population is
familiar with the Batman character, so there will be wide appeal for
the game. Batman Forever is scheduled for delivery to stores late in
the 3rd quarter.
Thea Realm Fighters combines the latest digital motion capture
technology and nationally known martial arts fighters, including
several used for both Mortal Kombat games, to create a super-realistic
fighting game. Among the well-known martial artists used for the game
are:
[] Ho Sung Pak, who played Liu Kang in Mortal Kombat I & II, is a
member of the Black Belt Hall of Fame and winner of the Grand Slam
of Martial Arts in 1991, and served as technical advisor for
choreography.
[] Phillip Ahn, MD, is a 4th degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do. Dr.
Ahn played Shang Tsung in Mortal Kombat II.
[] Katalin Zamiar played Kitana, Mileena and Jade in Mortal Kombat II.
Katalin is a black belt in Okinawan style Karate.
[] Daniel Pesina, who played Johnny Cage and the ninjas in Mortal
Kombat I & II, is a nationally ranked martial artist in forms and
weapons.
There are a total of 25-plus characters to compete against in Thea
Realm Fighters, including twelve main characters and twelve other
special characters. The characters can compete in four different modes
and with more than 30 different backgrounds, creating a wide variety
of combat situations and scenarios. The release of Thea Realm Fighters
is planned for the 3rd quarter.
Primal Rage pits seven different prehistoric creatures - each with its
own unique fighting style - against each other in a battle for world
domination. This one or two player game was a huge hit in the video
arcade market last year. Time Warner Interactive plans to ship a
compact disc version of Primal Rage in the 4th quarter.
Atari Corporation markets interactive multimedia entertainment
systems, including Jaguar, the world's first and only 64-bit game
system, and the only video game system manufactured in the United
States. Atari is headquartered at 1196 Borregas Avenue, Sunnyvale,
California 94089.
###
CONTACT:
Atari Corporation Ron Beltramo 408/745-8852
Edelman Public Relations David Harrah 415/968-4033
//// Jaguar Sports Titles
Sports titles coming from Atari
SUNNYVALE, Calif. - Jan. 6, 1995 - Baseball for 1995 may be uncertain
and the National Hockey League still is not playing, but there will be
sports galore on the 64-bit Atari Jaguar this spring and summer.
Atari Corporation today announced that a number of new sports titles
will be released in the first half of 1995.
"We're going for the gold with sports-oriented games at Atari this
year," said Sam Tramiel, CEO of Atari Corporation. "Atari Jaguar
owners will play hockey with Brett Hull, golf with Jack Nicklaus,
basketball with Charles Barkley and all the baseball they want."
Sports games currently under development include: Charles Barkley-Shut
Up and Jam takes an in-your-face, over-the-top approach to America's
favorite indoor sport. Players will encounter some of the baddest
b-ball players on the streets as they try to rule the game's 2 on 2
streetball tournament. Charles Barkley-Shut Up and Jam is expected by
the end of the second quarter.
Brett Hull Hockey features super-realistic, digitized graphics and a
real-time 3-D hockey rink. Available on CD, Brett Hull Hockey will
provide the most realistic hockey video game simulation ever. Look for
Brett Hull Hockey to arrive in stores by the end of June.
Hardball Baseball will provide a graphically and statistically
true-to-life simulation of real baseball. Players will have the added
option of customizing teams and scheduling themselves for one game, a
playoff series or an entire season. Special software builds players'
statistics as games are played making Hardball Baseball even more
realistic. Atari plans to ship Hardball Baseball before the 1995
All-Star game, if there is one this year.
Jack Nicklaus Cyber Golf, a CD title, is a photo-realistic golf game
for the Jaguar that utilizes over 9,000 images of Murfield Village
Golf Course. This course is the first that Jack Nicklaus created and
is the site of the annual Memorial Tournament. Well-known sports
presenter David Livingston acts as a virtual commentator to teach the
first-time player how to play the game or provide comments and
suggestions for the more experienced players. Up to a foursome can
play Jack Nicklaus Cyber Golf, and the CD is expected to ship late
this spring.
Additional sport titles scheduled for the first half of 1995 include
Troy Aikman NFL Football (Williams Entertainment), White Men Can't
Jump (TriMark), CD League Bowling (V Real) and Sensible Soccer
(Telegames).
Atari Corporation markets interactive multimedia entertainment
systems, including Jaguar, the world's first and only 64-bit game
system, and the only video game system manufactured in the United
States. Atari is headquartered at 1196 Borregas Avenue, Sunnyvale,
California 94089.
###
CONTACT:
Atari Corporation Ron Beltramo 408/745-8852
Edelman Public Relations David Harrah 415/968-4033
//// Upcoming Jaguar Peripherals
Atari to expand Jaguar peripherals
SUNNYVALE, Calif. - Jan. 6, 1995 - New peripherals in 1995 are a key
part of the system expansion plans for the 64-bit Jaguar Interactive
Multimedia system, Atari Corporation today announced. "Since Jaguar
has already made the leap to 64-bit technology, we can focus on
providing even more value to consumers by expanding the system with
new and innovative peripherals," said Sam Tramiel, CEO of Atari
Corporation. "By the end of the year, players will link multiple
systems, play each other over the phone and venture into new virtual
reality environments with their Jaguar systems."
Networking Jaguar systems through use of the Jag Link cable enables
the playing of network compatible Jaguar games on different systems up
to 100 feet away from each other. The Jag Link cable system can
support at least two simultaneous game players at once, depending on
the software. The system uses standard RJ11 phone line cable to link
two Jaguar interactive game systems and implements reliable
differential pair technology. The Jag Link cable is expected to be
available for sale in the second quarter of 1995 at a suggested retail
price of $29.99.
The Jaguar Voice/Data Communicator allows players to link to each
other over the phone. The new technology, developed with Phylon
Communications, Inc., leaders in the fax/modem/voice technology field,
not only permits two players to play against each other using the
phone connection, but to speak with each other by using a headset. By
utilizing a "call waiting" feature, users can also pause a game to
answer a phone call. The Jaguar Voice/Data Communicator comes complete
with a stereo headset and is expected to be available by the third
quarter 1995 at a suggested retail price of less than $150.
Also planned for 1995 delivery is Atari's virtual reality headset, now
under development with Virtuality Group plc, the leader in virtual
reality technology and arcade games. The two companies officially
joined forces in October to create the world's first immersive virtual
reality games for the home market.
The virtual reality headset should be available to consumers by Christmas
1995 with a targeted price of less than $200.
Atari Corporation markets interactive multimedia entertainment
systems, including Jaguar, the world's first and only 64-bit game
system, and the only video game system manufactured in the United
States. Atari is headquartered at 1196 Borregas Avenue, Sunnyvale,
California 94089.
###
CONTACT:
Atari Corporation Ron Beltramo 408/745-8852
Edelman Public Relations David Harrah 415/968-4033
//// Jag CD to Debut at $149.99
Atari debuts CD player for Jaguar at $149.99
SUNNYVALE, Calif. - Jan. 6, 1995 - Prepare to shift your Jaguar into
overdrive.
Atari Corporation Friday announced that its new compact disc
multimedia peripheral will be available in the first quarter, priced
at an amazingly affordable $149.99, including a CD game. The CD
player, which plugs into the top of the 64-bit Atari Jaguar
Interactive Multimedia System, plays CD-based Jaguar video games and
standard audio compact discs.
The Jaguar CD player provides 790 megabytes of raw data storage to
allow for the incorporation of many complex digitized images,
full-motion video sequences and loads of CD-quality audio soundtracks
into Jaguar games.
The powerful double speed Jaguar CD player incorporates incredibly
fast access speed for smoother game play and its massive data capacity
provides better graphical detail, expanded plot lines and more
characters, which all add up to more immersive and challenging games.
The first titles available for the Jaguar CD player include:
Battlemorph, Blue Lightning, Highlander, Demolition Man and Creature
Shock, with many more to come.
Atari's new CD Multimedia player includes the Virtual Light Machine
(VLM), which creates and displays light patterns on the video screen
in response to music played through the system. The result is a
stunning light show. There are 81 different pattern settings available
on the VLM. The VLM is built into the Jaguar CD Multimedia player.
"We want the Atari Jaguar to be the best value in the gaming market,
as well as, the most advanced system technologically," said Sam
Tramiel, CEO of Atari Corporation.
"With the new Jaguar CD Multimedia player, Jaguar owners will be able
to play incredible CD-based videogames, listen to audio discs and
watch the VLM. This combination of the most advanced technology, great
software and affordable pricing is what sets Jaguar apart from the
competition."
Atari Corporation markets interactive multimedia entertainment
systems, including Jaguar, the world's first and only 64-bit game
system, and the only video game system manufactured in the United
States. Atari is headquartered at 1196 Borregas Avenue, Sunnyvale,
Calif. 94089.
###
CONTACT:
Atari Corporation Ron Beltramo 408/745-8852
Edelman Public Relations David Harrah 415/968-4033
//// 1995 Jaguar titles
Atari announces winning line-up of Jaguar titles for first half of
1995
SUNNYVALE, Calif. - Jan. 6, 1995 - By this summer, fans of the first
and only 64-bit game system in the world will have more than 50 games
to choose from, including dozens of brand new Jaguar game titles.
"Alien vs. Predator, Wolfenstein 3D, Doom, Kasumi Ninja, Iron Soldier
and Tempest 2000 were the top-rated Jaguar titles for 1994," said Sam
Tramiel, president and CEO of Atari Corporation. "In the first half of
1995, we expect many hit titles, including Fight for Life, Space War
2000, Hover Strike, Ultra Vortex and Rayman. These and other titles
will substantially increase the Jaguar library." Below are
descriptions of these upcoming hits:
Fight for Life: This 3-D fighting game, produced and published by
Atari, is set in hell, with each character striving for the ultimate
prize: the chance to gain redemption and live again. Players choose
one fighter from among eight different characters. They then battle
the remaining characters one-by-one and proceed to the final showdown
with the end boss. As they defeat each opponent, players can select up
to two of each character's five special moves, in effect creating
their own truly unique fighting character. (Do the math: The
possibilities are endless.)
To create 3-D animation of unsurpassed fluidity and realism, the
production team used state-of-the-art motion capture technology that
incorporated the movements of live martial arts experts performing
nearly 200 different moves. Artists then exploited the Jaguar's 64-bit
system to create stunning 3-D graphics that bring the characters to
life. According to Edge Magazine (December 1994), "The skyline
background looks impressive and the moves are well-animated." "Atari's
Fight for Life puts a floating camera around the 3-D fighting. Jaguar
owners will soon have a 3-D fighting game to call their own," remarked
a reviewer at GamePro (January 1995).
Space War 2000: In their intergalactic jousts, space knights vie for
old-fashioned glory, honor, fame and fortune. As they emerge
victorious from each battle, they procure such weapons as laser shots,
missiles, shields and cloaking devices. This first-person perspective
3-D adventure, produced by Atari, is fun for single players and
spectacular as a two-player game. "First-person gaming is reaching a
new high, and Space War 2000 is positioning to be a contender in that
wild and crowded race," stated a reviewer at EGM2 (January 1995).
Hover Strike: The mission: To lead the rebels in an attempt to
vanquish the formidable Space Pirates from the planet. The weapon: A
high speed hover tank armed with rapid fire cannons, powerful
missiles, on board radar and protective shields. This game, published
by Atari, uses the Jaguar's 64-bit technology to deliver an
action-packed, fully texture-mapped, first-person perspective 3-D
battle. Ken Williams of Electronic Gaming Monthly says, "The
first-person perspective serves this game well, adding a new dimension
to the genre."
Ultra Vortex: In this game, produced by Beyond Games, players test
their fighting skills in a nether world tournament. They can choose
among eight valiant fighters from different dimensions before the
final battle with the evil entity. Amazing sounds and graphics
inspired a game reviewer from Electronic Gaming Monthly to write,
"Ultra Vortex will make some people stop and turn their heads."
Rayman: Ten-year old Jimmy creates a stunning imaginary kingdom called
"Hereitscool" in his computer and transforms himself into Rayman, a
fantasy hero who combats the forces of evil to save his friends.
Here's what DieHard GameFan had to say about this winning title from
UBI Soft: "Absolutely brilliant looking. The control is perfect and
the artwork is phenomenal."
Atari Corporation markets interactive multimedia entertainment
systems, including Jaguar, the world's first and only 64-bit system,
and the only video game system manufactured in the United States.
Atari is headquartered at 1196 Borregas Avenue, Sunnyvale, California
94089.
###
CONTACT:
Atari Corporation Ron Beltramo 408/745-8852
Edelman Public Relations David Harrah 415/968-4033
//// Springer Software Formed
January 5, 1995
Visionix (USA) and Mr. Andrew Whittaker (UK) have announced the
immediate creation of a new joint-venture company, Springer Spaniel
Software (SpringerSoft). SpringerSoft has already started the design
and development of a revolutionary new video game, under the
project-name "Artemis, which will be released for IBM and compatible
PC systems in the first quarter of 1996. Versions of the game for the
Atari Jaguar, Sony PlayStation, Sega Saturn, and other
high-performance, CD-ROM systems are tentatively planned for second
and third quarters of 1996.
Andrew Whittaker will be leading the development of the new game. Mr.
Whittaker is a UK based game developer with over 15 years of
experience. Recently released games developed by Mr. Whittaker include
the smash-hit "Alien Vs. Predator" for the Atari Jaguar, a game which
has been rated as "Most wanted of the 1994 holiday sales season" by
both US and UK video game publications. Mr. Whittaker's other recent
releases include "Dark Seed" and "Ashes of Empire".
Visionix is a US based software development house that specializes in
video game, multimedia, graphics imaging, and operating system design
and development. Visionix employees previously worked on the
best-selling "Scott Adams Graphics Adventure" series for Adventure
International/Scott Adams, Inc.
Carol Street, the Vice-President of Production at Springer Spaniel,
commented that "SpringerSoft has been formed to take advantage of the
skills of both UK and US based graphics, sound, design, and
development specialties. Our games will be distributed worldwide,
including the domestic, European, Asian, Australian and South African
markets."
SpringerSoft will have offices in Orlando, FL, USA; the United
Kingdom; and New York, NY, USA.
For further information, please contact Jon R. Taylor at
(407)-648-0364 (USA) or via email to jtaylor@magicnet.net
Springer Spaniel Software
1240 Golfview Street
Orlando, FL USA 32804
email: artemis@magicnet.net
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
//// Battle Sphere Description
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
1/13/95
Text Copyright (c) 1994, 1995 4Play. All Rights Reserved.
800 years in the future, the 7 dominant races of the galaxy are at
war. Stealing a plot idea from an ancient Star Trek episode, they have
agreed to confine their hostilities to Sector 51, a spherical sector
of space formerly used by the Earth government to secretly test new
weapons and starships. Each race has sent its best soldiers and
military hardware to participate in a tournament of space battles in
this Battle Sphere. The race that wins the tournament will be given
control of the galaxy.
//// The Races
The Oppressors resemble the human race's concept of demons and it is
believed that Earth legends of demons were caused by the arrival of an
Oppressor strike force that was somehow destroyed soon after it
reached the planet. They once controlled 80% of the known galaxy but
have been slowly losing their hold as they encounter one disaster
after another. The Oppressors will do anything to regain their former
hold on the galaxy.
The Se'Bab were an all-female slave race of the Oppressors until the
sudden arrival of the Telchines 50 years ago weakened their hold
leading to a brutal rebellion and double blow to the Oppressors which
destroyed half of their empire. The Se'Bab were bred for beauty and
obedience. This has translated into extreme xenophobia towards all
other races and extremely aggressive, almost suicidal battle tactics.
The Se'Bab bare one breast at all times in defiance of male power.
The Telchines appeared 50 years ago and are presumed to originate
from a neighboring galaxy. Their advanced craft brutally vaporized a
section of the Oppressor's empire which indirectly triggered the
rebellion that freed the Se'Bab from their Oppressor masters. The
Telchines do everything in threes and are obsessed with the 5 Platonic
solids. Their ships have threefold symmetry. No one has ever seen a
Telchine and lived. They appear to be transforming space around their
Empire.
The Slith are lizard-like beings whose ships seem to be alive. They
also have the greatest repair capacity of any race. Never leave one of
their ships for dead, it isn't. They are rumored to devour their
prisoners after interrogation. Their capitol ships resemble giant
writhing snakes and lizards, and can reproduce if sufficient resources
are supplied. Their weapons are tailored to achieving the paralysis
and capture of other ships for this purpose rather than simply
destroying them.
The Smg'Heed are the last surviving descendants of the human race,
mostly wiped out by a scourge of retroviruses and accumulated debt
from placing their entire GPP into developing absurdly powerful
weapons. As a result, their ships are based on modified 20th century
technology, have lousy maneuverability, but do incredible damage if
they manage to hit anything. Watch out for their self-destruct
systems! The other races decided to include them in the tournament
mostly on the fear that they'd activate one of their many
budget-busting Doomsday Devices had they not done so.
The Ocatanut are a feline race that follow the Slith wherever they
go. An uneasy alliance exists between them, but it has been suspended
for the sake of the tournament. There is the general belief that there
will be some form of power-sharing between them if either race wins
the tournament. The Ocatanut focus on stealth and speed to overcome
their enemies. Frequently, they will then share their kills with the
Slith.
The Thunderbirds are the sworn enemies of the Ocatanut and the Slith.
They are hawklike predators who blend speed and firepower in their
ships. They are fixated on coup-like behavior and they tend to make a
great show of any kill, making sure their victim knows who it was who
has beaten them. It is believed that the Se'Bab and the Thunderbirds
have been sharing technology.
//// Gameplay
Battle Sphere is everything we (Doug Engel and Scott Le Grand) have
wished for in space battle games, but haven't seen since the industry
seems intent on continually cloning Wing Commander in one form or
another. We personally cut our teeth on Star Raiders and consider it
to be the best Space Battle game ever done. (TIE Fighter is our
favorite Wing Commander clone that fixes the problems with Wing
Commander.) Accordingly, Battle Sphere has the play mechanics of Star
Raiders with 16 bit colors, and graphics along the lines of TIE
Fighter. There are 4 play modes:
1. Arena: 1-8 player Street Fighter II in Space. Players select any
ship they desire and head into a variety of arenas where the object
is to kill every other player (or every other player on the
opposing team) for points which can be utilized to improve the
functionality of their ships. The resulting ship can be saved for
future use. This is also similar to a space-based version of Sega's
Wing Wars I suppose.
2. Gauntlet: Single player or multiplayer cooperative 3D Missile
Command. The players are given 6 starbases to defend against waves
of incoming enemy fighters, bombers, capitol ships and strange
things until all starbases are destroyed. Periodically, a destroyed
starbase will be replaced.
3. Alone Against the Empires: A single or multiplayer cooperative game
similar to Star Raiders. The Battle Sphere is broken up into 64 or
so spherical sectors. Some of those sectors, close to the center,
contain starbases. The outer sectors contain armadas of enemy
ships, enemy starbases, and random strange things (all depending on
the skill level). Play proceeds as the enemy ships head for the
center of the Battle Sphere in order to destroy the starbases.
Enemy reinforcements will arrive at the edge of the Battle Sphere
as long as there are enemy starbases. Play continues until 1) All
friendly starbases have been destroyed (you lose) or 2) All enemy
forces have been eliminated (you win).
4. Network: 2-8 player Netrek meets TIE Fighter. Two alien races at a
time are placed in the Battle Sphere with a number of starbases and
capitol ships. The object of the game is to destroy all of enemy
capitol ships and starbases before an adjustable time limit runs
out. Failing this, the team that caused the most damage against its
enemy wins. This proceeds until all alien races have fought in the
Battle Sphere and the winning race is granted control of the
galaxy.
//// Miscellaneous
Current framerate is 25-30 fps although we can get it down to 1 fps if
we stack 10 massive starbases on top of one another and get up close
and personal, gee we must suck, eh? Anyone who played our demo at the
WCES will testify that we're pretty smooth, even better than TIE
Fighter on a 486 at this point. It is important to note that our
polygon engine is not running at full capacity yet. We have
intentionally left certain optimizations (like reduced detail models)
out at this point so that and speed decreases caused by adding A.I.
and such can be gained back with these techniques. Besides, we're
probably just really too lazy to do it right, huh?
All of our ships are gouraud shaded, many don't even look like polygon
models. Texture mapping is being used sparingly to provide detail on
top of the gouraud shading, a technique we're calling "Decal-
Mapping(tm)". Look for more and more of it as the game progresses.
Anyone who complains because it's not fully texture-mapped has
incredibly bad taste.
See who can count the most homages to other computer games and SF
movies and series.... The winner is a total nerd, worse than we are
probably....
The one thing we absolutely despise about Wing Commander is the huge
cockpits with the cute joystick which leaves an absolutely tiny
viewing area. Our cockpit designs are minimal and we are placing most
tactical information in HUDs. This way, if one turns off the cockpit
view, no important information is lost. At least they finally fixed
this in WC3!
Progress Report: All background engines are finished, as is the flight
engine, we are currently working on explosions to top Iron Soldier's.
Projected release is 2Q '95. The long haul continues.
//// 4Play
Douglas Engel: Networking code, Sound and music engine, cool intro,
artwork, ship design, game design, sound effects.
Tom Harker: All that annoying CEO business dude stuff, the CatBox,
game critic.
Scott Le Grand: Graphics and game programming, polygon engine,
game design, sound effects.
Stephanie Wukovitz: Music, game critic.
Acknowledgments: This game was not designed in a vacuum. Many people
have provided hints and ideas as well as denounced certain of our
ideas as plain stupid.
Here's an incomplete list, sure to grow:
Ralph Barbagiallo: For fixing an absolutely horrible-sounding MOD.
Jer Horwitz: For not being afraid to speak his mind about our ideas.
Allen C. Huffman: The GOD of Cool Samples.
Tim Wilson: The man behind our configurable radar scheme.
Various competitive system fanatics: Keep it up, your stuff's hilarious!
After all, we all know that the
JAG SUX!
Star Raiders, Doom,
TIE Fighter, and Iron Soldier: Our 4 strongest inspirational
computer games
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
//// New Cheats and Codes
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
//// Iron Soldier: All Levels and Weapons
[] On the "Options" screen, press "3" "7" "6" "6" "8" "2" "4" and "2"
in sequence. Once you enter in the key sequence, you can then go to
"Load Game" and all levels and waepons will be selectable.
//// Iron Soldier: INSANE Difficulty
[] On the "Options" screen, press "6" "8" "4" and "2" in sequence to
enable a new difficulty level named "INSANE". (It is.) Once you enter
in the key sequence, the screen border will flash for a moment and
until you reset the Iron Soldier cart's memory (not your Jaguar), you
may then pick INSANE level whenever you desire.
//// Bubsy Level Codes
Level Passcode
2 392652
3 458227
4 958936
5 739294
6 184792
7 812615
8 781367
9 126712
10 236721
11 673167
12 792323
13 672328
14 782389
15 672345
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
//// Offers from Atari Customer Service
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
//// Iron Soldier Posters
Atari Corporation will soon be taking delivery of a cinema-quality
Iron Soldier promotional poster. For those who don't know about Iron
Soldier, the phenomenal new 64-bit Jaguar game due to arrive in stores
as early as this week, you are in for possibly the most incredible
game of 1994. As the pilot of a mammoth robot, you have been assigned
one of many challenging missions... sometimes to protect and often to
destroy. Look down at your feet as you walk, but not too long, there
are virtually real helicopters, tanks and convoys out to get you
within the crowded cities and open countryside.
Mr. Greg LaBrec was so highly praised for his work on the Alien Vs.
Predator Poster that he has been inspired to produce an awesome poster
for Iron Soldier. The poster looks just like a poster you would see at
a theater and is intended for retail store windows and promotions.
If you want one of these great Iron Soldier posters, I'll send you one
FREE if you prepay Atari's minimum shipping and handling charge of
$4.95. That covers the tube, postage and the raw costs to get it out
the door. All you have to do is request your copy at any time
beginning right now through January 2nd. The more you onliners want
the more I'll go crazy trying to catch up when I get back from
vacation!
Here's how to request an Iron Soldier poster (or an Alien Vs. Predator
poster)...
Send $4.95 ($6.95 U.S. funds for Canada) in the EXACT amount. Payment
may be received in Money order, check, MasterCard or Visa. Please
remember to include mailing name and address, online address and
daytime phone number.
REQUESTS BY EMAIL with CREDIT CARD:
75300.1267@compuserve.com
-or-
jaguar$@genie.geis.com
REQUESTS BY BBS with CREDIT CARD:
private SysOp mail on
CATscan @ 209/239-1552
REQUESTS BY FAX with CREDIT CARD:
408/745-2088
REQUESTS BY MAIL: (checks payable to Atari)
Drive Don Crazy Iron Soldier Poster Sellout
P.O. Box 61657
Sunnyvale, CA 94089-1657
(offer good while quantities last and limited to North American
mailing addresses only.)
Note that the posters will be delivered to Atari one per tube. I
cannot double up posters. Everyone can request as many tubes they
like at $4.95 S&H per tube, but please do not request for more than
one per mailing tube.
Don't forget these other items too.....
Tempest 2000: The Soundtrack
12 outstanding tracks from the hit video game. The cost is $12.99
plus $3.50 shipping and handling. (The shipping and handling is
reduced from Atari's normal $4.95 for a limited time.) That's a
total of $16.49 ($17.56 in California) ($18.49 in Canada).
Software Preview VHS Video
It features over 30 professional video captures PLUS Atari's recent
television commercials. The price is $8.95 plus $4.95 S&H or a total
of $13.90 ($14.64 in California) ($15.90 in Canada).
Alien Vs. Predator posters
There is one FREE for each shipping and handling fee of $4.95 ($6.95
in Canada).
You can help a LOT by passing this offer electronically to another
Forum, Roundtable or BBS or make a hard copy and give to friends.
Thanks!
//// Tempest 2000 Audio CD
The Tempest 2000 Audio CD is due in at Atari Corp. very soon! Sixty
minutes of pulse-pounding techno-rave music, this marks Atari's first
ever video game soundtrack. To help get everyone in the holiday mood,
Don Thomas at Atari Customer Service has another special online offer.
Send in your pre-order now, and Don will guarantee you'll get your
copy out of the first run. What the heck, you'll even save on
shipping.
[] Song List
1. Thermal Resolution 3:59
2. Mind's Eye 4:52
3. T2K 5:23
4. Ease Yourself 7:52
5. Tracking Depth 5:04
6. Constructive Demolition 4:05
7. Future Tense 5:54
8. Digital Terror 5:07
9. Hyper Prism 4:26
10. Glide Control 5:12
11. Ultra Yak 4:00
12. 2000 Dub 7:31
[] How Much?
The Tempest 2000 Audio CD is priced at $12.99, and if you order now,
$3.50 for shipping and handling. (California residents, add the 8.25%
state sales tax.) That comes to a total of $16.49. ($17.56 in CA.)
Mastercard, Visa and money orders accepted. (Checks and money orders
should be made payable to Atari Corporation)
Note: This is a special pre-order! The CDs are not in, but are
expected to arrive within two weeks. Please allow 14 days from
the receipt of your order before shipping.
Note #2: If you don't mind waiting an extra day or so for your CD to
go out the door, ask Don really nicely if he can get John
Skrutch and/or James Grunke to personally autograph your CD.
[] Where To?
To order, US Mail your order to:
Thomas' Terrific Tempest Tunes Deal
Atari Corporation
P.O. Box 61657
Sunnyvale, CA 94089-1657
OR contact Don via the Internet on GEnie at:
jaguar$@genie.geis.com
OR via the Internet on Compuserve at:
75300.1267@compuserve.com
OR via private E-Mail (to the SysOp) on:
CATscan BBS ........ 209-239-1552
OR fax your request to:
Atari Customer Service Fax ..... 408-745-2088
The CD is produced by AtariMusic; a division of Atari Corporation. The
executive producer is Mr. John Skruch. The director of audio is Mr.
James Grunke.
//// New Dealer Demo Video
Atari has a brand new VHS preview tape and it's better than ever! Over
30 Jaguar titles have been captured on video tape and just in time for
the Holidays. This tape has been meticulously produced under the
direction of Mr. Greg LaBrec using state-of-the-art direct-to-tape
equipment and techniques. The action sequences selected were provided
by the game producers or the guidance of the third party developers.
Okay, okay... forget the hype... it's a darn cool tape and it has a
cool plastic box and label too.
This new edition updates the previously released software preview
videos with exciting captures to show off last minute changes to games
that are now in production. There are incredible sequences featuring
action games such as Iron Soldier and high-resolution fantasy games
such as Rayman by ubi Soft.
Although this tape has been developed primarily for the use of Jaguar
retailers, I have twisted marketings arm and they (actually he) has
finally allowed me to sell copies to our faithful online Jaguar fans.
I told him how everyone wants to see what has been taking so long. I
mentioned that gamers want a good preview of things they are being
asked to spend $50 to $70 on. I assured him people want an update of
what has been going on in the past few months since CES. Now he's
convinced and I have to sell more than three tapes fast or he'll never
believe me again. <g>
Want more info? Here's the video menu...
Approx.
Tape
Pos. SEGMENT AVAIL. IN STORES
===========================================================
:20 TEACHER SPOT
:49 Doom EARLY DECEMBER
2:34 Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story LATE NOVEMBER
4:00 Checkered Flag EARLY DECEMBER
5:45 Iron Soldier MID DECEMBER
7:42 Zool 2 LATE DECEMBER
8:57 Kasumi Ninja LATE DECEMBER
10:25 Club Drive LATE NOVEMBER
11:56 ALIEN VS. PREDATOR SPOT
12:27 Alien Vs. Predator AVAILABLE NOW
15:34 Ultra Vortex (Beyond Games) DECEMBER
17:06 Val D'Isere Skiing and Snowboarding EARLY DECEMBER
18:49 Bubsy LATE DECEMBER
20:05 Double Dragon V (Williams) DECEMBER
21:30 Flashback (US Gold) DECEMBER
22:49 Brutal Sports Football (Telegames) DECEMBER
23:50 Sensible Soccer (Telegames)
25:03 TEMPEST 2000 SPOT
25:34 Tempest 2000 AVAILABLE NOW
26:58 Wolfenstein 3d AVAILABLE NOW
28:06 Cybermorph AVAILABLE NOW
29:20 Raiden AVAILABLE NOW
30:32 Evolution: Dino Dudes AVAILABLE NOW
31:35 Trevor McFur in the Crescent Galaxy AVAILABLE NOW
32:50 Syndicate (Ocean) DECEMBER
33:47 Theme Park (Ocean) DECEMBER
34:35 Air Cars (Midnight) DECEMBER
35:39 Troy Aikman NFL Football (Williams) DECEMBER
36:34 Cannon Fodder (Virgin) DECEMBER
37:43 Dragon's Lair (Readysoft)
38:31 Hover Strike
39:20 Fight For Life
40:00 Burn Out
40:43 Rayman (ubi Soft) DECEMBER
41:52 VLM (Virtual Light Machine) DECEMBER
Okay, okay... here's the deal. The cost is $8.95 plus $4.95 shipping
and handling. That's a total of $13.90 ($14.64 in California) ($15.90
in Canada). Mastercard, Visa and money orders accepted (Checks and
money orders should be made payable to Atari Corporation. NOT IN MY
NAME! <g>. I can ship to any location in North America including U.S.
and Canada. To order, send your order to:
Atari Corporation
P.O. Box 61657
Sunnyvale, CA 94089-1657
OR contact me via Internet or on GEnie:
jaguar$@genie.geis.com
OR contact me via Internet or on Compuserve:
75300.1267@compuserve.com
OR send me private E-Mail (to the SysOp) on:
CATscan BBS ........ 209-239-1552
or fax your request to:
Atari Customer Service Fax ..... 408-745-2088
Because Atari has a committment to fulfill dealer orders first, please
allow up to 14 business days after your order is received before we
ship. Shipping will be via UPS Ground to all North American addresses.
Personally, I'm going to have my tape signed by Greg LaBrec. If you
want him to sign your copy, let me know and I'll see if I can catch
him in a good mood for you! <g>
I also have Alien Vs. Predator posters remaining. There is one for
each shipping and handling fee of $4.95 ($6.95 in Canada). These are
cinema-size posters and I've already heard back from gamers who have
had theirs laminated, mounted and framed.
By the way, you can help a LOT even if you don't want to order the
tape or request a poster by passing this offer electronically to
another Forum, Roundtable or BBS or make a hard copy and give to
friends. Thanks!
--Don Thomas
Atari Corporation
--==--==--==--==--
||| Surfing the Jagged Edge
||| By: Dimitri Mark LaBarge
/ | \ GEnie: AEO.6 CIS: 71501,3353 AOL: dimitril
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Well, it's been a little while and a total computer disaster since my
last column, so it's a hearty welcome back for the Atariphiles out
there. We're just coming out of an interesting holiday season, with
units selling well and morale good at Atari HQ. Also helping to
relieve post-holiday hangovers was Atari's huge WCES display, with
over 40 kiosks displaying a variety of new titles, some of which we'll
discuss just ahead. Atari was noted for having some a terrific turnout
of third-party developers actually present to discuss their wares,
much more pleasant that seemed to shroud other displays (most
noticeably, the aptly-named Fortress Sega). To top things off, Atari
won Innovation awards for both AvP and Iron Soldier. But enough of
that, let's dive into the cat tidbits.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
//// WCES Rumors and Perspectives
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Well, by far the most impressive information mentioned to the
browsing, interested WCES-goers was the mention of an imminent Jaguar
core system - a standard unit, but with no enclosed game... for the
groundbreaking price of $199! This is indeed a magical number -
suddenly the 64-bit powerhouse in in direct competition with the
swiftly dilapidating units from our friends at Sega and Nintendo, and
only slightly more pricey than the vaunted 32X add-on. This pricing
strategy has a number of advantages:
First, the possibilities for networked play are tremendous. Say you
want to buy a second Jag for networking Doom, or AirCars, or
UltraVortex, but you don't want that extra copy of Cybermorph... that
problem is solved with just a core unit. Another advantage is if
you're primarily interested in JagCD games. Suddenly, you have a $199
core unit, and at $149, an astonishingly priced CD-ROM add-on (which,
it was confirmed at WCES, will have have an unspecified pack-in
besides Jeff Minter's amazing built-in Virtual Light Machine). Do the
Math - even without discounts, you've got a full CD-ROM unit with a
game for $350. This kind of news should be a tonic for the Jaguar....
[Editor: Atari have received lots of feedback from retailers,
resellers and distributors at WCES on this topic, and I understand
that the bean-counters in Sunnyvale have been told to, "Burn the
midnight oil" on this.]
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
//// Online Atari WCES Reports
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
AEO didn't have anyone present at WCES as a reporter, although Bob
Brodie did keep Travis up to date with late night calls and FedEx
packages. AEO was able to get permission from two video game dealers
to reprint excepts from their online WCES reports however.
//// Joe Catedula, Tronix Multimedia & CIS VIDGAMES SysOp
Atari had a pretty large setup - with Jaguar systems everywhere you
turned. On a large screen, the sleek CD attachment was showing off
the built in VLM (Virtual Light Machine). I finally got to see a
very close-to-finished version of Rayman (if not finished already).
The game is stunning, especially with an RPG display. It was nice
to see other segments of the game, as opposed to the usual jungle
shots we've all been seeing in mags and videos for the last 6
months. Blue Lightning for Jaguar CD is really shaping up, and the
3D routine looks much better than it did at previous showings. A
new company was showing a very impressive 3D space combat game
called HOVER HUNTER - with stunning landscapes (like Comanche on
the PC), and very smooth action. HOVER HUNTER will support up to 8
players with the CATBOX (come on - get this gizmo out already!).
Getting back to Jaguar CD for a moment, a new game (from out of the
blue) called VARUNA'S FORCES was going through various stages of
its demo (work in progress). This looks like a 3D, FMV style
shooter with awesome graphics (something like NovaStorm). Other
Jaguar carts that were showing were: PHEAR; a 3D abstract puzzle
game, F1-RACER; a very decent racing game with GOOD CONTROL,
Pinball Fantasies; looks like all other versions with a tad more
color, SPACEWAR 2000C; a one/two player space shooter with nicely
bit-mapped ships, RAGE RALLY; a sharp-looking, top-down racing
game, HOVERSTRIKE, a 3D tank game (originally planned as Battlezone
2000 I believe), BURNOUT; an ultra-smooth, high-speed motorcycle
racing game for one/two players (split screen), FIGHT FOR YOUR
LIFE; Atari's answer to Virtua Fighters - though still early in
production, and a fighting game in the style of Streets of
Rage/Golden Axe tentatively called Conan or something like that.
I spoke with one of the Tramiels about the release of the Jaguar
CD, and he said quote "When enough CD games are available, we'll
release it - although we could have released it just so folks can
fiddle with the excellent VLM". Speaking of the VLM, it is really
hypnotic. I own both a 3DO and Jaguar, and I do like the visuals
for audio CD playback on the Jaguar (hey, whatever Jeff Minter does
is gold in my book). I also saw a lengthy demo (well, as far as you
can take it) of BATTLE SPHERE which looks like an interesting
multi-player (or single) space shooter. The objects are detailed
and smooth - I believe using textured polygons. Whatever it was -
they had almost rounded corners, instead of rough triangles. Battle
Sphere is yet another game that will support the Catbox. Moving on
to ULTRA VORTEX, I must say - it's still a bit rough here and
there- but I truly like it much better than Kasumi Ninja (although
I didn't mind Kasumi). The sound is a lot better (especially the
sadistic announcer), and the characters are more interesting. Ultra
Vortex grabbed the most attention out of all the other Jaguar games
in the booth.
//// Marty Chinn, from Video Source.
While most companies had stayed in the same area, Atari had moved
to a bigger location, in the main building along with Nintendo and
Sega. They also had a mediocre showing. Fight For Life wasn't that
impressive. In fact as far as polygons went it didn't look to have
too many more than FX Fighter. However it was smooth and fast in
execution. I didn't get a chance to play it but will check it out
tomorrow. The Jaguar CD is expected to be out in late
February/early March for a retail of 149.99. They expect 5 titles
to be out at the release with over 10 by the end of the year. There
will be a pack in though. The first five titles are expected to be
Blue Lightning, Battlemoprh. Highlander, Demolition Man, and
Creature Shock. Virtual Light Machine will be built in. Other
periphials have been announced in the press kit. Jag Link cable
will allow you to link games up to a 100 feet of each other. It's
expected to be released second quarter of 95 at a retail price of
29.99. The voice modem allows you to talk to your friend while
playing the game, but will also allow you to pause the game and use
call waiting if you get a call in the middle of the game. Its
expected to be out by fall of 95 for less than 150. Virtuality
Group and Atari are still working on the VR headset due out by
Christmas for under 200.
Rayman was quite fun. It was awkard in controlling at first but
should easily be a hit for the Jaguar. Unfortunately there will be
a 32X release at the same time of the Jaguar release. Air Cars
looked to be the worse game made for the Jaguar. Battle Sphere
looked very impressive. The shading on the polygon based ships were
beautiful. It moved nice and smooth and in many ways reminded me of
a well done Wing Commander type game. Hover Hunter by Hyper Image
is looking great. They currently have it at 13 fps and it moves
really smooth. The whole landscape is textured mapped with real
time shading and when completed it will have all the realistic
phsyics of real life. That looked to be one of the better games of
the show for the Jaguar. Varuna's Force was very early and all that
was shown was FMV but the video was excellent and the actor was one
of the best actors that I've seen in a game.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
//// A Hot Game Hovers Near
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Shown for the first time at WCES was a astonishing new game called
Hover Hunter, and it's said to be utterly stunning. While details of
this game are still a bit sketchy, this one has already become the
Iron Soldier of the show because of the amazing, ultra-realistic
Comanche-like landscapes. For those of you who are into Comanche:
Maximum Overkill's beautiful Voxel Space landscapes, you know you're
in for a treat - for those of you not so lucky to know what I'm
talking about, you will be in for a more than pleasant treat.
The Jaguar seems to be building a repertoire of independent, brilliant
programmers to create games like Tempest 2000, Iron Soldier, and now
this wonder. Any system would be lucky to have just one of these
assets.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
//// An Eclipsed Future
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Well, our German friends at Eclipse took the time to leave us a
Christmas treat on the Net - the announcement that not only is Iron
Soldier 2 for next Christmas, but we can look forward to several other
undisclosed titles from them as well. I'm happy to report that these
developers are extremely committed to the Jag, which adds a continuing
note of optimism to the ever-expanding Jag library.
To sate the curiosity of some of you who might be wondering exactly
how long it takes to produce a hot game for the Jag, here are some
statistics straight from Eclipse:
Some info about Iron Soldier:
frame-rate: 25 frames (PAL-Jaguars), 30 frames (NTSC-Jaguars)
megabits: 16 megabits (2 MB)
musics: 12 megabits (1,5 MB) compressed down to 4 megabits (0,5 MB!!)
months to develop Iron Soldier: 10
[went to] production: 31.10.1994
(2 weeks later than planned by Atari)
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
//// The Jag Gains an Accent
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
One of the more interesting showings at WCES was the debut of a new
game called Varuna's Forces, described by some as similar to
Novastorm. The terrific guys from Accent, who are developing the game,
have been kind enough to lend us some preliminary details of the game:
A little about our game. It is an action/strategy game where you
command a team of 4 soldiers on various missions. You can control
them from a commanders map screen or "jump into" each character AvP
style when they need help. All of that is supported by FMV movies
and CD quality dialogue.
Look for more info on this CD game, which is due for completion in
March, in a future column - as well as an inside look at these new
developers.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
//// Atari's New Pad
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Joypad, that is. Yes, in response to our numerous requests for an
additional controller, Atari is now soliciting suggestions for a brand
new controller unit. Laury Scott at Atari has mentioned that they are
currently leaning towards a 6-button controller, somewhat similar to
the one available from Sega. (An interesting technical note is that
the additional 3 buttons may simply come from the 1-2-3 on the keypad,
for as much compatibility with current games as possible.) However, no
decisions on the unit have been made. But thanks to Atari for being
responsive on this issue of importance to a lot of users.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
//// Battlesphere Under Construction
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Well, thanks to our friends at development house 4-Play, Atariphiles
on GEnie have had an almost unprecedented opportunity to interact and
influence directly the development of a Jaguar video game. As a
companion to the lengthy description of Battlesphere provided by Doug
Engel (found elsewhere in this issue), we thought we'd take you a
little bit into the creative process behind this ambitious game. The
perspectives start right after AEO uploads 4-Plays Targa screenshots
and BattleSphere has a very good WCES showing...
A couple of people had commented about the minimalist designs of the
cockpits, versus what will eventually be in the Heads-Up Displays
(HUDs) of the various ships. Scott LeGrand (Oppressor) explains the
design intentions:
There will be more info in the cockpits: some idiot lights and
indicators in the cockpit proper and a HUD for everything else...
In addition, the targeting indicator around the designated target
will have a small shield strength bar under it...
We are going for maximal viewing area. I H A T E Wing Commander's
cockpits...
Doug Engel (Thunderbird) added:
And the gunsights will be 'aimable' by a 'gunner' on controller #2!
Also commented on were the beautiful new starfields, designed to give
that cinematic quality you only get from big budget space epics.
If you're looking at the static TARGAS you're missing this thing in
motion. If you're recalling what you saw at ToadFest, forget it!
Scott re-wrote the starfield renderer and it's got stars galore.
With the framerate increase of pure RISC, it's really hot.
Noted especially were some of the startling background objects,
perhaps the best ever seen in this type of game. Doug Engel:
The ones we have in there currently are hand-painted by yours truly
and then reduced in size to their game dimensions and anti-aliased.
I think they look hot. Some of the nebulas I am especially proud of
because they look just like photos of real galaxies/nebulas. The
ringed planet is also cool.
One particularly interesting area of debate came up when a WCES-goer
made this unique suggestion:
...someone at WCES suggested that we should make our stars
'twinkle'.
The scientific reasons for why stars only twinkle' inside an
atmosphere were quickly pointed out. Yet, that didn't deter the
participants of that discussion, and options were thrown about for a
way to accomodate this effect. Everything from a user-configurable
keypad combination to turn on a twinkle effect to very thick shields
were suggested; in the end, though, it looked as if that option
wouldn't be included. But this discussion led to interesting comments
on the finite resources of any gaming system:
Unfortunately, as I described earlier, most of the 'neato' effects
people are suggesting are simply not possible due to the fact that
there's a finite amount of power in any system. There are also
hardware limitations to worry about too.
While we'd love to look exactly like Babylon 5, we have to live
with what's physically possible to do.
Rest assured, we will have creative effects for these things. Just
don't go expecting the results to mimic Star Trek or anything.
One person I talked to wanted me to make the shields look like the
shield effect in the movie Dune, later used by the Borg... where
the shield appears as a glass-like barrier.
If we could do it, we would... but those effects were generated by
sophisticated image rendering programs on powerful computers over
the course of hours/days. No way to do that stuff in real-time.
Don't worry.. we WILL have cool effects. Just not the ones
_everyone_ wants us to do because they saw it in a movie/etc.
However, Doug Engel pointed out that other highly sophisticated
effects such as texture-mapping will indeed be present in the game,
although it wasn't seen much at WCES:
Like I said before... some of our objects are competely
Texture-Mapped. I just didn't have time to fly around looking for
specific objects at the time. We were prepping for WCES, it was
late-late at night, and I needed to put together some screens to
hand out at WCES...
For what it's worth, that night while I was doing that, Scott was
in L.A. linking in the decal maps for the remaining races. Some
ships (the Telchines) in particular came out utterly awesome. Once
the squadron insignias are in place, our ships will look insanely
cool... far superior to any Texture-Mapped game.
You guys _do_ realize that certain popular arcade car race games
use gouraud shading and phong shading to achieve that metallic
effect and then have the detail mapped over it... (sound
familiar).
To finish this continuing discussion, a reflective note on exactly
what makes 4-Play unique and why they hope it will make their games
something unique:
There's a _lot_ of aesthetic considerations to bear in mind when
writing a game engine. A lot of planning and 'art' must go into the
design of a game engine. That's why the programmer must be in touch
with the artists and/or must be an artist himself. That's why Scott
and I work so well together. I know art and I know code. I
understand what the limitations of the hardware/software and know
how to exploit the hardware to make my art look it's best, and
create effects that are original. Scott knows code and has many
years experience with 3D engines. We communicate daily, and we are
both striving for perfection. We experiment and go back-and