Copy Link
Add to Bookmark
Report
Jaguar Explorer Online Volume 3 Issue 2
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
:: Volume 3, Issue 2 JAGUAR EXPLORER ONLINE November 20, 1999 ::
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
:: ::
:: JAGUAR ............. News, Reviews, & Solutions ............. JAGUAR ::
:: EXPLORER ........... For the Online Jaguar .......... EXPLORER ::
:: ONLINE ................ Community ............... ONLINE ::
:: ::
:: Published and Copyright (c) 1999 by White Space Publishers ::
:: All Rights Reserved ::
:: """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" ::
:: Publisher Emeritus Plus .................... Michael Lindsay ::
:: Publisher Emeritus .............................. Travis Guy ::
:: Editor/Publisher ............................ Clay Halliwell ::
:: Lynx Editor .................................... Carl Forhan ::
:: JEO Mailing List Maintainer .................. Joachim Vance ::
:: Genie Uploader .............................. Clay Halliwell ::
:: CompuServe Uploader ......................... Richard Turner ::
:: America Online Uploader ....................... Lonnie Smith ::
:: FidoNet Uploader ................................ Troy Cheek ::
:: ::
:: Contributors: ::
:: (voluntary and otherwise) ::
:: """"""""""""""""""""""""" ::
:: Carl Forhan, Doug Engel, Jeff Minter, Lee Krueger ::
:: Kevin Manne, Mark Santora, Micah Rowe ::
:: ::
:: Telecommunicated to you via: ::
:: """""""""""""""""""""""""""" ::
:: GEnie: ST/JAGUAR RT Library 15 ::
:: AOL: VIDEO GAMES FORUM Hints, Tips and Tricks II Library ::
:: CompuServe: ATARIGAMING and VIDGAME Forums ::
:: FidoNet: ATARI_ST and VID_GAME Echoes ::
:: ::
:: World Wide Web: http://www.atarihq.com/jeo/ ::
:: ::
:: E-Mail Request address: JEO-request@maximized.com ::
:: ::
:: To subscribe to JEO, send e-mail to the request address, ::
:: with the following line (no subject): ::
:: ::
:: subscribe JEO ::
:: ::
:: Your request will be automatically processed and your e-mail ::
:: address will be subscribed to the list. To unsubscribe from ::
:: the JEO list, send the following: ::
:: ::
:: unsubscribe JEO ::
:: ::
:: to the same request address, making sure you send it from ::
:: the same address you subscribed from. ::
:: ::
:: Subscription problems requiring human assistance can be sent ::
:: to JEO-help@maximized.com. Thanks to Maximized Software for ::
:: hosting the JEO list. ::
:: ::
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Table of Contents
* From the Editor .......................................... I've Been Bad.
* JEO Trivia Challenge VI: The Questions ............... Strain Your Brain.
* Jaguar Tackboard .................. Newsletters, Message Boards, Mailing
Lists, FAQs, Codes, Development
List, Mail Order Directory.
* CyberChatter .......................................... Overheard Online.
* BattleSphere News ..................................... 4Play Marches On.
* Protector Update ...................................... It's Almost Here.
* Llatest from Llamaland ........................................ Yak yaks.
* State of the Lynx .............................. The Little Cat Purrs On.
* Jaguar Holiday Shopping Guide ............................ Buy, Buy, Buy!
* JagFest '99: The Aftermath .................... Living La Vida Minnesota.
* CGE '99: A Classic Games Enthusiast's View ............. Classic Nirvana.
* CGE '99: The Video ................................... Slings and Arrows.
* JEO Trivia Challenge VI: The Answers .............................. D'Oh!
* Shutdown ............................ Around the world and up your block.
--==--==--==--==--
|| From the Editor
|| By: Clay Halliwell
\__// clay.h@att.net
------------------------------------------------------------------
Bad news first-- it's been five months since the last JEO, for a grand
total of two issues in 1999. I've been a bad editor, so let the rotten-
fruit-tossing commence... Ready? Go!
<Jaguar fans from around the globe pelt Clay with rotten fruit>
Okay, I deserved that. What can I say? With the exception of JagFest, 1999
has been a dead, dead year for the Jaguar. Until now. BattleSphere
encryption is just around the corner (for real this time!), FOUR new titles
- Skyhammer, Protector, Hyper Force, and Soccer Kid - are coming from
Songbird Productions, J.U.G.S. ("Jaguar Unmodified Game Server") is slowly
creeping out of the shadows, and work continues on The Assassin and Gorf
2000. The Lynx side has been even busier, with the recent releases of SFX,
Ponx, Lexis, Hyperdrome, and Sokomania. Cyber Virus and Crystal Mines 2:
Lost Caverns are on the way as well.
If you happen by the newsstand this month, look for the November DieHard
GameFan. They have a two-page spread reviewing Skyhammer and Protector, and
it's pleasantly favorable.
I may find myself picking up a GameBoy Color sometime in the coming year.
As much as I'm obligated to revile the GameBoy for steamrolling the Lynx, I
have to admit that it's turned into quite the classic-gaming platform.
Beside Nintendo's own "classics" cards, recent and upcoming releases
include KLAX, Yars' Revenge, Shamus, Marble Madness, Toobin', Pong, and
Towers II(!).
Say what you will about Hasbro buying Atari just to get their licenses and
trademarks, I think they've done more with the Atari name than the Tramiels
ever would or could have. Atari Arcade Hits #1 has been out for a little
while now and a #2 is in the works. PONG just came out too. I've played the
demo, and they've done an amazing job of updating the Pong concept with
modern ideas and spiffy all-polygonal graphics. At $19.99, it should be a
big hit with the Wal-Mart crowd. Aside from the classic updates, it appears
Hasbro is positioning "Atari" as the brand name for all future Hasbro
Interactive games. We may yet see the Atari name become respectable once
again. (On a down note, I've seen the screenshots of the new Missile
Command 3D, and it looks more like the "3D" variation of Jag MC3D than the
"Virtual" version. Oh well.)
BattleSphere is still months away, but you're dying to reduce alien baddies
to flaming space wreckage. What do you do? Well, if you have a reasonably
beefy PC, go download the FreeSpace 2 demo <www.freespace2.com>. This is
absolutely the best space combat simulator I've ever played. Imagine
jumping into the cockpit of a Starfury in the middle of one of Babylon 5's
signature epic space battles. Imagine watching kilometers-long capital
ships shredding each other with titanic energy beams. Imagine explosions so
huge they send your tiny fighter spinning. Imagine going online and playing
deathmatch or co-op with a dozen friends. This game is COOL. (if you're
playing online and see a pilot named "ZylonBane", that's me)
Does anyone still remember the Mac game BattleGirl I mentioned a while
back? Well, the PC version is finally out, and it's fully as kick-ass as
the original. Grab the demo at <www.battlegirl.com>. It starts out slow,
but that's just to lull you into a false sense of security...
Eclipse is close to finishing Iron Soldier 3 for the Playstation. I've seen
the screenshots <http://www.telegames.com/is3.htm>, and it's impressive.
It's still clearly Iron Soldier, but with higher-rez textures and lots of
pretty transparent smoke/fog and dynamic lighting effects (and rolling
terrain, and two-player split screen, and who knows what else). I wonder if
Bleem! (the PC Playstation emulator) can handle it...
From the Righteous Indignation Department: A recent edition of Trivial
Pursuit (I forget which one... Millenium Edition I think), lists the
Nintendo 64 as the first 64-bit game system. Trivial Pursuit is published
by Hasbro!
One of the new titles coming from Hasbro is Nerf ArenaBlast. Long-time Jag
aficionados will remember an announced Jag titled called Nerf Max Force. I
asked Jayson Hill at Hasbro Interactive if there was any connection between
the two, and he had this to say: "None at all. All new game." Well, that
settles that!
Included in the ZIPped version of this issue is a screenshot of VLM-2 on
the Nuon, a pic of the JEO table from JagFest (taken by Kevin Manne (the
picture, not the table)), and a proposed print advertisement that was
leaked to us by a super-duper-secret source at Hasbro.
Finally, a couple of links to leave you laughing:
The Most Rad Church of Atari:
<http://www.9thlevel.com/church_of_atari/index.htm>
The John Deere 2600:
<http://home.earthlink.net/~resqsoft/john_deere_atari.htm>
--==--==--==--==--
|| JEO Trivia Challenge VI: The Questions
|| By: Clay Halliwell
\__// clay.h@att.net
-----------------------------------------------------------------
This issue's trivia challenge will really test your long-term memory banks.
How many of these do you know?
What were the original titles of these games??
1. Skyhammer
2. BattleSphere
3. Hover Strike
4. Missile Command 3D
5. Checkered Flag
6. Power Drive Rally
7. Ultra Vortek
8. AirCars
9. Evolution: Dino Dudes
10. I-War
11. World Tour Racing
BONUS QUESTIONS:
12. Doom (during its PC development days)
13. Phase Zero (unreleased)
14. Black Ice\White Noise (unreleased)
15. Tetrisphere (an N64 release, which started life on the Jaguar)
--==--==--==--==--
|| Jaguar Tackboard
|| Confirmed information about Atari's Jaguar
\__// Compiled from online and official sources
-----------------------------------------------------------------
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
//// Jaguar Message Boards
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Anyone with web browsing capability can join in on the discussions on
several web-based Jaguar message boards out there on the net. Note that,
due to the rapid message turnover and instant-update nature of these
boards, they have a tendency to burn through topics in a matter of days
instead of weeks (or hours instead of days).
Just point your browser to:
Jaguar Interactive II (hosted by Atari Gaming Headquarters)
<http://www.atarihq.com/interactive/>
Atari Times Boardroom (hosted by The Atari Times)
<http://venus.beseen.com/boardroom/c/17653/Date>
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
//// Jaguar Chat
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Anyone with web browsing capability who wants to chat in real-time with
their fellow Jaguar enthusiasts, but has no access to IRC, should take
advantage of this Jag chat page:
JFPN's Jaguar Chat
<http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Heights/5916/chat.html>
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
//// Atari Mailing List
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Subscribe to the AtariNews: On the Prowl OneList service. Be sure to visit
<http://www.onelist.com> and get on this list to stay up-to-date on all the
latest Atari-related announcements.
The list covers news items relevant to Atari fans, from unearthed 2600
prototypes to new Jaguar games to Hasbro updates of timeless classics for
modern systems.
Subscribe to the "atari" list at OneList. Join more than 500 Atari fans
today!
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
//// Jaguar FAQ
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Robert Jung <rjung@netcom.com> maintains the Jaguar FAQ (Frequently Asked
Questions) file, a continually 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 at <http://www.digiserve.com/eescape/
atari/FAQ_-_Jaguar>.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
//// Jaguar Cheats and Codes
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Clay "No Handle" Halliwell <clay.h@att.net> maintains the Atari Jaguar Game
Cheats and Codes FAQ. It's available by e-mail request or from Atari Gaming
Headquarters <http://www.atarihq.com/jaglynx/jag/jagcheat.txt>.
Lonnie "The Mage" Smith <themage1@aol.com> maintains the Concise Compendium
of Frequently Asked Codes, Moves, and Cheats (FACMAC). It's available via
FTP from <users.aol.com:/TheMage1/jaguar>, or from <http://users.aol.com/
TheMage1/jaguar/jagcodes.txt>.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
//// JEO Development List
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
The following list of game titles has been confirmed to the best of JEO's
ability as of publication. Entries in the "S"tatus column reflect any
"u"pdates, "n"ew titles, or "?"uestionable listings since the last JEO
list. Entries in the "M"edia column reflect whether the title is "C"D-ROM
or "J"aguar Server/BJL (blank entries indicate cartridge software). "NEW"
indicates titles released since the last issue of JEO.
ETA dates are dates that have been provided by the developer or publisher.
//// Titles in Development or Limbo
S M Title ETA Developer Publisher
" " """"" """ """"""""" """""""""
C Age of Darkness 2000 OMC Games OMC Games
C Assassin, The 2000 OMC Games OMC Games
u BattleSphere 2000 4Play 4Play
J Bong+ 1999 ? Just Claws Software
? Deathwatch ? Data Design
J Gorf 2000 ? Krunch Korporation
u Hyper Force 3/00 Visual Impact Songbird
J Jagmania (PacMania clone) ? Matthias Domin
J Jagmarble (Marble Madness clone) ? Matthias Domin
J JagTris (Tetris clone) ? Bastian Schick
J *NEXT* ? Force Design
J Painter ? Sinister
u Protector 12/99 Bethesda/Songbird Songbird
u Skyhammer 5/00 Rebellion Songbird
u Soccer Kid 2/00 Krisalis Songbird
? C Soulstar ? Core Design Ltd.
? Space War 2000 ? Atari
n Total Carnage ? Handmade Software
//// Current Software Releases
M Title Rated Developer Publisher
" """"" """"" """"""""" """""""""
AirCars 5 MidNite ICD
Alien vs. Predator 9 Rebellion Atari
Atari Karts 6 Miracle Design Atari
Attack of the Mutant Penguins 6 Sunrise Games Ltd. Atari
C Baldies 6 Creative Edge Atari
C Battlemorph 10 Attention to Detail Atari
C Blue Lightning 6 Attention to Detail Atari
C BrainDead 13 5 ReadySoft ReadySoft
Breakout 2000 7 MP Games Telegames
Brutal Sports Football 6 Millennium/Teque Telegames
Bubsy 5 Imagitec Design Atari
Cannon Fodder 8 Virgin Interactive C-West
Checkered Flag 4 Rebellion Atari
Club Drive 5 Atari Atari
Crescent Galaxy 3 Atari Atari
Cybermorph 7 Attention to Detail Atari
Defender 2000 8 Llamasoft Atari
Doom 8 id Software Atari
Double Dragon V 4 Williams Enter. Williams
C Dragon's Lair 5 ReadySoft ReadySoft
Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story 6 Virgin Interactive Atari
Evolution: Dino Dudes 6 Imagitec Design Atari
Fever Pitch Soccer 6 U.S. Gold Atari
Fight For Life 6 Atari Atari
Flashback 7 Tiertex Ltd. U.S. Gold
Flip Out! 6 Gorilla Systems Atari
C Highlander I 8 Lore Design Ltd. Atari
Hover Strike 5 Atari Atari
C Hover Strike: Unconquered Lands 7 Atari Atari
Iron Soldier 9 Eclipse Atari
C Iron Soldier 2 CD 10 Eclipse Telegames
Iron Soldier 2 10 Eclipse Telegames
I-War 4 Imagitec Design Atari
Kasumi Ninja 5 Hand Made Software Atari
Missile Command 3D 8 Virtuality Atari
C Myst 9 Atari Atari
C Myst Demo 5 Atari Atari
NBA Jam: Tournament Edition 9 High Voltage Atari
Pinball Fantasies 6 Spider Soft C-West
Pitfall: The Mayan Adventure 8 Imagitec Design Atari
Power Drive Rally 7 Rage Software TWI
C Primal Rage 7 Probe TWI
Raiden 6 Imagitec Design Atari
Rayman 10 UBI Soft UBI Soft
Ruiner 6 High Voltage Atari
Sensible Soccer 6 Williams Brothers Telegames
C Space Ace 3 ReadySoft ReadySoft
Super Burnout 7 Shen Atari
Supercross 3D 5 Tiertex Ltd. Atari
Syndicate 7 Bullfrog Ocean
System Test Cartridge 6 Atari Atari
Tempest 2000 10 Llamasoft Atari
Theme Park 6 Bullfrog Ocean
Towers II 7 JV Enterprises Telegames
Troy Aikman NFL Football 6 Telegames Williams
Ultra Vortek 8 Beyond Games Atari
Val d'Isere Skiing & Snowboarding 7 Virtual Studio Atari
C Vid Grid 6 High Voltage Atari
C VLM 9 Llamasoft Atari
White Men Can't Jump 6 High Voltage Atari
Wolfenstein 3D 7 id Software Atari
C World Tour Racing 6 Teque London Ltd. Telegames
Worms 9 Team 17 Telegames
Zero 5 7 Caspian Software Telegames
Zool 2 7 Gremlin Graphics Atari
Zoop 6 Viacom Atari
Total Carts 52
Total CDs 15 (counting VLM)
Total Combined 67
Pts Stars JEO Ratings
""" """"" """""""""""
10 ***** THE ULTIMATE - Flawless, beautiful, deviously addictive.
9 ****+ EXCELLENT - Something to throw in the face of N64-heads.
8 **** SMEGGIN' GREAT - Something to kick on the shoes of N64-heads.
7 ***+ DARN GOOD - Plays as good as it looks.
6 *** DECENT - Plays better than it looks (or vice versa).
5 **+ TIME KILLER - If there's nothing else to do, you play this.
4 ** INEPT - The programmer's first Jag game?
3 *+ INCOMPETENT - The programmer's first game ever?
2 * UNPUBLISHABLE - Heaven help us!
1 + INCONCEIVABLE BAD - ...but someone conceived it. Too bad.
0 - EXECRABLE - This is an April Fool's joke, right?
//// Current Hardware/Firmware Releases
Item Manufacturer
""""" """"""""""""
Jaguar 64 Atari
Jaguar 64 CD-ROM Drive Atari
3-button PowerPad Atari
6-button ProController Atari
Team Tap Atari
Jag-Link Atari
Memory Track Atari
Jaguar System Test Cartridge Atari
Composite Cable Atari
S-Video Cable Atari
Stereo Audio Interface (proto) Atari
VoiceModem (proto) Atari/Phylon
Controller Extension Cable Best Electronics
CatBox ICD/Black Cat Design
Boomerang controller Matt (Poland)
Lap Cat/Lap Cat Pro joystick Ben Aein
Jaguar Extreme Joystick Dark Knight Games (modded Gravis Blackhawk)
Jaguar Server devkit Roine Stenberg (Istari Software)
Behind Jaggy Lines devkit Bastian Schick
//// The Short Term Schedule
Here's the Jaguar software schedule for the next few months. Please bear in
mind that these dates represent everyone's best assumptions.
December: Protector
February: Soccer Kid
March: Hyper Force
May: Skyhammer
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
//// JEO Mail Order Directory 1.4
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
The following list of vendors carrying Jaguar software/hardware has been
confirmed to the best of JEO's ability. Please e-mail JEO for additions/
corrections.
//// B&C ComputerVisions
Mail 1725 De La Cruz Blvd #7
Santa Clara, CA 95050-3011
Voice 408-986-9960 (Tue-Fri, 10am-6pm)
Fax 408-986-9968
Email <myatari2@juno.com>
Web <http://www.myatari.com>
//// Best Electronics
Mail 2021 The Alameda, Suite 290
San Jose, CA 95126-1127
Voice 408-243-6950
Email <bestelec@concentric.net>
Web <http://www.best-electronics-ca.com>
//// Buy-Rite Video Games
Voice 919-850-9473
Fax 919-872-7561
Email <buyrite@interpath.com>
Web <http://www.buyrite1.com>
//// Demand Systems
Voice 805-482-7900
Orders 800-593-0059
Fax 805-484-3745
805-987-1998
Email <mbrown@demand-sys.com>
Web <http://www2.demand-sys.com/demand>
//// Dentec Computer Products
Mail 465 Milner Ave #3
Scarborough, Ontario M1B 2K4 Canada
Voice 416-292-2996
Fax 416-292-4075
416-292-248
Email <jaguar@dentec.com>
Web <http://www.dentec.com/warehousesale>
//// GameMasters
Mail 14393 E. 14th Street, Suite 208
San Leandro, CA 94577
Voice 510-483-4263
Email <mchaddon@game-masters.com>
Web <http://www.game-masters.com>
//// Game Pedler
Voice 801-273-0787 (ask for Internet Sales)
Fax 801-273-1357
Email <sales@gamepedler.com>
Web <http://www.gamepedler.com>
//// Games To Go
Mail 7632 Lyndale Avenue So.
Richfield, MN 55423
Voice 612-798-5879
Fax 612-869-5925
Email <sales@gamestogo.com> (orders)
<inquiries@gamestogo.com> (info)
Web <http://www.gamestogo.com>
//// Hardysoft
Mail 24 Lawnside Drive
Lawrenceville, NJ 08648
Orders 609-883-1083
Fax 609-538-8674
Email <hardysoft@genie.com>
<hardysoft@prodigy.com>
<hardysoft@compuserve.com>
Web <http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/hardysoft>
//// Multimedia 1.0
Mail 18 Saint Mark's Place
New York City, NY 10003
Voice 212-539-1039
Fax 212-539-1645
Email <sales@multimedia1.com>
Web <http://www.multimedia1.com>
//// O'Shea, Ltd.
Mail 330 West 47th Street #203
Kansas City, MO 64112
Voice 816-531-1177
Fax 816-531-6569
Email <billh@oshealtd.com>
Web <http://www.oshealtd.com>
//// Telegames
Mail P.O. Box 901
Lancaster, Texas 75146
Voice 972-228-0690
Orders 972-224-7200
Fax 972-228-0693
Email <sales@telegames.com>
Web <http://www.telegames.com>
//// United Game Source
Mail 232 East Eau Gallie Blvd
Indian Harbour Beach, FL 32937
Orders 800-564-1458
Fax 407-777-3940
Email <unitedgame@aol.com>
Web <http://www.unitedgame.com>
//// Video Game Advantage
Mail 6861 Anthony Lane
Parma Heights, OH 44130
Orders 216-843-8815 (24-hr answering machine)
Email <vga2000@ix.netcom.com>
<vga2000@io.com>
<dw901@cleveland.freenet.edu>
Web <http://www.io.com/~vga2000>
//// Video Game Liquidators
Mail 4058 Tujunga Ave, #B
Studio City, CA 91604
Orders 818-505-1666 (9am-5pm PST)
888-944-4263 (toll free)
Fax 818-505-1686
Email <vglq@vglq.com>
Web <http://www.vglq.com>
//// The Video Games Source
Mail Salzbruecker Str. 36
21335 Lueneburg - Germany
Orders +(49) 4131-406278
Fax +(49) 4131-406278
Email <sales@atarihq.de>
Web <http://www.atarihq.de>
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
//// Announcements and Press Releases
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
//// Index
01 Jun 99 - Songbird Productions Announces Upcoming Atari Releases
27 Jun 99 - Songbird Productions to Attend CGE, Announces New Lynx
Games
17 Aug 99 - Lexis Ships for the Atari Lynx
23 Aug 99 - Cyberpunks Entertainment Press Release
30 Aug 99 - Songbird Announces Skyhammer for the Atari Jaguar
28 Oct 99 - Atari's PONG Brings the Fun Home Again
02 Nov 99 - Songbird Productions Release Schedule Updated
//// SONGBIRD PRODUCTIONS ANNOUNCES UPCOMING ATARI RELEASES
June 1, 1999
For immediate release:
ROCHESTER, MN -- Songbird Productions is pleased to announce renewed
support for Atari gaming consoles in the form of new releases for the
Jaguar and Lynx.
Topping off the list is Ponx for the Atari Lynx. Ponx brings the ball-and-
paddle classic that started it all to the Lynx. But this isn't your
ordinary game. Ponx features a number of options, such as multiple balls, a
Lynx controlled opponent with selectable AI, and more. Plus, in a throwback
to classic handheld gaming, play against a friend on the same Lynx unit (no
ComLynx cable or second Ponx cartridge necessary!).
The target release date for Ponx is June 18, 1999, and the retail price is
$39.95. If you are interested in ordering Ponx, please visit the Songbird
Productions web page at http://songbird.atari.org. Dealer inquiries
welcome.
Songbird Productions continues to make significant progress on Protector, a
fast-paced 2D bi-directional shooter for the Jaguar. Anticipated release
date is later in 1999.
In addition, Songbird Productions has licensed a number of unreleased games
from former Jaguar developers. The games licensed are: Soccer Kid from
Krisalis Software Ltd., Hyper Force from Visual Impact, and Skyhammer from
Rebellion.
"Jaguar and Lynx fans have remained highly supportive of Atari game
consoles," said Carl Forhan, owner of Songbird Productions. "I can't tell
you how excited I am to have licensed these games from their respective
companies and know that I will get them into gamers' hands in the coming
months. This is a great opportunity for Songbird Productions to help
sustain the Jaguar and Lynx into the next millennium."
At press time, no release dates had been set for any of the Jaguar
products. All inquiries on these products should be directed to Songbird
Productions only.
To keep up to date with the latest news at Songbird Productions, be sure to
visit the company web site at http://songbird.atari.org, or send an email
to songbird@atari.org.
Copyright 1999 Songbird Productions. All rights reserved. This article may
be reprinted in its entirety.
//// SONGBIRD PRODUCTIONS TO ATTEND CGE, ANNOUNCES NEW LYNX GAMES
June 27, 1999
For immediate release:
ROCHESTER, MN -- Songbird Productions recently committed to attending
Classic Gaming Expo (CGE), which will be held in Las Vegas, Nevada, on
August 14-15. CGE is the premiere event in 1999 for fans of classic gaming
systems such as Atari, Intellivision, Vectrex, and more.
"John and Keita have put a lot of effort into making this year's event
bigger than World of Atari was last year", commented Carl Forhan, owner of
Songbird Productions. "I'm thrilled that Songbird will be a part of CGE,
and I plan on having a variety of merchandise for sale for many Atari
systems."
Additionally, Songbird Productions hopes to keep the momentum growing for
the orphaned Atari systems Lynx and Jaguar. To that end, two new Lynx
products will be launched at CGE.
The first is Lexis, an interesting twist on the "falling blocks" concept
familiar to gamers everywhere. In this game, you don't have to clear a row
of bricks -- you have to form words out of falling letters. This fun and
challenging game includes a dictionary of 20,000+ words, some of which are
special cheat words recognized by the game. Several play modes are also
included.
The second Lynx product is "Crystal Mines II: Lost Caverns". Songbird
Productions and Serious Cybernetics have teamed up with original Crystal
Mines I and II developer Ken Beckett to take advantage of a hidden feature
in the existing Lynx Crystal Mines II cartridge -- it supports downloads of
new levels into Lynx RAM via the ComLynx port. The product will include
Win95 software on a CD-R and a special Lynx-to-PC serial cable which also
doubles as a developer cable for those who may own a BLL or SIMIS cartridge
for the Lynx.
CGE promoter John Hardie recently expressed his enthusiasm with regards to
the news, saying, "We're delighted that Songbird Productions, the premiere
Lynx and Jaguar developer, has chosen CGE '99 as the venue in which to
debut and display their new products."
Songbird Productions also anticipates being able to demo unreleased Jaguar
games at CGE, including Protector and Skyhammer. At press time, it was
uncertain if these games will be available for purchase in time for CGE.
Songbird owner Carl Forhan recognizes that he's not alone in his endeavor
to support Atari platforms. "Several sponsors have helped make it possible
for Songbird to attend CGE '99. Ken Beckett and Multimedia 1.0 each deserve
a big thank you for their generous sponsorship of Songbird Productions."
To keep up to date with the latest news at Songbird Productions, be sure to
visit the company web site at http://songbird.atari.org, or send an email
to songbird@atari.org.
Copyright 1999 Songbird Productions. All rights reserved. This article may
be reprinted in its entirety.
//// LEXIS SHIPS FOR THE ATARI LYNX
August 17, 1999
ROCHESTER, MN -- Songbird Productions is pleased to announce the general
availability of Lexis for the Atari Lynx. Lexis is an exciting new twist on
the "falling blocks" classic concept familiar to most gamers. Spell words
backwards and forwards to clear the screen. This game features a 20,000
word dictionary and recognition of 3-11 letter words. Several play modes
are also included.
Developed by Shadowsoft, Inc., who contributed such games as Joust and
Robotron for the Lynx, Lexis is an instant classic and a great addition to
the Lynx library.
Lexis debuted at Classic Gaming Expo(tm) just a few days ago, and was well
received by Lynx fans from all over the world. The retail price for Lexis
is $39.95. Shipping charges will be added.
The Songbird web site, located at http://songbird.atari.org, is temporarily
unavailable due to a server error. In the meantime, please refer to the
backup pages located at:
http://homepage2.rconnect.com/forhan/songbird
for ordering information. Use forhan@millcomm.com for email if
songbird@atari.org does not work.
Copyright 1999 Songbird Productions. All rights reserved. This article may
be reprinted in its entirety.
//// CYBERPUNKS ENTERTAINMENT PRESS RELEASE
August 23, 1999
http://www.cyberpunks.uni.cc/
(see bottom for more on how to best access our homepage)
Last week saw us debut two new products at the Classic Gaming Expo. Today,
Cyberpunks Entertainment is proud to announce the release of Stella At 20:
Volume 2 and Stella Gets a New Brain v. 2.0 to the general public.
Stella at 20, background:
Over the course of August 1997, interviews were shot for a video
documentary entitled Stella at 20: An Atari 2600 Retrospective. The
founders of Atari, the original engineers, the famous programmers, and some
lesser known programmers were gathered together to look back on the system
that launched the home videogame industry. Volume 2 focuses on the
individual programmers, their background, and in-depth discussions of the
games they created, covering all eras of the system. This volume debuted
at the Classic Gaming Expo in Las Vegas on August 15th. At close to 90
minutes in length, this volume is now available via mail order.
VOLUME TWO - "The Game Designers" or "One Person, One Game"
Featuring:
Al Miller - Surround, Basketball, Starmaster
David Crane - Canyon Bomber, Dragster, Pitfall, Pitfall II
Larry Kaplan - Air-Sea battle, Kaboom
Carol Shaw - Polo, River Raid
Larry Wagner - Video Chess
Bob Smith - Riddle of the Sphinx, Dragonfire
Dennis Koble - Comments about Easter Eggs
Tod Frye - Pac-Man, Save Mary
Rick Maurer - Space Invaders
Rob Fulop - Night Driver, Missile Command, Demon Attack
Steve DeFrisco - Secret Quest, Motorodeo, Klax
Preview page:
http://www.cyberpunks.uni.cc/stellaat20_2.html
(The VOLUME ONE box art is complete and the footage is currently still
being edited. It should be ready for release within the next 8 weeks. We
will be putting up a preview page soon. VOLUME ONE is the story of the
design of the 2600, followed by a discussion of the videogame boom, the
death of Atari, and what might have been had different decisions been made.
It also will include a session where the programmers discuss the
differences between the industry of then vs. today, easing into a summary
on what the 2600 really means in the larger scheme of the history of
videogames.)
Stella Gets a New Brain
Here it is, the re-release of the Starpath Supercharger catalog! The CD
celebrated in Wired magazine in '97 and currently selling for hundreds of
dollars is back, and this time there is enough to go around! Play the
audio files into your Supercharger, either from a CD-Player or use WPLAYBIN
or Makewav and generate your own audio files on the PC for loading into the
Supercharger. Check out the updated Tools section to write new 2600 games
with just about any PC and your supercharger. Plus, view all the new
scans, many of which accumulated for Stella at 20.
The full preview page:
http://www.cyberpunks.uni.cc/stellagetsbrain2.html
PRICING:
The pricing scheme may seem a little complicated, but we tried to come up
with the best discounts and incentives for those who buy both the CD and
the tape, or those who buy in large volume. The system is as follows:
All Cyberpunks products start out at an individual $30 base price and are
modified via the tables below:
Volume Pricing (volume orders of individual items):
1 = $30
10 = $25
50 = $20 (email first)
100 = $10 (email first)
Shipping cost starts out at a base of $1.50 plus $1.50 for each unit
ordered up to the total of 10 units (of each type). From 11 to 20 units,
the base is $3.00 and one dollar for each unit. Orders above 20 units,
please Email for precise shipping costs and ordering information. Actual
total pricing on high volume orders is negotiable.
Shipping Cost Chart:
1-10 total units $1.50 + 1.50/unit
11-20 total units $3.00 + $1.00/unit
Special BUNDLE discount!:
As an incentive to purchasing both items, whenever you buy the CD and the
video in one order, you will receive a $10 discount on your order. This
applies to each and every pair of CDs and Tapes you order up to the maximum
order of 10cds/10tapes. Volume orders above 10 are not eligible, as volume
pricing discounts already save you money. So, if you order 3 tapes and 2
CDs, you pair up the CDs and tapes and apply a $10 discount to each pair,
hence a $20 discount. 5 tapes and 2 CDs is a $20 discount.
Typical orders:
1 CD + 1 tape = $4.50 shipping = $64.50 - ($10.00 bundle discount!) =
$54.50
total ($59.00 California residents)
1 CD or 1 tape = $3.00 shipping = $33.00 total ($35.72 California
Residents)
To simplify things, we have a fully interactive order form. Just pick the
number of units you like, and the scripting will do the rest. Then just
print and send your order in to us. This may only function properly under
Internet Explorer 4.0 or greater because it uses VBScript and Dynamic HTML.
If you experience difficulties, you can click a link use a blank form and
follow the above rules. Any difficulties, please email
cybpunks@earthlink.net.
The order form can be found here:
http://www.cyberpunks.uni.cc/order.html
------------------------------------------------------------
HOW TO GET TO OUR HOMEPAGE:
http://www.cyberpunks.uni.cc
This is our new official URL, which is a redirection (i.e. an alias) to our
actual site on Geocities.
We had been using:
http://cyberpunks.atari.org/
As our redirect, but the system is down indefinitely (unfortunately, bad
timing).
If you ever have any trouble accessing our homepage, please use the full
URL:
http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/1698/cyberpunks/
--GLENN SAUNDERS
--PRODUCER - CYBERPUNKS ENTERTAINMENT
//// SONGBIRD ANNOUNCES SKYHAMMER FOR THE ATARI JAGUAR
August 30, 1999
For immediate release:
ROCHESTER, MN -- Songbird Productions is pleased to announce that Skyhammer
will be published for the Atari Jaguar platform in time for Christmas.
Skyhammer is the phenomenal full 3D action shooter for the Atari Jaguar.
The game was developed by renowned Jaguar and PC developer Rebellion
several years ago, but shelved around the time the Jaguar ceased to be a
mainstream platform. Skyhammer combines the fast-action gameplay of a
first-person shooter with a nonlinear element which allows the player to
freely roam an immense, 3D city in search of enemies, equipment, mission
objectives, and more. Not only that, but two play modes are included in the
game: Mission and Battle.
In the Mission play mode, the player is given direct objectives to meet,
through which the player is awarded credits for the purpose of rearming and
upgrading their Skyhammer attack craft. In the Battle play mode, the player
must defend the city from wave after wave of invaders while carefully
managing limited resources.
The primary obstacle to new Jaguar games for the last year or more has been
encryption. Every Jaguar game must be encrypted in order to function
properly on the system, and the encryption ends up being different for each
game. Songbird Productions has teamed up with Jaguar hobbyist Scott
Walters, who has devised a method of bypassing encryption, to publish new
games for the Jaguar. Scott is understandably excited about his invention,
and the opportunity to work with Songbird Productions on the upcoming
releases.
Carl Forhan, owner of Songbird Productions, is enthusiastic about
supporting Atari platforms. He commented, "Skyhammer is a great game, and I
know Jaguar fans will be thrilled to finally be able to purchase this game.
Now is the time for Jaguar and Lynx fans to mobilize. Songbird Productions
has numerous new Lynx and Jaguar games either already available or coming
in the next six months. Songbird needs your help getting the word out on
email lists, web pages, game magazines, Atari user groups, and more.
"This is a critical time, because Songbird needs to see that there is value
in publishing new games for these Atari platforms both now and in the
future. I want the fans to enjoy these 'lost games', all of which are fully
licensed from the original developers."
Skyhammer is expected to be released December 6, 1999. Other games will
follow in the coming months.
To keep up to date with the latest news at Songbird Productions, be sure to
visit the company web site at http://songbird.uni.cc, or send an email to
forhan@millcomm.com.
Copyright 1999 Songbird Productions. All rights reserved. This article may
be reprinted in its entirety. Skyhammer is copyright and trademark
Rebellion. All rights reserved.
//// ATARI'S PONG BRINGS THE FUN HOME AGAIN
PONG, Q*BERT AND MISSILE COMMAND ARE BACK IN A BIG, NEW 3D WAY!
BEVERLY, Mass. (October 28, 1999) - The 1974 holiday season was a high-
scoring time in history as Atari's arcade hit Pong came home and ignited
the home interactive entertainment industry. Just in time for the 1999
holiday season, Atari's doing it again with a new 3D Pong for the PC and
Sony PlayStation.
In new Pong, players go head-to-head, table-tennis-style, lobbing the ball
back and forth in pursuit of high score. Sharp reflexes are key, because
this time Pong packs the playing field with mischievous penguins, jagged
terrain and many more challenges over 20 new levels. Pong is available in
stores now at a suggested retail price of $19.95 (PC) and $29.95 (PSX).
Hasbro Interactive's first game for the Atari line, Frogger, hopped
straight to the top of the charts selling more than 2.5 million copies on
PC and Sony Playstation since its debut. This summer, Centipede slithered
onto the scene wowing action- and arcade-lovers alike with classic gameplay
and added `90s features. In response to the success of these front-running
titles, Hasbro Interactive will release a sequel to Frogger in 2000.
Other blasts from the past dressed up for the future include cool new
versions of classics Missile Command and Q*bert for the PC and Sony
PlayStation. In Q*bert, the premise of this puzzle game may be familiar but
the playing fields are a whole new frontier. Players navigate cube mazes,
turning all squares the same color before Q*bert's zany enemies - Ugg,
Wrong-Way and Coily the Snake - foil the plans. Only this time, Q*bert's
truly a hip hopper on a mission to blast through fantastic space worlds to
save his home! %*&^%!! Q*bert will bounce onto retail store shelves in
November at suggested retail price of $29.95 (PC and PSX).
1980's "must-have" Missile Command has come full-circle, literally, as
players must protect six cities from incoming missile attacks - blasting
them from every angle! This ultimate twist on the classic Atari space-war
game is sure to delight a new generation of players. The new Missile
Command will fly onto retail store shelves in November at a suggested
retail price of $29.95 (PC) and $39.95 (PSX).
Also joining the Atari lineup this fall will be the first Atari title for
the Sega Dreamcast, Centipede. Exploiting the power of this new gaming
console to the fullest, Centipede for the Sega Dreamcast will feature
superior graphics and special effects as well as incorporating new
adventure elements.
Hasbro Interactive is also introducing new game concepts that capture the
essence of Atari's fast action-play. There's the character-driven puzzle
game Glover for Sony PlayStation and futuristic sports action game Nerf
ArenaBlast PC.
For more information on Hasbro Interactive's Atari games, visit
www.atari.com.
Hasbro Interactive, Inc. is a global interactive entertainment industry
leader, innovating new ways to play and developing, publishing and
distributing the highest quality interactive games, toys and lifestyle
products for a full range of genres and platforms. Its premier brands
include Hasbro Interactive Children's and Family Entertainment, Atari,
MicroProse, Avalon Hill, Hasbro Sports and Europress. Among the many award-
winning titles published by Hasbro Interactive are: Frogger, Monopoly,
Wheel of Fortune, Jeopardy, Tonka Construction, Tonka Workshop, Risk,
Roller Coaster Tycoon, MechWarrior 3 and Falcon 4.0. A subsidiary of
Hasbro, Inc. (NYSE: HAS), Hasbro Interactive has offices in the U.S., U.K.,
Australia, Canada and Germany and internal development studios in the U.S.
and U.K. For further information, visit Hasbro Interactive's Web site at
http://www.hasbro-interactive.com.
Frogger is a registered trademark of Konami Co., Ltd. 1981 KONAMI. All
rights reserved. Q*bert is a registered trademark of Sony Pictures Consumer
Products. All rights reserved. Tetris is a registered trademark of Elorg
and has been licensed to The Tetris Company. PlayStation and the
PlayStation logos are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment
Inc Centipede, Pong, Missile Command, Tempest, Breakout and Asteroids are
trademarks of Atari Interactive, Inc., a Hasbro affiliate Q*bert was
developed for Hasbro Interactive by Artech Studios Pong was developed for
Hasbro Interactive by Supersonic Centipede for PC and Sega Dreamcast was
developed for Hasbro Interactive by Leaping Lizard Software. Sony
Playstation version by Real Sports Games Missile Command was developed for
Hasbro Interactive by Meyer/Glass Interactive The Next Tetris was developed
for Hasbro Interactive by Blue Planet Software (C) 1999 Hasbro Interactive,
Inc.
Jayson Hill
Hasbro Interactive
(978) 921-3882
jhill@hasbro.com
Molly Fitzpatrick
Agnew Carter/MS&L
(617) 437-7722
mfp@acm-pr.com
//// SONGBIRD PRODUCTIONS RELEASE SCHEDULE UPDATED
November 02, 1999
UPDATE: Release schedule has been updated. Order your copy of Protector
today!
Now you can pre-order or order with a credit card! See the FAQ below for
details.
Songbird Productions is excited to announce a pre-order program for the
upcoming Jaguar releases, including a special offer for those who pre-order
most or all of the new games by November 1st!
The following games will be published by Songbird Productions in the 1999
and 2000 timeframe:
Title Date Pre-Order Deposit Retail Price (Nov 2nd)
Protector 12/20/99 none $74.95
Soccer Kid 02/07/00 $25 by 12/31/99 $74.95
Hyper Force 03/20/00 $25 by 02/01/00 $74.95
Skyhammer 05/08/00 $25 by 03/01/00 $79.95
Information on all the above games can be found on the Songbird web site at
http://songbird.atari.org. Release dates subject to change without prior
notice.
All games will have the look and feel of a regular Jaguar product,
including a professionally printed full-color box and label, and a
professionally printed B&W manual.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
*** PRE-ORDER SPECIAL ***
By November 1st:
In order to ensure the correct number of cartridges are built, Songbird
needs your pre-orders now. You can pre-order a game by sending Songbird
Productions a $25 deposit towards each game you would like to purchase. If
you desire multiple copies of each upcoming game, you need to pre-order
each copy at this time to ensure availability. However, the pre-order
specials only apply when ordering 3 or 4 different games, not multiples of
the same game.
Pre-order 3 of the above games, and receive a $10 Songbird coupon which may
be applied against any one eligible item from the Songbird catalog. Pre-
order all 4 games, and receive two $10 Songbird coupons _and_ a free Jaguar
lapel pin. Your pre-orders must be postmarked by November 1st, 1999, to
qualify for these special offers.
This is a nonrefundable deposit towards the purchase of one or more of the
above games. You must complete your order (in other words, pay your
remaining balance with shipping, etc.) within 3 months of the publication
date of each game.
Plus, pre-ordering guarantees you the lowest possible price on these
products. Everyone who pre-ordered by Nov 1st guaranteed their games at
$69.95 plus shipping each.
After November 1st:
You can still pre-order games with a $25 deposit per game after November
1st, but you will not be eligible for the pre-order pricing or other
discounts.
A pre-order FAQ is included below to answer any questions you may have. The
most recent version of this FAQ may be found at http://songbird.atari.org.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
*** HOW TO PRE-ORDER ***
Please print out the regular Songbird order form at
http://songbird.atari.org, and fill in the required information. Note that
there is no tax or shipping on the pre-orders, although there will be as
applicable when you complete the order for each game in the future. Mark
each game as "PRE-ORDER" on the form, and include $25 per game you wish to
pre-order.
In the event you cannot print out the order form, send a typed or neatly
printed note to Songbird Productions and clearly indicate which games you
are pre-ordering. Mail all correspondence to:
Songbird Productions
1774 10th Ave SE
Rochester, MN 55904
USA
----------------------------------------------------------------------
*** PRE-ORDER FAQ ***
Q1. What can I use for payment of my pre-orders?
A1. You have three options for payment:
[] Personal/Business Check - Must be drawn on a USA bank. For customers
living in the USA only.
[] Money Order - Must be in US Dollars, if not drawn on a USA bank then
include a $5 surcharge to cover bank fees. Available to all customers.
[] Credit Card - Pre-order the Jaguar games through Multimedia 1.0! Here's
how it works:
1. Check the Songbird catalog and see which items are marked with a
'*' denoting credit card support.
2. Call in your order to Multimedia 1.0 at 1-800-413-5823 from 12pm-
6pm EST Mon-Fri, or fax your order to 212-529-3117 at any time.
Please ask to speak with Shana for voice orders or put "ATTN: Shana"
on your fax.
3. Clearly identify your order right away as a "Songbird Productions"
order.
4. Provide your order, customer information, and credit card number to
the Multimedia 1.0 sales representative.
5. Your order will be forwarded to Songbird Productions for approval
and handling.
Alternatively, you may email your complete order, customer information, and
credit card number to songbird@atari.org, and Songbird will forward your
order to Multimedia 1.0 for processing.
Note that the charge on your credit card bill will be marked as having
originated from Multimedia 1.0. This is correct, and a result of the
service Multimedia 1.0 is willing to extend to Songbird Productions.
For pre-orders on the upcoming Jaguar games, note that you will be charged
$25 per game pre-ordered. Songbird will maintain a record of all such
orders, but each customer will need to personally authorize the payment of
the balance of each game as it gets close to the ship date.
Songbird hopes to have secure online credit card processing available
within the next few weeks, but that is not possible at this time.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Q2. I live outside the USA. Is there a way I can order close to home?
A2. Songbird is negotiating with several foreign video game dealers to
ensure Songbird products will be available elsewhere, especially Europe.
However, Songbird does accept international orders (see Q1 above), and you
must pre-order the games to qualify for the special pre-order offer.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Q3. What if I change my mind? Can I get a refund on my pre-order, or apply
the money to a different purchase from Songbird?
A3. No. The purpose of the pre-order program is to reward customers by
providing them with several benefits including the $10 Songbird coupons,
and to allow Songbird to accurately acquire all the parts, printed
material, etc. necessary to release the upcoming games.
Therefore, each customer needs to send exactly $25 per game they wish to
pre-order. This is a nonrefundable deposit per game, and cannot be shifted
to other Songbird merchandise at a later time.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Q4. What items are eligible for the $10 Songbird coupons if I pre-order 3
or more games?
A4. All items listed in the Songbird catalog and regularly priced $14.95 or
above are eligible, except for the following:
Lynx Serial Cable
Crystal Mines II: Buried Treasure
Skyhammer
Soccer Kid
Hyper Force
Protector
Additionally, Songbird "featured items" advertised in the newsgroup or on
the AtariNews mailing list will also be eligible. Featured items are not
normally listed in the Songbird catalog.
Only one coupon may be applied per item. Other items may be deemed
ineligible without prior notice. Send an email query to songbird@atari.org
if you have questions about a specific product, or check this FAQ at
http://songbird.atari.org for the latest information.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Q5. When will I receive my $10 Songbird coupon(s)? How long do I have to
use them?
A5. You will receive your coupons with the first game you have pre-ordered.
For example, if you pre-order all 4 games, your two $10 Songbird coupons
will arrive when Protector ships. The coupons will be valid for at least
three months from the time your first pre-ordered game ships.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Q6. Why even bother pre-ordering? Can't I just get the game whenever I
want?
A6. Not likely. Pre-ordering a game is the _only_ way to ensure a copy will
be reserved for you. Songbird will be producing _very_ close to the pre-
order levels. It's therefore imperative that customers pre-order now
_every_ upcoming Jaguar game they plan on purchasing.
Here is a summary of benefits for pre-ordering by Nov 1st:
[] Guarantees your personal copy of each game.
[] Guarantees pre-order pricing of only $69.95 plus shipping each.
[] Game will ship 1-2 weeks before other orders.
[] One or two $10 Songbird coupons, if you pre-order 3 or 4 games,
respectively.
[] A free Jaguar lapel pin if you pre-order all 4 games.
Here is a summary of benefits for pre-ordering after Nov 1st:
[] Guarantees your personal copy of each game.
[] Game will ship 1-2 weeks before other orders.
The pre-order period typically expires at least one month prior to the
release of each game. This allows Songbird sufficient time to build the
appropriate number of cartridges to meet the pre-order demand.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Q7. Can I pay the entire balance for [insert game here] right now?
A7. Customers wishing to order Protector may pay in full starting November
1st. You can still pre-order Soccer Kid, Hyper Force, and Skyhammer after
November 1st for a down-payment of $25 each, but you will not be eligible
for the pre-order pricing or specials.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Q8. Why are all the games priced at $XX.XX? Isn't that rather high?
A8. Songbird is attempting to bring new products out to a very small niche
market. It is imperative that games are priced appropriately to cover the
high costs of printing and manufacturing associated with the publication of
a new game, particularly if actual sales do not match projected sales.
Finally, the level of compensation received by Songbird will help determine
the viability of licensing or developing new products for Atari platforms
in the future.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Q9. How can I stay informed on the release dates, payment schedules, new
Songbird products, etc.?
A9. Please join the AtariNews mailing list, featuring Songbird updates and
the AtariNews: On the Prowl periodic newsletter. Send a blank email to:
atari-subscribe@onelist.com to join the list.
Also, regularly check the Songbird Productions home page at
http://songbird.atari.org for the latest news and version of this FAQ.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Q10. What packaging are you using for the new games?
A10. All games will have professionally printed boxes, labels, and manuals.
The manuals are B&W, the labels and boxes are in full color. Jaguar fans
should be very pleased with the presentation of the final product.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Q11. Why is the price increasing on November 2nd?
A11. Due to an increase in component cost and the overall uncertainty of
producing and selling a large quantity of cartridges, Songbird is raising
the retail price on all upcoming Jaguar games after the initial pre-order
period expires (Nov 1st). This is all the more reason to place your pre-
order now and get these new games at the best possible price.
Please note that any customer who pre-orders the games and postmarks his
pre-order by November 1st is guaranteed to receive all pre-ordered games at
the special discounted pricing. Any pre-orders or orders received that are
postmarked after November 1st will be at the full retail price. Songbird
appreciates the faithful fans who pre-order new games.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Q12. What about [insert question here]?
A12. Please email Songbird Productions at songbird@atari.org with any
questions or feedback about upcoming products or the pre-order program.
Please be patient, as Songbird is currently experiencing a high volume of
traffic due to the upcoming Jaguar and Lynx products.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
//// New Cheats and Codes
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
//// Vid Grid Level Skip
Thanks to Hugo Huurdeman for this one.
At the main screen, press <A> on a video box to see the information about
it. At the information screen, hold 478 and press <B>. If you keep holding
478 at the main screen, you skip the levels ; you don't have to solve all
the videos.
//// Power Drive Rally
My most sincere to apologies to Jason Mazure for inadvertently sitting on
these cheats for almost a year. I still haven't managed to independently
verify them though... if anyone out there can successfully pull these off,
please let me know!
WARP SPEED
While playing the early easy races, hit the brakes frequently to damage
brakes. You can lose and rerun these races over to add more damage since
they are easy to win and you still have enough money to qualify. Keep
damaging your brakes until the damage gets around 89-93%. Save your game
with the damaged brakes. Restart the saved game. Now when the race starts,
when you hit your brake button you will fly at about 800MPH. Try using
reverse gear to slow down.
BURNING RUBBER
Save your game with at least 92% damage to tires. Restart from the saved
game. Now your tires are smoking all the time and leave black skid marks
wherever you go.
HIGH JUMP
Save your game with at least 92% damage to the tires and the suspension.
Restart from the saved game. You will be able to jump out of the screen
when you hit a ramp or log on the track. This will only give you an
advantage on about three tracks. You cannot jump over houses or trees. You
still have to stay in the confines of the normal race track.
--==--==--==--==--
|| CyberChatter
|| Random topics about the Jaguar
\__// Compiled from online public discussion areas
-----------------------------------------------------------------
//// Index of Topics
Encryption Chatter
BattleSphere Chatter
Jaguar in the News
Unreleased Stuff
Where Did YOU Learn to Toddle?
JI2 History
JagDoom vs PC Doom: Levels
PC AVP
Evil Tramiel Rumor
Curt's Cool Atari Trivia
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
//// Encryption Chatter
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Re: The Hasbro "release"
Author: Curt Vendel <cvendel@worldnet.att.net>
Date: 1999/07/12
Forum: alt.atari-jaguar.discussion
It's an odd twist of events, Hasbro was
shipped a CD encryption bench unit
and a cartridge encryption bench unit. B&C ComputerVisions also has one
each and a second of each that unfortunately the security guard which was
temperamental (somedays he was a nice guy, others days he went nuts) who
wanted a work bench pushed the units on the floor. Now, none of them had
the encryption CD or cart. Last I had heard, and this was 97' Leonard
Tramiel "had" them, but supposedly turned them over to Hasbro. This is
hear-say, so there is no way for certain to know if in fact they do know if
they actually have the items and if so if they know what they are. It's
like, they announce, "You're free, run!!!" except your legs are shackled
and they don't have or want to give you the key, annoying. Now Telegames
was able to encryption Zero5, World Tour Racing and IS2, so the question
is, do "They" perhaps have a set of keys or did they utilize the
workbenches at the Atari warehouse before it was completely gutted.
Curt
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Re: The Hasbro "release"
Author: Dan McNamee <aahznotoz@uswest.net>
Date: 1999/07/13
Forum: alt.atari-jaguar.discussion
It didn't take any special hardware to encrypt Jag carts. It just took some
software and the encryption key. CDs were more involved, but all it took
was a CD setup (with development boot ROMs in the Jag and an Alpine board)
and some different software and a different encryption key, and a lot of
time. <G>
Carts took a few minutes to encrypt and about 10 to make EPROMs for. CDs
took about a day to encrypt and make an encrypted CD and verify that the
encryption was good.
Dan
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Re: buying a CatBox from ICD
Author: Carl and Alyssa Forhan <forhan@millcomm.com>
Date: 1999/07/17
Forum: alt.atari-jaguar.discussion
Kyle Jones wrote:
>1. Hasbro has the key but won't give it to 4Play or anybody else.
>2. Hasbro has lost the key.
>3. Some guy friendly to 4-Play has the key, but won't give it
> to 4-Play without a nod from Hasbro.
>4. The whole thing is a hoax and 4-Play laughs themselves into a
> beery stupor at our gullibility each and every night.
First off, while I do have some "inside info", I know enough to say I don't
know the whole story.
My best answer would be 'option 3a'. Someone does have the key, but is
waiting for a nod from all parties legally involved. Hasbro has "released"
the Jaguar, saying "Do what you want, just don't bother us or infringe on
our logos/trademarks." The other party involved is RSA, since Atari
licensed the encryption from them.
To my knowledge, no one but myself is even trying to pursue legal consent
from RSA.
Carl Forhan
Songbird Productions
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Re: Encryption Debate (Crossposted)
Author: Glenn Bruner <brunergs@pcisys.net>
Date: 1999/09/16
Forum: rec.games.video.atari
SmkMirrors wrote:
> I have a question about the current round of Jaguar/Lynx
> development. Some time ago there was a posting detailing how
> Hasbro was going to allow (for lack of a better word/proper
> terminology) Jaguar games to be encrypted at will or give out
> the encryption technology. (Has the happened yet?)
That is a real good question. I can speculate on what I think could be the
problem, which is they probably can't find the program and key and are not
making any effort to find it. Yes, they did announce that the Jaguar is a
open platform. But that is about all they have done.
Obviously, 4Play hasn't received any encryption software to encrypt
BattleSphere since they are doing a brute force program hack to come up
with the proper encryption code so they can finally publish the game.
According to Thunderbird's Garage Web Page, they have 8 Jaguars running
self-modifying code trying to come up with the correct encryption code to
generate the $03D0DEAD checksum value. They expect anywhere from 60 to 120
days to complete the task.
I remember 4Play saying one time that they were trying to get in writing
something from Hasbro saying that they will not seek prosecution. But I
guess Hasbro never responded.
> Did that deal cover the Lynx as well? Is the Lynx currently
> encryption free or not?
Fortunately, the Lynx does not use any encryption system. So I can't see
them having a legal ground to stop anyone from making Lynx games or why
they would waste time and money in doing that.
Cheers,
Glenn Bruner
brunergs@pcisys.net
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Re: Encryption Debate (Crossposted)
Author: Songbird <forhan@millcomm.com>
Date: 1999/09/17
Forum: rec.games.video.atari
Glenn Bruner (brunergs@pcisys.net wrote:
: Fortunately, the Lynx does not use any encryption system. So
: I can't see them having a legal ground to stop anyone from making
: Lynx games or why they would waste time and money in doing that.
Of _course_ the Lynx has encryption. But thanks to Bastian's hard work
several years ago, the encryption can be bypassed by anyone with a small
amount of work.
The word I got from a Hasbro rep was that even though the Jaguar PR didn't
mention the Lynx, Hasbro doesn't care about new Lynx games being published,
either.
Carl Forhan
Songbird Productions
http://songbird.atari.org
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
//// BattleSphere Chatter
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Jaguar Interactive II
Re: Lot's O' questions...
Posted by Thunderbird (pool-209-138-0-124.nwrk.grid.net) on September 08,
1999 at 18:13:29:
In Reply to: Re: Re: Re: Re: Lot's O' questions... posted by Jagfan on
September 08, 1999 at 17:20:22:
>Thank you T-Bird. I only got to play in the networked mode at JagFest,
>and the control similarities I was talking about were with the
>acceleration. You have to press two buttons and your speed is shown
>on a bar, that's all. I really didn't have that much time to try out
>all the different ships, heck I don't even remember what ships I did
>choose, but during game play I could never figure out what direction I
>was going (just have to get used to it) and how to move to things on the
>radar. when it comes out I will get used to the controls.
Some friendly advice: GET A PROCONTROLLER!!!!
BattleSphere makes wonderful use of the extra buttons. You can configure
them to accelerate and decelerate. The shoulder buttons make great "roll"
buttons too.
Most of the functions are also available on the keypad, so you can play
with a standard controller just as well if you get used to the pad layout.
It becomes second nature after a while.
Another fun BattleSphere tip for the pilot who wants SPEED! You can use
your warp drive to accelerate to almost jump-speed and abort the warp...
you'll be going EXTREMELY fast, and can strafe enemies like they're
standing still. (This also works when warping INTO a sector in AAtE mode...
as you pop out of warp you decelerate.)
It's a load of fun outrunning missiles or better yet... you shoot your
lasers and they appear to 'hang' in front of you because you're going
nearly the same speed as them.
Thunderbird
4Play
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Jaguar Interactive II
Re: Cart Production
Posted by Thunderbird (pool-209-138-170-58-nwrk.grid.net) on November 11,
1999 at 11:21:41:
In Reply to: Re: Cart Production posted by Mickster on November 11, 1999 at
10:51:33:
>The thing to keep in mind that due to the contraction of the Jaguar
>market, there aren't going to be any more than a few hundred carts
>sold of any new release. I'd love to be proven wrong on this point.
I don't think anyone is going to argue that thousands of carts will be
sold. Heck, Atari had trouble selling that many of the carts when the Jag
was new!
>The realities of economies of scale means that some compromises are
>going to be made;
There will be NO compromises in BattleSphere. PERIOD. The Jaguar fans and
the people who supported us this far deserve nothing but the best. It is my
belief that the fans will appreciate the quality and will make sure we have
no surplus carts by buying multiple copies for Networking.
>if the cart totally mimicked a past Atari Jaguar release down to the
>stock and printing process used on the box and label, the cost would
>be so high that one or both of two things would happen. Either sales
>would be very low and/or margin would be small or eliminated. In the
>case of BattleSphere, this results in less money for kids with diabetes
>(a very good cause).
BattleSphere will offer superior quality to any previous Jaguar release.
PERIOD.
>So, most likely, compromises are going to be made. Scott, Steph, and
>Doug will measure the impact of the various compromises and make some
>hard decisions. Given changing markets for materials and the fact that
>the game isn't ready for manufacturing, some of these decisions cannot
>even be made yet; nor a product price chosen.
We've had quite a long time to consider all our options. We know there
shall be NO compromises in BattleSphere.
Thunderbird
4Play
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
//// Jaguar in the News
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Cool Jaguar news
Author: Songbird <forhan@millcomm.com>
Date: 1999/09/13
Forum: alt.atari-jaguar.discussion
Got some great news for you Jaguar, fans...
After CGE, I loaned out two flash ROM carts of Skyhammer and Protector to a
prominent print magazine -- GameFan. The senior editor there is a big
Jaguar fan and still plays games like T2K on a regular basis.
Anyway, Skyhammer and Protector are going to be reviewed _in print_ as part
of a two-page Jaguar article in their 'graveyard' section which puts the
spotlight on old favorites for obsolete systems.
This is a _great_ opportunity to get the word out on the new games,
especially since Skyhammer will be out later this year. Look for the
article to appear in the November issue of GameFan.
Carl Forhan
Songbird Productions
http://songbird.atari.org
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Think the Jaguar never gets print coverage?
Author: Carl Forhan <forhan@millcomm.com>
Date: 1999/07/01
Forum: alt.atari-jaguar.discussion
Think again:
http://homepage2.rconnect.com/forhan/songbird/mcvreb.jpg
Sincerely,
Carl Forhan
Songbird Productions
http://songbird.atari.org
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
//// Unreleased Stuff
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Re: VR exists!
Posted by BattleSphere Bob (209-239-194-121.oak.jps.net) on May 13, 1999 at
11:24:54:
In Reply to: VR exists! posted by Carl on May 13, 1999 at 08:26:22:
>>OK, believe what you want to believe. I certainly hope you are
>> right. There are none out there, so you've got a long wait.
>>
>>They were probably Virtuality display units faked as JagVR until
>>all development was done.
Well, since I actually used one behind closed doors at E3 '95 and it was
even plugged into a Jag, it was quite real. Now the full-scale game demo
they were running outside the booth? Yeah, that was fake. It was running on
an Amiga. But it did earn you a real JagVR t-shirt if you waited in line
long enough.
My contacts say the one JagVR helmet was destroyed in 1996.
Scott
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Re: Bomberman for Jaguar
Posted by ug (ppp-pm04-dy-33.cd1.dialup.oakland.edu) on November 07, 1999
at
16:54:06:
In Reply to: Bomberman for Jaguar <9036.html> posted by Sal Manfredonia on
November 06, 1999 at 22:17:56:
>>Carl,
>>What about the version of Bomberman for the Jaguar that is supposed
>>to be finished? Who was the developer of that?
I'm not Carl, but I hope you don't mind me answering your question. :) The
name of the group that worked on Jaguar Bomberman was Genetic Fantasia.
They are the people who did Yars' Revenge for Game Boy. The GB version of
Yars' Revenge was originally a "freeware" ROM image to be played on
emulators (I use the term "freeware" loosely, as the game concept of Yars'
Revenge is copyrighted by Atari). As many of you know, this project
eventually evolved into a commercial Game Boy Color game that was published
by Telegames (and properly licensed from Atari).
Here's a paragraph from the documentation that came with the original GB
Yars' Revenge "freeware" game:
--------------------
Genetic Fantasia was founded in 1995 by Jeff Burke, Bob Baffy and Mike
Mika. It was created to develop software for the Atari Jaguar. It's
potential claim to fame would have been Bomberman Legends, an Eight Player
multi-link version of the Hudson Soft hit series. Though development was
nearly finished, it was stopped when Atari could not negotiate the license.
No attempt to modify the game to every legal avenue was made to release the
title because Atari hit the bottom by this time. Other projects in the
works are now being refitted for the PC and Playstation. Current staff is
five people, spread over every facet of development.
--------------------
By the way, the document was dated 12/13/96, and I'm sure a lot has changed
since then. I don't know if Genetic Fantasia is still in existence; I can
say that their old Web site at http://www.geneticfantasia.com didn't work
when I tried it a few minutes ago. To my knowledge, Mike Mika (the
programmer of Yars' Revenge) works for Digital Eclipse now, and has done
several GB/GBC games for them.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Re: Atari Jaguar unreleased games
Author: Sal Manfredonia <hysteria@gti.net>
Date: 1999/11/10
Forum: rec.games.video.atari
<docjike@my-deja.com> wrote in message news:80d01m$mpl$1@nnrp1.deja.com...
> Hi there,
>
> I was going through my revised list of (yet) unreleased Atari
> Jaguar software and was wondering if any of you could be so kind
> and comment on any of these entries:
> -Phase Zero by ??? (must have been at least partially completed,
> this is NOT Zero 5)
Phase Zero (original name Hover Hunter) was being developed by Hyper Image,
and if it were completed it would have been published by Atari. There is at
least one prototype out there somewhere which is playable, so it must have
been pretty far in development. Hyper Image abandoned it to do Saturn and
PlayStation work, but I don't think they've actually produced any completed
games for either of those systems.
> -Varuna's Forces by ??? (was this at least partially completed? I
> saw a 'prototype' CD of this on Ebay not too long ago - assuming it
> was for real)
The developer was a company called Accent Media, and they were also working
on 3DO and Saturn versions (possibly PlayStation too). The Jaguar version
probably would have been published by Atari. None of the versions were ever
released.
> -Dragon's Lair II Time Warp by ??? (CD?)
This would have been published (and developed?) by ReadySoft.
> -Brett Hull Hockey by Accolade (CD? this was completed)
Was it? The cartridge version was pretty much complete, and a prototype was
recently sold to Kevin Manne of Jagu-Dome fame. I don't know how far along
the CD version was.
Atari licensed it from Accolade, who published the Genesis and SNES
versions. However, the Jaguar version would most likely have been published
by Atari. The Jaguar version was developed by Ringler Studios. I think
Ringler Studios was the same group of people that did Hockey for Lynx and
Mario Lemieux Hockey for Genesis.
> -Barkley Basketball Shut Up And Jam! by Accolade
Like Brett Hull Hockey, this was licensed by Atari from Accolade who did
the Genesis and SNES games. Ringler Studios also was the developer for the
Jaguar version of this game
> -Hardball 3 by Accolade
Licensed by Atari from Accolade. I don't know who was working on this, or
even if development actually got anywhere. Atari would have been the
publisher.
> -Creature Shock by Argonaut Software
Argonaut was the developer. It probably would have been published by Atari.
Virgin published the game on IBM PC/compatibles and 3DO (possibly other
computer platforms), and Data East published a Saturn version (supposedly a
PlayStation version too, but I've never seen it).
> -Demolition Man by Atari? (CD?)
Virgin was developing this game, but never finished it. It was ported from
the game Virgin released for 3DO, which in turn was based on the movie.
> -Battlezone 2000 by Atari
This underwent a name change (probably because it strayed too much from the
play style of the original Battlezone) and was released as Hover Strike.
> -Rage Rally by ??? (did this become Power Drive Rally?)
Yes, this became Power Drive Rally. Rage is the name of the company that
developed the game, and the publisher was Time Warner Interactive.
> -Dactyl Joust by ???
This was supposed to be a new, updated version of the old Williams arcade
game Joust. High Voltage Software was the developer, and if finished it
would have been published by Atari.
By the way, there was supposed to be an update of Joust in the works for
Nintendo 64, but that game has also mysteriously disappeared.
> -Jack Nicklaus Cyber Golf by ??? (CD?)
This was in development by Hand Made Software, and would have been
published by Atari if completed. This was also licensed from Accolade.
> -Robinson's Requiem by Silmaris (CD?)
I have seen versions for IBM PC/compatibles and 3DO in stores, both
published in the US by ReadySoft. I think Atari was supposed to publish the
Jaguar version, but as we all know the game was never released. I think
there might have been versions of this game for Amiga, Amiga CD32, Atari
ST, and Macintosh as well.
> -Space War 2000 by ???
This would have been developed and published by Atari. The original title
was supposed to be Star Raiders 2000, but I guess it may have strayed too
far from Star Raiders. Rumor has it that it was pretty far along in
development, when they suddenly abandoned it after seeing 4Play's work on
BattleSphere.
> -Starbattle by Foreplay (this became Battlesphere?, was complete and
> GOLD at the World Of Atari show 98 but haven't heard anything since
> then)
Yes, this did become BattleSphere, and the company (developer and
publisher) is 4Play.
Doug Engel is working on defeating the encryption code. Go to his Web site
at http://home.sprynet.com/~thunderbird/ and check the BattleSphere update
page. Be sure to read the 9/13/99 update as well as the most recent one.
> -Soccer Kid by Ocean Of America (will now be a Songbird Productions
> release)
Developed by Krisalis.
> -Hyper Force by ??? (will now be a Songbird Productions release)
Developed by Visual Impact. It was originally going to be published by C-
West. I heard Telegames and Atari were also approached, but both turned
down the rights to publish this game under their names.
> -Protector by ??? (will now be a Songbird Productions release)
It was originally being developed by Bethesda Softworks, but it was
unfinished. Songbird Productions has done the work to finish this game, and
it should be out next month. It's the first new Jaguar game in over a year
and a half!
I think Carl Forhan said that this game is actually an updated version of
the old Protector computer games of the early 1980's.
> -Sky Hammer by ??? (will now be a Songbird Productions release)
Skyhammer was developed by Rebellion (who did the Jaguar games Alien vs.
Predator and Checkered Flag), and it was originally going to be published
by Atari.
> -Total Carnage by ??? (seems to be mostly finished)
I heard this was developed by Hand Made Software. Did they also do the SNES
version? I don't know who was supposed to publish this game; I didn't even
know there was a Jaguar version in development until recently!
> -Virtual VCS by Hand Made Software/Midway (seems to be mostly finished)
I don't remember who the developer was, but I don't think HMS or Midway had
anything to do with it.
--
Sal Manfredonia (hysteria@gti.net)
"Know your role and shut your mouth!" -- The Rock
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
//// Where Did YOU Learn to Toddle?
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Jaguar Interactive II
I had a baby! And it is Jaguar related.
Posted by ETHunter <mailto:ETHunter@webtv.net>
(proxy-357.public.rwc.webtv.net) on November 07, 1999 at 14:34:28:
Well I guess it actually was my wife who had the baby but I am the proud
daddy of a 10 lb. 2oz. girl. We named her Megan but had absolutely no idea
what should be the middle name. All the names that are in my or my wife's
family are just horrid. So I decided it should be Megan Skylar... doing my
part to keep the Jag alive. :-)
Micah Rowe
ETHunter Productions
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
//// JI2 History
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Jaguar Interactive II
Re: Jaguar Interactive II History
Posted by Kevin <mailto:kevinmanne@wycol.com> (pm3-a-btv-c-p40.pcom.net) on
November 07, 1999 at 19:12:36:
In Reply to: Jaguar Interactive II History posted by Scott on
November 07, 1999 at 15:02:53:
>Ok, what is the history of JI II? When did it start, why did it
>start, who was around when it started etc.
>Scott
It started over a year ago (I think) when MagicalFox was no longer able to
host the site. Even before that, though, it was a part of Sven's Unofficial
Atari Jaguar page where it all started out. AGH was kind enough to pick up
the board and host it for all of us, so we wouldn't miss a minute of
JF4L/Mark/DXPimp/Breakout2000/1LuvTyrone's insane rantings.
-Kevin
Of course, this is all IIRC. The details tend to blur with age...
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
//// JagDoom vs PC Doom: Levels
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Subject: Re: Where can I find a walkthrough for Jag Doom?
Date: 1999/05/07
Author: Ledmeister <ledmeister@aol.com>
Jonathan writes
> Hey,
> I broke [JagDoom] out again a few days ago &
> absolutely can not no matter what I do find all the
> secrets. 66% is about as close as I get.
> Is there a web site anywhere that would have a
> file telling me what to do to find everything?
> I've searched around for a couple of days now &
> only find FAQ's that don't mention secrets or are for
> for the computer version & all the Jag cheat codes
> but I really need a Jag walkthrough.
> Any help appreciated,
A walkthrough tailored just to the specific maps in JagDoom may not exist.
But, many of the maps in JagDoom are similar to the same maps in Doom games
on other systems. A secrets list for PC Doom will reveal most of the
secrets on the same maps in JagDoom. Unfortunately, most of the JagDoom
maps have been cut up and edited down from the PC originals; but, with rare
exceptions, there are almost no new secrets added to any map.
Below is a chart that'll tell you which maps in PC Doom have equivalents in
JagDoom (the chart's best viewed in a monospaced font.) If you want a
specific walkthrough or hint on any particular level, write to me, or check
out my walkthroughs for PC and Jag Doom games here:
http://members.aol.com/ledmeister/doomhelp.htm
PC Doom/PC Ultimate Doom and Jaguar Doom map level comparison:
PC DOOM/PC ULTIMATE DOOM MAPS | JAGUAR DOOM MAPS
------------------------------|--------------------------
MAP : MAP NAME(S) | MAP : MAP NAME
-----:------------------------|-----:--------------------
E1M1 : HANGAR | 1 : HANGAR
E1M2 : NUCLEAR PLANT | 2 : PLANT
E1M3 : TOXIN REFINERY | 3 : TOXIN REFINERY
E1M4 : COMMAND CONTROL | 4 : COMMAND CONTROL
E1M5 : PHOBOS LAB | 5 : PHOBOS LAB
E1M6 : CENTRAL PROCESSING | 6 : CENTRAL PROCESSING
E1M7 : COMPUTER STATION | 7 : COMPUTER STATION
E1M8 : PHOBOS ANOMALY | 8 : PHOBOS ANOMALY
E1M9 : MILITARY BASE | 24 : MILITARY BASE
-----:------------------------|-----:--------------------
E2M1 : DEIMOS ANOMALY | 9 : DEIMOS ANOMALY
E2M2 : CONTAINMENT AREA | 10 : CONTAINMENT AREA
E2M3 : REFINERY | 11 : REFINERY
E2M4 : DEIMOS LAB | 12 : DEIMOS LAB
E2M5 : COMMAND CENTER | 13 : COMMAND CENTER
E2M6 : HALLS OF THE DAMNED | 14 : HALLS OF THE DAMNED
E2M7 : SPAWNING VATS | 15 : SPAWNING VATS
E2M8 : TOWER OF BABEL | :
E2M9 : FORTRESS OF MYSTERY | 23 : DIS
-----:------------------------|-----:--------------------
E3M1 : HELL KEEP | :
E3M2 : SLOUGH OF DESPAIR | :
E3M3 : PANDEMONIUM | 18 : PANDEMONIUM
E3M4 : HOUSE OF PAIN | 19 : HOUSE OF PAIN
E3M5 : UNHOLY CATHEDRAL | 20 : UNHOLY CATHEDRAL
E3M6 : MT EREBUS | 21 : MT EREBUS
E3M7 : GATE TO LIMBO/LIMBO | 22 : LIMBO
E3M8 : DIS | :
E3M9 : WARRENS | :
-----:------------------------|-----:--------------------
: | 16 : TOWER OF BABEL
: | 17 : HELL KEEP
---------------------------------------------------------
Notes: Map equivalency is based on general map layouts, not map names. The
PC Doom/PC Ultimate Doom map in Episode 3 Mission 7 is referred to as "GATE
TO LIMBO" in the tally screens, and "LIMBO" in the Automap. The Jaguar
"DIS" map is equivalent to the PC "FORTRESS OF MYSTERY" map; No Jaguar
equivalent exists for the PC "DIS" map.
The Jaguar "TOWER OF BABEL" map does not match the PC "TOWER OF BABEL" map
(it does, however, match the "TOWER OF BABEL" map in the 3DO version, and
the "HELL GATE" map in the PSX and Saturn versions).
The Jaguar "HELL KEEP" map does not match the PC "HELL KEEP" map (it does,
however, match the PSX, Saturn and 3DO "HELL KEEP" maps).
--led
Support site for console and PC Doom games
http://members.aol.com/ledmeister/index.html
=-=-=-=-=-=
//// PC AVP
=-=-=-=-=-=
Re: Alien vs Predator on Windows
Author: Gregory George <greggeorgeSPAM@SHIELDworldnet.att.net>
Date: 1999/06/12
Forum: rec.games.video.atari
Hoekstra wrote:
> Anyone played both versions willing to comment here?
I love the Jaguar version because of the tense atmosphere. The PC version
is basically what AvP 2 would have been if it were on the Jag.
Graphics:
The PC version is *SUPER FAST*, and I'm running it on a PII-300 with Voodoo
I card! Speed was probably the biggest complaint about Jaguar AvP. The
graphics are much more realistic in the PC version. The walls are at
varying angles. You can go outside into a rainstorm (just like in ALIENS).
You get to see the ship the aliens come from, complete with the dude from
the chair. You see holes burned through the floors. You can shoot off limbs
and watch acid fly all over the place. And wounded aliens don't just
rollover and die. They crawl towards you and will not give up until they
are completely dead. It's just incredible!
Music & Sound FX:
The music is perfectly suited and remains true to the original. I mean, you
get a whole music CD with 15 tracks that match the movies perfectly! Great
for playing in the dark!
The sounds are also fantastic. They're perfect for this game. More alien
screeching, growling, and even "swiping". The weapons also carry perfect
signature sound effects. I love the smart gun!
Weapons:
The pulse rifle finally kicks some major hiney! Remember that pump action
grenade launcher from the films? Well, it's BACK! I wouldn't go anywhere in
this game without my trusty pulse rifle. The smart gun will TRACK your
enemies like it always should have done. You can lay mines, shoot
grenades... There's even a mini-gun for true alien-soup.
One of the coolest things is when you get your hands on the flame thrower!
If you shoot it and miss an alien, it stands there in a trance for a few
moments. Then, BAM!, it pounces on you! And when you hit it with the flame,
it runs around on fire before exploding in a shower of acid and fiery
bits. It's totally cool...
I'm not as excited about the predator's weapons. He's got all the pre-reqs:
Shoulder-mounted Plasma gun, spears, his arm mounted knifes, and, of
course, the disc. The problem with the disc is that you have to retrieve
it. I guess that's more realistic, but it can be a pain. But guess what
friends? The thermal imager is FINALLY USEFUL! I didn't think it was all
that great in Jaguar AvP.
The alien has its tail and claws for attacks. I was hoping for more jaw-
action, but THAT comes when you feed. And feeding really makes you feel
like an alien.
Intensity:
This game has more than it's share of scary moments. Aliens do a lot of
screeching, so you can sometimes tell they're coming. But not all the time!
Playing the "Skirmish" mode on the "Stranded" level just OOZES intensity!
In this mode, it's just you versus an endless amount of aliens. They run,
they jump, they crawl... They're everywhere!! I really feel like I'm *IN*
this game rather than just playing it. "Take that you motherf***ing
alien!!! You want some more of this????"
Playing as the Alien is wild.... Especially when you see your jaw inch out
at cowering, crying, and screaming humans in anticipation of a meal...
Multiplayer:
I haven't played multiplayer yet, but there are SO MANY possibilities!!
Overall:
I have to give AvP for the PC the same high rating I gave the Jaguar
version. I cannot think of a single problem with this game. It's totally
perfect! The only way to make this game better is to hook it up to a
virtual reality helmet. Rebellion truly knows their Aliens and Predators!
I'm not taking anything away from Jaguar AvP. I think it's a great game and
was the Jag's "killer-app" for me. It's one of the best on the Jaguar and
will always be one of my favorite games. BUT, it's also 4 years old.
PC AvP is just more of a good thing. It's one game truly worth getting a
3D-accelerator card for!
--GG
P.S. Replace SPAM@SHIELD to email me!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
||| Visit The Atari Times(US) Website!
||| http://www.geocities.com/TimesSquare/Arcade/8341
/ | \
ATARI Visit The Atari Times(US) Message Board!
FOREVER! http://venus.beseen.com/boardroom/c/17653/Date
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Visit Songbird productions for NEW Jaguar games Hyper Force,
Soccer Kid, Skyhammer, and Protector! http://songbird.atari.org
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
//// Evil Tramiel Rumor
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Author: Chris Cracknell <ad329@james.hwcn.org>
Date: 1999/08/26
Forum: rec.games.video.classic
I think my favorite Evil Jack rumour is that just after the merger of Atari
and JTS, Nolan Bushnell approached Jack with the intent to purchase back
Atari and turn it into a real videogame company again. Jack refused to sell
saying, "I don't care if I'm known as 'the man who killed Atari', I just
don't want anyone else to be known as 'the man who saved Atari'."
Considering that he then went and sold Atari to Hasbro (who have no
interest in saving Atari and merely wish to pick the meat off its bones)
for less than he could have gotten if he had auctioned it off on eBay makes
this rumour, if true, even more evil a deed.
CRACKERS
(Die Jack, die from hell!!!!!!!!!!)
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
//// Curt's Cool Atari Trivia
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Re: Why did Hasbro bother II
Author: Curt Vendel <cvendel@worldnet.att.net>
Date: 1999/10/31
Forum: comp.sys.atari.8bit
Hi Pete,
Looks like we need to talk off-line a bit, send me a private email. As for
your question regarding the 680x0 bus compatible version, its hard to say
for sure, however I will contact a very good friend who did the original
Atari 3600 prototypes and the earlier 7800's, if my guess is right, that
new version of the Marie was intended for the Atari 9000, originally the
Atari 7800 was going to be that number designation and in fact there should
be some mock up stuff floating around that bears its name. However the
number was changed to 7800 (5200 graphics + 2600 compatibility is what the
marketing notes say). The Atari 9000 was to be a high end game system.
I don't believe (but could be wrong, again I'll have to check) that a MARIE
with 680x0 bus extensions was targeted for a computer scenario, Atari had 3
68000 based projects which all had chipsets already slated for them:
GAZA: "Rainbow" chipset.
SIERRA: "Silver & Gold" chipset (the AMY sound chip came from that)
and MICKEY: "Amiga chipset" Originally I was told Mickey was for Mickey
Mouse, however Mickey was the name of one of the project engineers' wife.
So I would guess that any further enhanced MARIE chipsets were for a new
high-end game system slated for 1985, but that in itself is confusing since
according to the Atari-Amiga agreements, Atari would sell the Atari version
of "Lorraine" for 1 year as a game only console and then sell a keyboard
add-on and also sell a full-blown computer, so perhaps 2 game consoles were
in the works. I'll speak with Gary (7800 engineer) he'll most likely have
the answers to that.
Curt
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Re: Why did Hasbro bother 3
Author: Curt Vendel <cvendel@worldnet.att.net>
Date: 1999/10/31
Forum: comp.sys.atari.8bit
Actually Rich,
I'm in total agreement, why do we need a 700Mhz Pentium III??? Why, 'cause
it's cool and I have another $1,000 to throw around and waste? (Not really,
I'd rather spend it on Atari). Its the lousy OS's like Win NT and Win 2000
that are just plain and simple "BLOATWARE", they are good in their own
rights as to the features they bring, but then you look at Linux 6.1
running on a Pentium 75 and it runs great! I don't need 250MB's just for my
OS and another 250MB for MS Office. This whole thing with having to have a
9gb hard drive, 128mb of memory and a 500 MHz + Pentium III is simply
stupid!!!
You look at a Falcon030 with CAB and perhaps with Jinnee as a replacement
desktop (TOS is just a little too rough for my taste and Jinnee spiffs it
up nicely) and you have a system that looks and works just as well with a
fraction of the power, speed, memory and drive space. The whole industry is
just blindly running down a path like a snowball down a hill and the needs
and the demands of the OS and Apps' is driving the need for bigger, better,
badder hardware which is just not as needed. Unless you consider scientific
software and/or heavy duty games which need all that power which a $199
Dreamcast can more than provide.
One thing to note, back in the 1980s everyone made fun of the Atari SIO
port saying how stupid it was, interesting how the USB port is basically
the same concept on a faster scale (just a little note to add on: One of
the designers and patent holders of the USB port is also the architect for
the Atari SIO port, Joe Decuir).
Curt
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Re: Where Atari went wrong (was: why did Hasbro bother)
Author: Curt Vendel <cvendel@worldnet.att.net>
Date: 1999/10/23
Forum: comp.sys.atari.8bit
Preston,
I've had the opportunity to speak with many of the engineers at Atari in
regards to the PC's and I've asked the same questions, why was there no
improvements after the 400/800 Line?!?!?!?
Actually, several upgrades were in the works, the most significant was the
"Memory Expander". A set of new OS and memory boards for 256K of
continuous, usable memory. Several were built and I know of one Atari
engineer who still has it and it still works. Management shot it down, in
fact the engineers complained that they wanted it done and management came
back and said "Any more talk of that project and you will be fired." They
wanted simple closed boxes that as one Atari Home Computer manager was
quoted, "We'll sell'em like popcorn" There came the 1200XL. Actually the XL
line of computers were designed in the WCI NY Atari lab in Manhattan under
Steve Mayer, the lead engineer who I've met with and talk with on many
occasions explained, "We sent Sunnyvale proto's with the parallel bus",
they kept making the cases with no slot for the PBI, in the end... it was
dropped and wouldn't resurface until the 600/800XL line, we also had an 8
slot expansion bay, that too was dropped and resurfaced later as a cut-down
version and with only 5 slots!"
Atari was also working on a rather unique computer system that would be a
stack of small "pizza box" modules. One was the CPU, the second and I/O
box with serial/parallel, another would be dual disk drives and so on. This
project was not so much killed, but taken with the HCD president who
started a company called "Mindset" and interestingly enough, his whole team
were former Atari HCD engineers and their computer was almost identical in
design to the same proposed Atari system except theirs was an 80186 based
system.
Atari started its own semiconductor plant and had commissioned a 16bit
processor based on MC68000 design, but 6502 backward compatible, the design
was sold to the consulting company... the 65816 was born.
Finally, just as the Tramiels were walking in the door, two (actually
three) 68000 based projects were in the works, one was called GAZA which
was a dual 68000 multiprocessing system running CP/M 68K and a chipset
called "Rainbow", this system was presented to management as a high-end
video processor system, management initially like the idea and was going
for it. Another system was called Sierra and used the "Silver & Gold"
chipset, the audio chip will be familiar to some of you, it was called AMY
and during a demonstration it imitated an opera singer, first male, then
female. The Tramiels, having fired the entire ASRL staff (Advanced
Sunnyvale Research Lab) had no idea how to make AMY work, they tried for
nearly two years, but could never do it, wasted technology!!! The final
68000 project, Mickey, the Atari version of the Lorraine computer, all
ready to accept the Amiga chipset which was due on June 30, 1984, just a
few days before the Tramiels were to walk in and take over. The Tramiels
had approached Amiga in April of 1984 and showed a lot interest in the
chipset.... but not the company or its engineers. When Amiga got wind that
the Tramiels were buying Atari, they quickly looked elsewhere for a
buyer... Commodore. Commodore bought Amiga, paid Atari the $500,000 loan
for the design of the Amiga Chipset (yes, Atari funded the Amiga chipset
back in Sept 1983 so yes, the Amiga's are actually Atari's) and the rest is
history. So you see, right from the start, Atari HCD engineers WANTED
better versions of the computers, but management kept putting them down and
wouldn't allow the more creative, positive and useful projects to emerge as
real products, but instead went with a lot of other products which
management felt were more appropriate for a "Home" computer as opposed to a
"Hobbyist" computer.
Whew.... my fingers hurt from all this typing. You wanna read more, stop
by the Atari Historical Society, this is all information directly from the
members of the website who are former and current Atari employees.
http://www.atari-history.com
Curt
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Explanation of the Atari Z800
Author: Curt Vendel <cvendel@worldnet.att.net>
Date: 1999/08/18
Forum: comp.sys.atari.8bit
Hi everyone,
I recently posted that there are now several Atari internal documents up on
the Atari Historical Society website for the Antic, GTIA, Pokey and SIO bus
since Hasbro's Atari Interactive division has given me the rights to
release this data for public domain use.
One file in particular is stirring up a lot of questions and I'm receiving
quite a bit of email regarding it. Its the Serial I/O Interface Users
Handbook file. There are several references to an SIO bus version for the
Atari Z800 computer system. The Z800 was the reference code for Atari's
next replacement computer for the Atari 400/800 line (referenced in the
document as A400 A800) this was the original spec for the Atari "Sweet-16"
project which eventual was watered down and hacked up into what became the
Atari 1200XL. So I just want everyone to know that no, there is NOT
another mysterious prototype Atari computer floating out there with a
souped up SIO bus called the Atari Z800, its simply a reference to what was
supposed to be the Atari 1000 and 1000X computers which would have had
standard DB-15 connectors (2 of them) for SIO communication, a Parallel Bus
Interface and many other features which were all removed from the Atari
1200XL in its final form.
For those who want to read these documents, the direct link is:
http://www.atari-history.com/articles.html
Curt
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Re: Atari Arcade Hits Volume 1 rocks!!!!
Author: Curt Vendel <cvendel@worldnet.att.net>
Date: 1999/08/06
Forum: rec.games.video.atari
I think its the cool little accuracies in the games that really makes it an
enjoyable experience, for instance play Breakout. Now watch the ball as it
hits the blocks and descends back down to your paddle, you'll notice it
changes colors. On the original Breakout coin-op they didn't have color
yet, so what Atari did was to pull an "Odyssey trick" whereby they placed a
sheet of transparent colored rows over the top portion of the playfield and
this simulated color, so its great how much attention to detail as been put
into the whole package. Digital Eclipse rocks!!!
Curt
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Re: Space War the 1st Arcade, Seen in What 70's Movie?
Author: Jack Spencer JR. <eeville@dreamscape.com>
Date: 1999/05/20
Forum: rec.games.video.classic
> Lee Seitz wrote:
>
> > In article <926907553mnewsX_velcro_X@netunlimited.net>,
> > velcro_spy wrote:
> > >
> > > I have a vague memory of Space War, the first stand up arcade
> > > game (by Nolan Bushnell right?) appearing in the Charlton
> > > Heston flick Soylent Green.
> >
> > Right game, wrong name. It was called Computer Space, and it did
> > indeed appear in _Soylent Green_.
> >
> > --
> > Lee K. Seitz * lkseitz@hiwaay.net * ~http://home.hiwaay.net/~lkseitz/
> > Visit the Classic Video Games Nexus for all your classic link needs!
> > http://start.at/cvgnexus
>
Curt Vendel <cvendel@worldnet.att.net> wrote in message
news:374420EB.F59E35F5@worldnet.att.net
> It was also the only WHITE Computer Space ever, most Computer Space's
> were Candy Apple Red, Metallic Blue and also Metallic Green. The rarer
> ones were the Bright Yellow Computer Space cabinets.
>
> Curt
Actually, I heard they painted it to match the set.
--==--==--==--==--
|| BattleSphere News
|| By: Doug Engel
\__// thunderbird@sprynet.com
-----------------------------------------------------------------
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
//// BattleSphere Update
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
[from Doug Engel's Thunderbird's Garage home page <http://home.sprynet.com/
sprynet/~thunderbird/>]
//// 13 Sept 1999
The clock is ticking!
4Play is proud to announce that it will only be a matter of weeks until we
will have utterly defeated the encryption code for BattleSphere. We are
using a proprietary method which will allow us to encrypt the binary
without using any hardware bypassing techniques.
After carefully considering the options, a software scheme seemed like the
right thing to do. While hardware bypassing is currently an alternative, it
adds significant cost to the manufacturing. Hardware bypass would require
an entirely new circuit board be designed and fabricated. All existing
circuit board stockpiles are rendered worthless by hardware bypass
techniques. Since the market is small for Jaguar games and we don't have
the economy of scale to offset production costs, designing new boards adds
a large cost to the price of a cartridge. However, we are working very
carefully to reduce these unnecessary costs while delivering the polished,
professional product the Jaguar community deserves. Price has been a
primary concern to many of you, so we determined that a little more work to
insure a reasonable price is worth the effort. Hence, we invented this
ingenious method for software encryption.
Our clever software scheme employs a "brute force" method of cracking
encryption by utilizing a bank of 8 specially modified Jaguar consoles with
a custom patched version of the standard boot ROM and a few modifications
to the BattleSphere executable itself, which runs in a hardware hacked
EPROM cartridge. The exact details of our technology will be revealed in
the future, as we do not wish to give an advantage to our competition in
the cartridge manufacturing market. Suffice it to say that this bank of
Jaguars is constantly booting a self-modifying binary and checking if the
Jaguar Boot ROM has failed or passed the software encryption. Once the
binary boots, the encryption is successful! Our calculations indicate that
it should take a maximum of 125 days for this process to try ALL the
possible encryption combinations, but the odds are evenly distributed
around 1/2 that amount of time.
Keep your fingers crossed!
//// 16 Oct 1999
APC Rulez!
Arriving home from work today I was greeted by the wonderful sight of
winking and blinking clocks and VCRs.
12:00
12:00
12:00
etc...
Lucky for us, the Encryption Process has gone unimpeded, thanks to the
wonderful folks at American Power Conversion, and the incredible Back-UPS
400!
Apparently, the power failed for some unknown reason today, and came back
on some time later, but thanks to the Uninterruptable Power Supply, the
encryption breaker Jaguars did not shutdown. So, I didn't have to restart
the process from yesterday's logged point. The clock is STILL ticking, and
you all don't get an extra day to save your pennies for the release of
BattleSphere!
Until Next Time!!!
--==--==--==--==--
|| Protector Update
|| By: Kevin Manne
\__// kevinmanne@wycol.com
-----------------------------------------------------------------
[from Kevin Manne's Protector Playtester page
<http://jaguar.holyoak.com/protector/>]
//// 19 Oct 1999
It's been a while since I've put together an update on Protector but
believe me, this game is shaping up nicely. Just today I got the latest
revision of Protector from Carl and from the moment I started playing
everything just "felt" right. The gameplay has been tweaked to near-
perfection, I'd say...it's right about at the point where you can still get
stuck and get wasted a bunch, but it's not overly frustrating to the point
where you get discouraged from playing.
The biggest change in gameplay is the increased frequency of powerups and
credits when you defeat enemies. This may seem like a simple thing, but
without this, the game didn't just scream "Play ME" like it does now. Now,
I believe this game truly has the strength to stand on its own as a great
game for the Jag, becoming one of those games you just love to throw in and
blast through a few levels at a time, much like T2K and D2K. I've been
playing this game for nearly a year now, and since now I'm getting the urge
to play it a TON really goes to show the replayability this title has.
Never before today did Protector "feel" like a complete game. With the
balanced gameplay, landscapes and music that change every 5 levels (note
the screenshots for a new landscape) and all the rest of the work Carl put
into this title, it really does shine now. Just wait till this game gets
into your hands in early 2000!
--==--==--==--==--
|| Llatest from Llamaland
|| By: Jeff "Yak" Minter
\__// net.yak@yak.net
-----------------------------------------------------------------
[All of the following postings are taken from Jeff Minter's web page, Yak's
Zoo <http://www.magicnet.net/~yak/zoo.html>. Check it out, and see what
else Jeff has yakked up lately. NOTE: Due to the gobsmackingly huge bulk of
the Llamaland updates since last issue (18 pages worth! seems I missed a
couple last issue), I've snipped out pretty much everything non-
Nuon/T3K/VLM. For the full text and lots of pics, see Jeff's site. --Ed.]
//// 22 April 1999
No, I am not dead, and I do indeed intend to do some more work on the site,
especially since someone nice at Macromedia (thanks Purple!) has dropped a
load of really cool net tools on me, excellent :-). I have to like any
software package that allows me to draw in Peruvian Jumper Mode :-). I will
be exploring these tools, and putting up things I do with them and probably
ranting on about how cool they are, as and when I have time to play with
them.
Until then, just a quick update and I shall be doing some more at the
weekend. Work in both T3K and VLM is proceeding very well. T3K is now
unspeakably trippy, and I am adding more enemies and their behaviours, and
integrating a lot of VLM stuff in there too...
I will also split up the Gnus page a bit since it has got way too big and
unwieldy. I'll be mungeing the site in general over the next few weeks.
Had a good weekend last weekend when the lads came up - as you can see from
the following picture everyone was completely enthralled by my mate Andy's
guitar playing :-).
[pic of Yak's mates slouching on the couch --Ed.]
More llater...
//// 24 April 1999
Back as promised, adding a few new bits and pieces to the site. Much must
change, as and when I get time out from my VM-oriented duties. It is great
fun updating things, especially now I have these top new tools from
Macromedia. Most of the new stuff you have seen on the site so far was
created using a program called Fireworks 2, which is basically a very cool
bitmap and vector drawing package with a load of Web-oriented extensions -
as well as creating the pics the program will generate HTML and JavaScript
code to get everything working on your webpage. Very cool indeed.
< big section on how cool Fireworks 2 is snipped >
Thanks to everyone who has seen the new version of the front end already
and sent me feedback - I am glad you like it so far! - and to those who
noticed that it was the anniversary of my incept date and sent me greetings
:-). Hehe... I am now an even older git than I was before :-). Oh well,
you're only as old as the ungulate you feel :-).
< section on Yak's cool new stereo system and subwoofer snipped >
< section on Red Dwarf (and the BBC's scheduling cockups) snipped >
I have been continuing to bash away on T3K and VLM, and they are coming
along nicely - I actually integrated the VLM code into the Tempest code,
partly because it is handy to have everything in one place when I am
working on it and also for the purpose of demonstration (only the one bit
of code to load up to show off both things at E3). The other reason to do
that is that quite a lot of VLM is going to leak over into T3K - the
background generators in T3K are actually live VLM effects, which is cool.
The framework for VLM is quite similar to the Jaggi version, in that there
are a bunch of preset effects, and once you have selected one, the audio
does things to it and you can join in, various params being attached to the
joystick. The effects are way nicer than the Jag ones though, the storage
of presets is done a lot better too so I can fit loads more of the buggers
in there, and you can choose to have smooth transitions between presets,
which looks kinda cool.
T3K-side I have been working on extra enemies and behaviours, as well as
adding background effects and stuff like that. There is now a class of
little bugger that can contain lots of other little bastards, enabling a
slew of Tanker-class enemies to be created. And there are Spinners, which
cause the entire Web to start rotating - trying to play on some of the Web
shapes while they are spinning around is quite twisted, so you will
probably be inclined to nail Spinners promptly before you lose your lunch
:-).
I need to work on the powerup sequence - I have some ideas for cool new
bullet-classes and extra control modes that you can earn; I have also to
put in an attract-mode for E3, and some of the code for that will be usable
to create a Smart Droid powerup. I need to put in extra lives, too! As it
is I get to around level 20 and then die, usually. Extra lives are
definitely needed :-).
< section on how nice it is to live in Wales snipped >
Many thanks too to those of you who sent me messages of condolence about
the passing of Alastair - much appreciated. I do miss the old bugger.
Flossie has got used to being on her own now, although sometimes she gets a
bit needy and comes bleating up to me for a hug and a skritch - she does
need to have other beasties around and I would not mind a few more, either
:-). I'll have to do some research and get some more fencing done and clear
out a couple of the stables...
Mmmm, more beasties. Yum yum. Slurp. :-)
< section on Vindy snipped. happy birthday Vindy! >
Gameswize, mostly recently I have been playing T3K of course, with the odd
session of F-Zero X on the Ninty thrown in for good measure; and when the
lads were over the other weekend one of them got to playing on Space
Station Silicon Valley, which made me realize how cool and weird that game
is and how I must get back into it because I haven't finished it yet, and I
want to be a little camel on the desert levels. I have also been trying out
an upcoming PC game called Guardian II that is coming out shortly. It is
basically a very Defender-y design, only in nice Voodoo yummy 3D. There are
no little Humanoids - the Landers instead attack these tower-shaped
installations that you have to defend - but equivalents of all the old
Defender cast of enemies are all in there - Baiters, Bombers, Swarmers and
all. Of course there are more than just the basic Defender enemies - the
stargate out of... er... Stargate is in there and very effective in finding
attacking Landers; and there are shedloads of powerups and cool things to
pick up. The graphics are very pretty and heavy on the glowy particle
explosions, always a good sign I reckon :-). There is a cool-looking warp
sequence where you have to battle loads of free-flying enemies and go down
a trippy tunnel. The game controls nicely from the keyboard (the only mode
I have tried so far), especially since they added autofire :-). And there
is loads of glowy particle stuff and bits flying around when you shoot
things. And giant magic mushrooms on one of the levels. Cool.
Musicwize, I have been listening to loads of things on account of my new
stereo :-). I will resurrect the music page of my site as I work through
the updates, and get back in the habit of noting what's in the Monolith at
the moment. That new Orbital sounds excellent now that I have some decent
bass happening though, I must admit :-).
Well, I am off to have a play around in Fireworks. More stuff may therefore
appear on the site :-). Expect more frequent updates and some major
changes...
//// 13 May 1999
< section on the pre-E3 grind snipped >
So, what of those projects? Well, T3K now has a much better frame rate than
it did (optimized my screen-buffering), and an attract mode (which not only
looks cool but is also very useful for testing a game - the demo plays
random levels continuously, so if you have just built some new levels you
can test the robustness of your code by just leaving the demo-mode to slave
away, playing them all night, and hope that you do not come down the next
morning to find a frozen screen). I have been further tweaking the
gameplay, adding some extra particle stuff due to the better framerate, and
generally doing the kind of spit-and-polish that a game needs before going
to a show. The game is by no means complete - only the first 32 Webs are
available and there are nowhere near the amount of enemies and powerups
there will be when I am finished, and there are no bonus rounds or hi-score
tables or anything) but you can, at least, play a proper game and get an
actual score.
All the really major parts of coding T3K are done now; what remains is
basically just carrying on adding cool things - adding enemies and
behaviours, fiddling around making extra cool backdrops for levels, making
up bonus rounds and powerups and suchlike; I know I have the speed and core
routines in place to be able to do everything I want to. It is quite a nice
stage to be at. You know you've done what's needed to make a cool game, and
now you can spend time adding all the nice touches and doing the balancing
of the gameplay that will make it a great game. (Again, I hope :-)).
More coding fun for Yak :-).
One of the things I have occasionally missed around here is my old Jaggi
CD-ROM, and the accompanying VLM - I have no Jag kit at all here at the
moment; I know there is some at my mum's place and some at VM out in the
US, but surprisingly enough, I actually have none at home right now. Most
of all I missed the VLM. And, although I have been working on the framework
of the new VLM for Nuon, I have been unable, until very recently, to use a
CD player to drive it, which made it, although very pretty, not quite the
excellent toy that a VLM should be.
Well, in the run-up to the show, I got the necessary drivers an' thangs
that I needed from VM to finally be able to formally introduce my VLM
framework to the CD player (and therefore to my entire CD collection); I
spent a few days hooking up my FX to the music, and suddenly, as if by
magic... I am now the happy owner of a real, live, working VLM-2 :-). It is
now definitely my favourite toy. If you liked JagVLM (or any of my old
lightsynth stuff), you are gonna really like this... the effects are way
more responsive than on the Jaggi, and everything is just so smoooth and
llovely :-)... some of the effects that come out of the new VLM are so
trippy and smooth and analogue-looking, that no-pixels aesthetic, that even
I find it hard to believe. One of the settings looks a lot like those
photos you sometimes see of the gas clouds surrounding a supernova - well,
imagine that kind of thing, but the supernova in question happens to be
repeatedly exploding conveniently right in time to the stomping bass from
the Prodigy album you happen to be listening to... llovely :-).
The neat thing is that the coding for VLM is at about the same stage as
that for T3K - that is, all the core stuff is in place and working, and I
can now have fun refining the effects I already have, and dreaming up new
ones. Cool. Yet more coding fun for Yak. I sometimes think I must have the
coolest job in the world :-). (Apart from possibly being a llama-
gynecologist).
< bit about Yak's mum visiting snipped >
< huge chunk about Yak's spiffy new Sony camcorder snipped >
< mini-review of Robotron 64 (he liked it, but it's too easy) snipped >
Speaking of Ninty, interesting to read today how they are planning to bring
out a system at the arse end of 2000 and maybe even use the chipset in, er,
DVD players. Now I wonder where they got that idea? Hehe...
Most of my gaming time recently has of course been spent on T3K :-).
Well, I am going to upload now - possibly more updates later, over the
weekend. Mind you, it is Grand Prix weekend, so we will wait and see :-).
Maybe I had better have a bath, too. I am starting to smell like an ox :-).
Mind you, maybe the amorous wildebeest would like that :-).
[pic of Nuon VLM2 output (included in this issue's ZIP) --Ed.]
//// 23 May 1999
The Force is with me!
< massive missive on Yak's trip to New York to see Phantom Menace snipped >
Then there was the bartender up the World Trade Center who, when I bought a
round of drinks, went out of his way to emphatically tell me that "service
was not included". Now, I am aware of American tipping etiquette, and would
have done the usual thing, but since he was rude enough to ram the
necessity of tipping down my throat in such a manner, I am afraid that he
only managed to talk himself out of a tip.
Worst of all though was this Italian restaurant we went into to snarf a
bite after the film was finished. Settling up at the end, we left what we
thought was a perfectly adequate tip, but the waiter actually returned our
little folder thingy they bring you the bill in, with our tip still inside,
and said "service is not included"... as if to say, "Your tip is not
enough, give me more!"
The rude bastard!
Don't get me wrong, I understand why tipping occurs, that waiters and such
do not get that well paid and need to earn more from tips. But they should
also remember that tipping is voluntary, and is supposed to be a reward for
good service, and not for unnecessary rudeness. I will always do it where
appropriate, but if people are going to be rude about it, then they can
smegging well whistle for a tip, I reckon. The only tip they will get from
me is "Never throw your granny off a bus".
I don't approve of cow-tipping, though. Or ox-tipping :-).
Well, I'm off - I have to take Vindy down to the pub; she hasn't been for a
few nights recently! And I have missed the excellent taste of a nice pint
of Spitfire too...
The monkey in the corner, slowly drifting out of range.....
//// 03 Oct 1999
Naked Sheep, Horny Goats, Fast Cars and Videogames
Well, I'm in the middle of a debugging cycle so I think I'll do some web
update stuff. I am nailing down a crash bug that has haunted me for awhile;
I've narrowed it down to the setup for the vector generator and to find out
where it is involves a cycle of enabling certain bits of code then just
letting it run for awhile... so while I'm letting it run I can type some
text, can't I? So here I am.
So the other Saturday I was lounging about in the Cow Barn (actually Elaine
from down the pub was here, she had come over to examine the new
microgoaties, and I subverted her into being a naive user for T3K (which is
now well into the realm of really being a proper videogame and worthy of
being unleashed on naive users)... but I get ahead of myself, as I usually
do, on this occasion in multiple threads too, so I will pop the stack a
coupla times)...
< section on Yak's trip
to the races snipped >
(Whoops - it crashed again - so obviously the bug is happening before math
table setup then)...
< the tale of Flossie's shearing snipped >
(Crashed again... before even starting execution... so the problem is
occurring when the overlay is paged in)...
(Hmmm... something to do with the overlay size then? Mmmm)....
(Some time later) - it was nothing to do with the overlay size. It was a
buffering error in a completely different part of the code. I have since
pulled its legs off and squashed the juices out of it and added loads more
to Tempest :-).
< the tale of Yak's acquisition of two pygmy goats snipped >
Work on Tempest is going exceedingly well - in fact I expect soon to have
all the enemies in there, the powerup chain is complete and everything
works, there is nice trippy stuff in the level transitions, 96 levels are
currently defined; I have done some major work on the explosions and they
look lovely, all geometric and glowing; plays nicely, too - I have spent
many a happy evening in a darkened room at my play-testing :-). Once all
the baddies are in for the main game then it will just take a month or two
of adding bonus rounds, extra groovy graphics FX and necessary peripheral
stuff like hi-score tables and such and I'll be done :-). I think you'll
like it :-).
< bit on the reorganization of the Cow Barn snipped >
Now I am not new to video projectors; I used to have one, years ago. It was
a huge great bloody thing that some of you who might be reading this who
used to go to computer shows in the 80s might remember, I'd be there with
my projector doing Colourspace or Trip-a-Tron shows. And it was a big
bastard. Took two blokes to carry (some of you may even have helped me set
it up or take it down at a show, you know the score). Came in a flight case
the size of a coffin. Weighed as much as 135.7 overweight cats. Took an
hour to set up (you had to turn it on, let it warm up, and then set to with
this amazing array of around 40 twiddlers; carefully converge, align, focus
and generally wank about with each of the 3 guns... I once did that 30 feet
up a ladder with my arm 2 inches from a 37KV powersupply at a gig, it is
not the kind of thing you forget in a hurry).
That projector was big, fucking big. Weighed more than a couple of
Flossies, and she's a big girl :-). Did the job, so long as you reduced the
ambient photons enough to get a good picture. Had enough voltage running
around inside to electrocute the entire population of Philadelphia, was a
bit scary, and eventually was blown up by my cat taking a nap over the
ventilation slots while I was watching East Enders one evening. It was
obese, frightening, but I loved it because, despite all its user-
unfriendliness, it was the only thing which did what I wanted: amplify
graphics.
My, how things have changed...
Check the picture above; see that thing on the left side of my monitor,
with a little green LED on it? That's it; my Seleco, the object of my
adulation, the cause of an old stone wall being able to display Tempest
3000 in broad daylight :-). It's the size of a shoe box. It cost about one-
third of the price of my big old monster that I used to use all those years
ago. Set-up? You plug it in, you switch it on, you twiddle one thing until
the picture is the right size, you twiddle another until it is in focus,
and that's it. A Mac user could do it. [joke!]. The wimpiest geek could
hold it easily with one hand. And it is about 5x as bright as my old beast
(the pic above was taken in broad daylight, without the blinds closed or
anything, onto an old stone wall, no special projection surface or
anything). Until I get a proper screen, at the moment I am just projecting
onto a white, dubiously-stained sheet that someone lent me, and believe me,
turn off the lights at night and play Tempest on it and you just go into
that mode of "I can't believe this is happening, that this technology is
real, because what I am seeing is too unbelievably lovely to be true" :-).
With a proper projection surface instead of a sheet this thing is going to
be so amazingly lovely that I am not sure I have the neurons to handle it
:-). The colours are bright, vibrant, and when the lights are out and the
stereo is cranked so far you can feel the bass and you get to one of those
levels with the feedback layer still left in during gameplay and you shoot
a spiker and that green, spherical explosion gets caught in the feedback-
flare and it's just the most beautiful thing you've ever seen... and this
image is magnified up to 8 foot by 6 and you walk up to the screen and you
still can't see the pixels... ahhh, how far we have come, in such a short
time, this technology is so amazing... I love my Nuon, I love my Seleco,
but the one through the other is just mind-altering stuff of the highest
order. I mean class-A, no chemicals involved (except maybe the Brothers, on
the stereo)...
Haven't felt technolove like this for a long while. Inspirational, it is.
Wait'll you see how that manifests in T3K :-).
And, of course, the projector is the perfect companion to my new stereo and
DVD player :-). And being so tiny, it'll be easy for me to take it off down
the pub for some of the games from the rugby World Cup - for a small rural
pub, we will have the best screen in the area for match-days :-).
< Yak's leisure activities with his mates snipped >
Of course I've been playing games too... my absolute favourite at the
moment I am afraid you cannot buy yet, because it's T3K on Nuon :-). The
aesthetic and the gameplay are definitely starting to mesh now and it is
definitely the most fun, especially with the lights out, appropriate choons
and, of course, the projector (lovely, lovely projector :-). On lesser
systems, I've had a deal of fun with Driver, the PlayStation car-chase
game. I like that one because as well as the main, mission-based game (it
plays kinda like a cross between Grand Theft Auto and Destruction Derby)
there are lots of other little sub-games and diversions you can play.
Sometimes it's just fun to set out in the free driving mode, drive
dangerously and aggressively to piss off the cops, and then see how long
you can keep going outrunning the law (and how many cop cars you can wreck
along the way). Then, once you finally end up trashing your car, you can
watch the action in the fun Replay Mode. You get to drive around various
large cityscapes (including San Francisco, for those fully authentic 70s-
stylee big-air chases) which are populated by more than their fair share of
cops and Sunday drivers (whose innocent, bumbling, law-abiding cars you can
smash up just for the fun of it). A great laugh.
< more videogames Yak's been playing lately snipped >
Oh, and I went to Romania to watch the eclipse... but this update is
already way too long, and that's a whole nother story that'll have to wait
till next time. Look out for my Travels around Romania with a Small Plush
Goat update :-). And I changed the pic of me on the yak page, because some
of you told me it was ugly and scary. Well I can't help genetics :-). But
I've used my projector and my Nuon to make a new pic that places me more in
the abstract. Where I belong :-).
Until next time - keep warm, hug something furry :-). And always carry a
Superzapper :-).
--==--==--==--==--
|| State of the Lynx
|| By: Carl Forhan
\__// forhan@millcomm.com
-----------------------------------------------------------------
//// Preface
October 27, 1999
Handheld gaming has never been so popular. The game.com is a has-been at
this point (did anyone ever actually see Frogger or Centipede in a store?),
the NGPC is struggling to find its niche in the American gaming culture,
and the GameBoy Color is still soundly beating every handheld in existence.
But don't give up on the Lynx quite yet, Atari fans. There are still a
couple of prowls left in this little kitty.
//// Web Lynx
This issue's virtual spotlight shines on the Lynxworld homepage. Markus
Wuehl is the author of Sokomania and Puzzler 2000 (latter is unreleased).
JEO applauds Markus for his support of the Lynx; only a few hobby
developers have made it far enough to actually see a game published on this
cherished platform.
Visit Lynxworld at:
http://surf.to/lynxworld
//// Game Updates
A lot has happened since the last State of the Lynx. Songbird has published
not one, not two, but THREE new products for the Lynx: SFX, Ponx, and
Lexis. Details on http://songbird.atari.org. Ponx in particular has been
praised by many fans as a fun, attractive, challenging game.
Want to see some independent reviews of Ponx and Lexis? Check out
http://pocket.ign.com. Special thanks to Craig Harris of IGN for his
willingness to review these games.
Markus Wuehl has published Sokomania on the Lynx. Sokomania is a great
Sokoban clone on the Lynx. Basically, you have to push (not pull) boxes
around a warehouse maze to fill a particular room. Push the boxes in the
wrong order, and you're stuck. The game features a MOD player for music and
100 levels.
Do you read the (French-only) POCKET Magazine? This great little mag has
already featured some Lynx and Jaguar press recently. Look for reviews of
Ponx and Lexis in the next issue (Nov. '99 timeframe).
Telegames finally published Hyperdrome at CGE '99 (Songbird Productions
published Lexis at this same event). This is a nifty 4-player Ballblazer
clone. The game does not have a box or jewel case, but it does have a full-
color label and decent instructions (both courtesy of Songbird to
Telegames).
Songbird Productions is even _busier_ with the Lynx. An expansion pack to
Crystal Mines 2 is coming for your Win9x PC, where you can create and
download your own levels to your existing CM2 cartridge! Expect this
product in late 1999.
Hey guys! Whatever happened to Othello, TNT Terry, Bleaker, and those other
long-ago announced Lynx games? JEO wants to know. =)
As always, visit The Lynx Domain for your launching point to all Lynx-
related web sites: http://lynxdomain.atari.org.
//// Ye Olde Rumor Mill
Would you like to see an Elite clone on the Lynx? A number of Atari fans
would, judging by the discussion going on in alt.games.lynx recently. Stop
by this newsgroup and see how you can contribute to this or other grass-
roots Lynx projects.
Some people have mentioned they'd really like a new action-based game for
the Lynx in addition to all the new puzzle games that have been coming out.
Songbird appreciates that, and has been pursuing other projects for a year
2000 release. What would you say if, oh, I don't know, a great 3D mission-
based 1st-person game based on the BattleWheels 3D engine was published by
Songbird? The name of the game:
* * CYBERVIRUS * *
Write songbird@atari.org if you're interested! The preliminary interest
will determine if pursuing this product is worthwhile or not.
Signing off,
Carl Forhan
forhan@millcomm.com
--==--==--==--==--
|| Jaguar Holiday Shopping Guide
|| By: Clay Halliwell
\__// clay.h@att.net
-----------------------------------------------------
The holidays are upon us! What better time to celebrate this season of
warmth, family, and togetherness than to blow hundreds of your hard-earned
dollars on presents for yourself which you'll play with locked away from
your loved ones in an oblivious asocial fugue state. Umm, perhaps that's
putting things TOO bluntly. In any case, here's a big pile of stuff to buy
for your favorite Jaguar fan (I've thrown in some non-Jag stuff at the end,
for the classic gamers among us).
//// Video Game Liquidators
Home Page: <http://www.vglq.com>
These guys are generally regarded as having the best prices on Jaguar and
Lynx hardware and software. If you're looking to buy something common, look
here first.
//// Songbird Productions
Home Page: <http://homepage2.rconnect.com/forhan/songbird/>
Aside from the new upcoming games, Songbird (aka Carl Forhan) also sells a
selection of common Jaguar and Lynx items. Some of them you can get cheaper
elsewhere (see above), but if you're going to buy something anyway, support
Carl's herculean efforts by buying from him!
[] Protector ($75) - A great Defender variant by Bethesda
Softworks.
[] Soccer Kid, Skyhammer, Hyper Force - These games won't be
available until after Christmas, but you can still preorder
($25 each).
[] Hyperdrome ($40) - The Lynx's take on Ballblazer, by Atari.
A flawed game, but hey, it's new!
[] Lexis ($40) - This Lynx game by Shadowsoft crosses Scrabble
with Tetris. Polished and professional, but reportedly quite
difficult.
[] Ponx ($40) - By Carl Forhan, pretty much Pong for the Lynx.
No ComLynx, but supports head-to-head play on one Lynx.
[] SFX ($40) - Also by Carl Forhan. Lets you play around directly
with the Lynx's sound registers. Fun stuff!
[] Sokomania ($40) - A Lynx Soko-Ban clone by Markus Wuehl.
Soko-Ban is a classic puzzle game that involves pushing boxes
around a warehouse.
//// Tony Price's Jaguar Overlays
Home Page: <http://home.earthlink.net/~mfmurdock/jaguar/jaguar.htm>
Tony makes very nice, color overlays for those Jaguar games which
desperately need them. He also makes replacement overlays, in case you lose
your originals. All overlays are $3 each.
[] AirCars
[] Atari Karts
[] Dust Cover
[] Iron Soldier 2
[] Syndicate
[] Tempest 2000
[] Towers II
[] Theme Park
[] Virtual Missile Command
[] World Tour Racing
[] Worms
[] Zero 5
//// Telegames
Home Page: <http://www.telegames.com>
Telegames sells a pretty wide variety of Jaguar and Lynx stuff, but their
prices are on the exorbitant side. There are a few games you can only get
from Telegames though:
[] Breakout 2000 ($50) - A tolerable update to Breakout.
[] Iron Soldier 2 cart ($70) - Cartridge version of the must-
have JagCD game. Telegames is out of stock at this time,
but claim on their website that a new run will be ready
by December. Personally I'm not holding my breath.
[] Towers II ($60) - The Jag's only RPG, and a darn decent one.
[] Worms ($70) - One of the best multiplayer games for the Jag
(or any system for that matter). Currently out of stock.
Same story as for IS2 cart.
[] Zero 5 ($50) - The frantic outer space blast-a-thon.
//// Best Electronics
Home Page: <http://www.best-electronics-ca.com/text.htm>
Best Electronics has been around for decades, and is THE place to go for
every Atari replacement part you could imagine. They have a decent
selection of Jaguar and Lynx titles, but the real reason to shop here is
the assortment rare and weird items. Note that this is just a sampling of
their wares.
[] Jaguar System Test Cartridge ($70) - For the Jag collector
who has to have everything.
[] Tempest 2000 audio CD ($5) - Listen to T2K's tunes on the go.
[] Atari Jaguar Developer Console ($99) - w/interface cable to
Jag Alpine II developer interface card already installed.
[] Atari Jaguar Developer Manual ($75) - 547 pages! Sections
covered: Getting Started, Technical Overview, Jaguar Software
Reference Manual Tom & Jerry, Technical Reference, Hardware
Bugs & Warnings, Jaguar CD-ROM, Jaguar Voice Modem, Jaguar
Workshop, Jaguar Sample Programs, Libraries, Cinepak for
Jaguar, QSound for Jaguar, Madmac Macro Assembler, ALN
Linker, DB-The Atari Debugger and Appendices.
[] Alpine II Developer Card ($495) - Has onboard clock with
battery backup, power LED, 16 Megs of onboard RAM,
Interface connector to Developer Jaguar console and a DB25
female connector to transfer program code. Used to debug and
program new Jaguar cartridges and CDs.
[] Jaguar Launch CD ($30) - Audio and visual CD that was given
out to Atari's large buyers (chain stores) of the Jaguar
system; used to display the capabilities of the Jaguar.
[] Atari Jaguar Clock ($30) - An Atari original equipment
Jaguar green blank PCB with clock mechanism (with wall
mounting bracket) already installed.
[] Lynx Blue Lightning Demo Cart ($20) - Used by chain stores
to demonstrate the Lynx. Runs a continuous demo of Blue
Lightning. Special gold label.
//// B&C ComputerVisions
Home Page: <http://www.myatari.com/>
Like Best Electronics, B&C has a selection of common stuff, but also like
Best, they have their share of rare, unique items. Here are a few of the
highlights.
[] Jaguar Official Gamer's Guide ($17) - Hints, cheats, maps,
and walkthroughs for most of the early Jaguar games.
[] Alien vs Predator poster ($10) - The classic movie-style
poster for Jag AvP.
[] Iron Soldier poster ($10) - The somewhat less classic Iron
Soldier movie-style poster.
[] "Atari Player On Board" sign ($10) - Like the old (and
hopefully forgotten) "Baby On Board" signs.
[] "I (heart) Atari" bumper sticker ($10) - Tell the world!
[] Stereo Adapter ($15) - Prototype.
[] Jaguar Developer Manual ($75) - Same as the Best one.
[] "Cat Eyes" CD ($15) - No data or audio... just a blank CD
that looks cool plopped in the JagCD.
//// The Battlemorph Soundtrack
Home Page: <http://artists.mp3s.com/artists/11/will_davis.html>
[] Morph ($6) - This is the closest we're going to get to an
"official" BattleMorph soundtrack. Composed by ATD's Will
Davis; contains 15 tracks in both Redbook and MP3 format.
//// The Myst Soundtrack
Home Page: <http://gear.cyan.com/online/merch/Merch_Home>
[] Myst Soundtrack ($10) - All the tunes and more from the
CD-ROM game Myst (not specific to the Jag, but what the
heck).
//// Pac-Man Fever
Home Page: <http://www.bucknergarcia.com/>
[] Pac-Man Fever ($16) - Nothing at all to do with the Jaguar,
but come on! It's Pac-Man Fever, finally on CD!
///// BOLT T-Shirts
Home Page: <http://www.blasthaus.com/bolt/>
The Bureau of Low Technology guys make high-quality t-shirts bearing the
images of some of the great videogaming icons. Printed on Lee 100% cotton
heavyweight shirts. All shirts are $20 each.
[] TRON
[] Space Invaders (2600 version)
[] Breakout (sold out)
[] Pong (sold out)
[] Berzerk Robot
[] Atari 2600 Joystick
//// Game Over: Press Start To Continue
[] Game Over ($16) - The original Game Over was published in
1993. This new 1999 edition is available from (among other
places) amazon.com <http://www.amazon.com>. Details the
insidious inner workings of Nintendo's takeover of the home
videogame market.
//// CGE '99 Video
Home Page: <http://home.earthlink.net/~santora/cgevideo.html>
[] CGE '99 Video ($30) - Mark Santora's official video of
the 1999 Classic Gaming Expo in Las Vegas. See all the
details elsewhere in this issue.
--==--==--==--==--
|| JagFest '99: The Aftermath
|| By: Carl Forhan, Clay Halliwell, Kevin Manne, and Micah Rowe
\__// forhan@millcomm.com, clay.h@att.net, kevinmanne@wycol.com,
ethunter@webtv.net
-----------------------------------------------------------------
There follows all the reports from JagFest '99 that I was able to lay my
hands on. For all these and more (including lots of pictures), browse to:
<http://jaguar.holyoak.com/jagfest/fest99.html>
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
//// Official JagFest '99 Report
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
by Carl Forhan
June 19, 1999
ROCHESTER, MN -- I'm pleased to say that JagFest '99, held in Rochester,
MN, was a wonderful success. I'm proud and very happy to have been those
host for this year's 'fest, as I was able to supply a lot of things Jaguar
and Lynx fans were looking for.
On the Lynx front, Ponx was a hit with several attendees (and thanks for
those purchases! ;-) ), and I know every Lynx fan there had a blast doing
ComLynx Checkered Flag (5 people), Raiden (2 people), and other games like
Slime World, Cal. Games, and Xenophobe.
We demoed some cool recent and upcoming games like SIMIS, Sokomania, and
Hyperdrome (not sure if anyone actually fired up the latter).
On the much anticipated Jaguar front... many tournaments were held, and
people definitely "showed their stuff" on games like Breakout 2000, Tempest
2000, and Zero 5 (all I can say is, "Wow, Clay"). NBA Jam rocked the house
more than once, and other games like Ultra Vortek and Doom saw play time as
well.
We hoped to do a functional Voice Modem demo, but time slipped away from
us. Maybe next year, guys. :-) Lots of other rare hardware was on display -
- Jag Stereo adapter, Alpine boards, weird controllers, a Lynx dev kit, and
more.
Scott unfortunately could not get the latest Assassin demo to work. Native
didn't work out, either.
Protector was I think a surprise hit. People expected a straight Defender
clone, but really enjoyed the new enemies and powerups and overall
gameplay.
BattleSphere was of course immensely popular, and the networking was very
solid. Hats off to 4Play on this marvelous game that we all look forward to
owning one day.
Skyhammer was the "special announcement" game presented by Songbird
Productions at about 5-6pm during the event. All the Jaguar fans I spoke
with were excited to see how well the game played, the solid frame rate,
and the attractive graphics. Not to mention the intricate gameplay
centering around a series of nonlinear missions. A second play mode is
included in this game, called "Battle" mode, where you have to fight off
wave after wave of enemies (maybe they should have named this mode
"Gauntlet" ;-) ). Very fun game, and enjoyed by all.
The most disappointing aspect of the event, as one might imagine, was what
I'll call mediocre attendance. About 10 of the people on my online
"attendees" list were no-shows, including Terance Williams, whom we were
all hoping could provide an update on Gorf 2000. Fred, Randy, Jason S.,
Robin, and more also didn't show up (or at least I didn't get to meet them
if they did...) Sorry you guys couldn't make it, it would have been great
to meet you. Raven Video Games did not make it down from the Twin Cities
due to a co-worker calling in sick that day.
Having said all that, I am happy to announce that attendance was probably
better than even JagFest attendees realize. I sold 45 tickets to the event
(adult and child combined), and another 25 people that were friends,
family, and fellow church-goers also showed up (at no cost to them) to
either help out at the ticket table, see my crazy video game hobby in
action, etc. :-) That brings our grand total to 70 PEOPLE for JagFest '99!
I know with a little more work and regional promotion, we could make it an
even bigger event next year.
Thanks to everyone who helped make it a success, and especially to the
folks who traveled the furthest -- Kevin and Katie, Clay and Michelle,
Brian and his father, and everyone else!
Songbird Productions was pleased to be the official host of JagFest '99.
Be sure to visit the JagFest '99 web site for the latest information:
http://jagfest.atari.org
To keep up to date with the latest news at Songbird Productions, be sure
to visit the company web site at http://songbird.atari.org, or send an
email to songbird@atari.org.
Copyright 1999 Songbird Productions. All rights reserved. This article may
be reprinted in its entirety.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
//// JEO at JagFest
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
by Clay Halliwell
Third times' the charm. This year I resolved that, come hell or high water,
I'd drag myself to JagFest no matter what. Okay, so Rochester is over a
thousand miles from my home in Abilene, TX. It gave me and my roommate a
perfect opportunity to pitstop in Branson, MO (home of Silver Dollar City)
on the way up and then back.
So, when we arrived at JagFest, we'd been on the road for three days. If
anyone thought I looked a little punchy and detached, well... that's why!
Anyway, I brought a whole trunkload of stuff, including but not limited to:
PC Tempest 2000 (just the software in its pretty box, no PC to run it on),
an Atari Portfolio, a heavily modified Lap Cat Pro Jaguar controller, 7800,
7800 KLAX proto, Lynx, Atari Super Pong unit, Atari Touch Me handheld, a
VFD (Vacuum Fluorescent Display) Defender handheld (not Atari, but neat
anyway), every back issue of 2600 Connection and The Atari Times, my Best
Electronics catalog (everyone should have one!), Iron Soldier 2 Cart,
several Jag-related video tapes (AEO at E3 and the like), and a Jaguar
System Test Cartridge. Oh yeah, and a Jag and lots of carts/CDs too, of
course.
So after setting everything up at my table, it was a fun day of stumbling
around in a sleep-deprived haze. I finally got to put faces on the names
I've gotten to know over the years. The highlights of the Fest are covered
pretty well by the other reports in this section... the best moment was
definitely the unveiling of Skyhammer, complete with the obligatory red
screens of death. <grin>
A Doom network was set up, but nobody seemed much interested in it. A
shame, since I was really looking forward to force-feeding some rockets to
my fellow Festees. It's just as well, since halfway into the Fest the Doom
network was transformed into a BattleSphere network.
Later, in spite of my condition, I managed to plow about halfway through
Zero 5 in a single game. That was cool. Won myself yet another copy of the
Atari Jaguar Official Gamer's Guide. I think the lowlight of the day was my
video interview by Carl.
So, quick summary (gotta finish up this JEO!): JagFest '99 was a blast, it
was great meeting people, seeing some new games, and just hanging out in a
pleasantly Atari-charged atmosphere. See y'all at JagFest 2K!
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
//// Kevin's Officially Unofficial JagFest '99 Report
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
by Kevin Manne
Three years and still running strong, the JagFest has become quite an
impressive little showing from the Jaguar community. The fact that we have
continued enthusiasm for this little videogame system called the Jaguar
(thanks, in part, to new games that continue to emerge) is cause enough to
celebrate and JagFest continues to be that venue. Providing a chance for
fellow Jaguar enthusiasts to meet face to face, play some Jaguar, Lynx and
classic Atari games, along with getting the chance to play new, unreleased
games is what the Fest is all about. And this year was no exception.
With Carl Forhan's Songbird Productions taking hold of this year's event,
things were bound to be interesting...and indeed they were. Carl did an
excellent job of bringing together sponsors, bringing lots of games for
sale, showing new and unreleased games (BattleSphere, Protector, Skyhammer,
etc), organizing tournaments, and doing all those other JagFest-host kinds
of things. Hats off to Carl for being an excellent host!
The day began at about 8:00 am, with everyone getting their stuff set up
for display/play. I was impressed with the number of unique items that were
on display. From 7800 Klax to an official Lynx development kit, everyone
brought out the best of the rare and unusual for everyone to see and
generally drool over. Everybody kinda had free play and got to know each
other until mid-morning when Carl suggested I drop my Flash ROM loaded with
Protector into the large TV in the corner. So I did and started playing and
instantly there were many people standing around watching the first of
three unreleased Jag games to be shown that day. I think many people were
taken by surprise as they were expecting just another Defender spin-off.
But the excellent gameplay and smooth visuals really impressed. There was
more than one occasion when I heard someone say "This is how Defender 2000
should have been" or "I like it better than D2K". Enough said.
The tournaments began and while everyone did fairly well, there were
definitely a few people that dominated. Clay wiped the floor with all
competitors (including me) at Zero 5. I went first and Clay came up second.
I went away for awhile and came back and said "Man, is Clay STILL
playing!?" ...he really ripped it up. Micah Rowe (AKA ETHunter) kicked butt
at the Tempest 2000 and Breakout 2000 tourneys, and Carl's brothers ripped
up at some of the Lynx tourneys like Raiden. I still say it was rigged ;-).
All during the event Carl had a TV/VCR playing various Jaguar-Related
videotapes. We saw some good footage of HyperForce (one of the upcoming
games from Songbird) on one of the tapes, along with interviews of various
Jag developers like 4Play at E3 '95. A while later into the day, Carl asked
if I had brought my videos and I had, so I threw in the Jag Demo tape I got
from Wes a while back. Everyone kinda digged that tape, so when it was
done, I decided it might be fun to see what would happen if I put in a copy
of the dreaded "The Cave" Jaguar Infomercial. So I put it in and everyone
sorta laughed and said "this is pathetic" but surprisingly, I think this
tape drew the biggest crowd all day. I was in such disbelief that I had to
snap a picture (and a few others did as well) to capture the moment the
most people had actually simultaneously seen that infomercial. It was
great.
Deathmatch Doom was going on most of the day, and people were having a ton
of fun with it. But, I didn't hear anyone complain when Carl took out the
two copies of Doom and set up a 2 Player Network of the infamous
BattleSphere. Those who were seeing it for the first time pretty much
stared in awe, while those of us who had seen it before confirmed "yes,
this game still rocks". I know we've been saying it for years now, but next
year it would rock to have an 8 player Sphere network! C'mon 4Play!
Then it happened....Carl got everyone's attention for a special
announcement. Letting it speak for itself, Carl booted up the Jag with a
mysterious Flash ROM in it. And then, there it was...
...the dreaded Red Screen! Carl tried again and yet another Red Jag screen.
We were all so impressed that we started hooting, hollering and clapping.
Carl took a bow in acceptance of our gratitude.
Thankfully the third or fourth time the game booted up to a "Rebellion"
screen and we all knew what was coming. Then the Skyhammer title screen hit
and we were all just kinda staring at the screen saying "cool" and "wow".
The game looks and plays amazing. I put a good hour (or so) of play into
the game and I'd say it definitely pushes the Jag graphically (while
keeping a smooth framerate), has excellent control, deep gameplay and
smooth audio. This game screams Rebellion Quality, and I'd say it
definitely impresses.
Toward the end of the day everyone was getting tired and was kind of just
walking around and playing games here and there. Carl did mini-interviews
with some of the guests (me included) to be included in the upcoming
JagFest video. Prizes were awarded to the best contestants in the
tournaments, and even to some of the not-so-good :-). Carl was VERY
generous with his inventory of games to the winners, giving away Lynx,
7800, 2600 and Jaguar titles to all of the first, second and even a third
place winner(s)! I'm still enjoying my copy of Toki I won for getting third
place in Co-op Lynx Raiden. Heh.
Speaking of Lynx...Songbird Production's Ponx, a Pong clone for the Lynx
was released right there at the Fest. I got a copy and it is very cool both
single and two player. Pong is a perfect game for the little Atari
Handheld, and Carl did an excellent conversion with lots of little extras
to boost playability and re-playability. The game comes in an impressive-
looking CD jewel case and includes and instruction booklet, very much like
the newer Telegames releases like Raiden, Fat Bobby and Bubble Trouble.
And so the Third Annual JagFest came to a successful conclusion, with
everyone packing their things and heading back home or to their hotel rooms
to collapse after 12+ hours of intense Jaguar gaming. Once again I'd like
to thank Carl for doing one heck of a job on this year's event, and say a
quick "hi" to many of the people I got to meet or reunite with including
Scott Walters, Micah Rowe, Dan Loosen, Dan Iacovelli, Clay Halliwell, Carl
Forhan (of course) and his brothers Pat and Jake. It was great meeting you
all (and everyone else I forgot too!). Talk of JagFest 2K has already begun
and here's hoping I can make it to Texas or wherever it ends up being held.
See you next year!
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
//// JagFest '99 Through My Eyes
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
by Micah Rowe
The following is my detailed story trying to get to, and ultimately
attending, JagFest '99.
So I finally made it to June 18, 1999. It was time for JagFest! I woke up
at 4:30 in the morning so I could pack the car and hopefully get a good
start on the trip of about 80 miles. Everything would have went smoothly if
only my brother would have not forgotten his TV at his home. We were
planning on leaving my house at 6:00am so I told him to be on time at my
house. Not only does he show up 25 minutes late but, like I said, brings
Jag but no TV! I'm in disbelief because he lives 15 miles from me and
6:30am is rush hour here in Mpls. I was so mad we had to go back to his
home first I don't think we talked 'til we were 10 miles from Rochester. It
ended up not mattering but I finally arrived at the location around 8:30.
So I finally get to the right Holiday Inn (I went into the first Holiday
Inn I saw on Broadway thinking there could only be one Holiday Inn on
Broadway, but upon entering thought something wasn't right when it was WAY
too ritzy, but went ahead anyway and asked the front desk "Where is JagFest
being held at?" They had no idea what I was talking about so I excused
myself and drove down Broadway a little further to find the right place.)
I entered through the front doors and immediately saw a large room with
TV's and Atari banners. HONEY, I'M HOME! I entered the room and was
immediately greeted by Carl Forhan. It was very cool to put a face to the
name and founder of Songbird Productions. I and my just forgiven brother
began to unpack the car and put my TV and Jags on the table right next to
Kevin Manne's table. I had never met Kevin but have seen many pictures of
him from previous JagFests so when he approached to say Hi I immediately
said "Kevin!" like I knew him for many years. Very weird.
Before too long it was 10:00 and the Fest had officially begun. After maybe
a half an hour I was thinking that I should link up Doom for a little fun
but was unsure if it would be appropriate when I saw some young children
already in attendance. I went ahead anyway with the deathmatch setup and
came to the realization that these "young children" were very good at Doom.
Almost too good. In fact I was reluctant to deathmatch with them for fear
of being humiliated. So I played it safe and watched others play their
games. One of these young children turned out to be Scott Walters' 7 year
old son.
It really began to get fun when I began to meet other attendees that I've
seen posting at JI. It was very cool meeting Kevin, thought Dan Loosen was
very cool and his friend from Milwaukee, Max (can't spell your last name)
was very friendly. It was a pleasure to meet Dan Iacovelli from AVC and put
an order in for the FREE JagFest newsletter! Clay Halliwell amazed me by
pouring in over 420,000 points in Zero-5, easily winning that competition.
I try to be modest but I was very lucky and did have success with the
Tempest 2000 and Breakout 2000 competition.
Carl finally let us see and play Protector and I was very impressed despite
totally sucking at it. I need a good month with a game before I get the
hang of it. Not to my surprise, my success with BattleSphere didn't go much
better. I would end up flying in the completely wrong direction I was
supposed to go and even ended up firing upon (and destroying) my own star
base or something like that simply because I had no idea what to do. Give
me a manual and the game for 2 months and I'll be the most dangerous
BattleSphere pilot you've ever seen. At least I want to believe that!
To top it off, Carl gathered us all around the big TV to show us a little
surprise which ended up being the very cool Skyhammer. It ran fast, smooth,
great soundtrack, non-linear gameplay, everything you could like in a game.
By the time the Fest was nearing its end, I started to get very tired and
had trouble sitting and playing games endlessly. So I'd play for 15 minutes
then walk around aimlessly and boy was that ever fun! :-)
I almost forgot that Carl forced me to be interviewed and I reluctantly
agreed to make a fool of myself. I really do hate cameras as I never seem
to look good in them. Upon further review I think I need to diet or
something. What a mess!!!
So the night came to a close and I sadly packed my belongings and packed my
car for the trip home. I just may have had the best day I could remember
except when my kids were born and the day I was tricked into marriage. The
whole way home all I could talk about to my brother is BattleSphere this
and Protector that and Skyhammer too! What a day it was. In fact, I had so
much fun, I'm going to try to travel any distance to get to the next one.
Sorry for the way too long story.
--==--==--==--==--
|| CGE '99: A Classic Games Enthusiast's View
|| By: Lee Krueger
\__// resqsoft@earthlink.net
-----------------------------------------------------------------
I attended the Classic Gaming Expo in Las Vegas over the last weekend. I
went as an enthusiast with no agenda other than hoping to have an enjoyable
time. I arrived Thursday night, arriving from Seattle on an internet
airfare special that I booked in advance. I think it cost me $52 each way
(excluding airport taxes and such). I stayed, like most, at the Plaza
Hotel, sharing a room with a classic gaming friend (Rob Brown), and my
costs were $89 for the room from Thursday night thru Sunday night. When you
add the $27 I spent for the admission ticket to the show, I think I
invested a total of $220 (excluding food and entertainment) to attend the
CGE show. Below is summary of what I got for my money.
On Friday I woke up late (well, late for me, as I usually get up at 5:00
a.m. every morning to go to work). I did notice the Plaza Hotel seemed a
little dated and was obviously an older establishment in Vegas. However,
the accommodations were much better than I had just experienced a couple of
days before. I had just arrived back from an expedition in Northern British
Columbia where I spent every night in a tent swatting away mosquitoes and
horse flies for more than a week. On our way out to breakfast Rob and I met
up with the organizers (Sean, John, et al) in the elevator. We followed
them to the exhibit hall where we were immediately recruited by Kieta as
volunteers to help unload the trucks and setup. We gladly accepted the task
as we were not planning on doing much else that day except maybe sight-see.
As both Rob and myself are from a much cooler and wetter climate in Seattle
we didn't care to see the smoke-infested casinos and shows in 90+ degree
heat. In any event, we got to see the displays and meet many folks who
would be rather busy over the weekend during the show. Additionally, I was
able to meet Ken (his last name eludes me) who was with B&C Computers. Like
me, Ken is an aerospace engineer from the McDonnell Douglas division in
Long Beach. He had worked on many airplanes throughout his career before
retiring a few years ago. As I work for Boeing (which recently bought out
McD), it was fascinating to hear and swap some of our stories and
experiences at a professional level, something I rarely get to do outside
of my work environment. In any event, after everything was basically set
up, we were able look over the place, play a few video arcade games and
chat with more enthusiasts, including a one-on-one chat with Don Thomas in
regards to the last days of Atari and the Jaguar. It was NEAT.
On Saturday, Rob and I arrived early to register and get in line for the
show. The nice part about this was the fact that since this was idle time,
I was able to meet and chat with many folks that I have emailed, traded
with and seen around on the newsgroups. It was very nice to put faces to
the names of the folks whom I have come to know as my virtual gaming
friends on the net. Unlike World of Atari, which I attended last, there
seemed to be less urgency or a rush for everyone to get in the door when
the doors opened. I think this situation was helped by the fact that many
show exclusive items were not for sale right away, such as Eric Bacher's
games (Pesco and Merlin's Walls). Maybe it was me, but it seemed much more
relaxed. I made it a point to quickly go around to everyone's booth before
the first presentation to scan and purchase any items that I may have
wanted before they were gone. I was a little taken aback that Hasbro's
booth, whom I expected to have a large presence at the show, was not that
impressive. On the contrary however, as I came in the door, I was
immediately impressed with the booth that the Blue Sky Rangers put up. It
was very impressive and distinct. Kudos to those folks. I didn't really get
a chance to complete my rounds before the first keynote presentation,
however, I knew I'd be back.
There was a collectors swap meet in which one lucky collector (a friend of
mine from Redmond) was able to pick up a Video Life cart for FIVE
BUCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!! I was able to solidify a trade deal with that good chap
Marco Kerstens and I filled a couple of holes in my collection, including
Fathom for the Intellivision. All-in-all however, I did not like the room
or the setup for the swap meet. I wish there could have been more tables
for people to display their wares. It was tough moving about without
accidentally stepping on someone's stuff.
I really enjoyed the keynote presentations that I was able to see. They
were varied and frequent. In fact, they were so frequent that I was unable
to attend all of them, so I was forced to choose which ones were most
important to me. I was able to attend and see the following, either in part
or in completeness:
Vectrex Guys (group speech)
Atari 2600 Programmers/Designers (group speech)
Blue Sky Rangers (group speech)
Imagic Guys (group speech)
Activision Guys (group speech)
Ralph Baer
John Harris
I found all these very interesting and informative. My only complaint about
the presentations was not with the content, but rather with the room in
which they were held. The room was only large enough to seat about 120
people. As a result, some of the keynote presentations were a little
crowded. Seating for up to 50 more would have been more comfortable for
everyone.
At the closing of the show on Sunday, the CGE staff began tossing hundreds
of games onto the show floor for $0.50 each. Most were common games,
however, there were some pretty decent ones and I was able to get a few
shrinkwrapped titles for my personal collection. The whole thing looked
like a feeding frenzy of pirhanas and sharks. My hand got stepped on
several times. At one point I almost broke my ankle as someone stepped on
it.
On another high point, I did get to meet a couple of folks from Electronic
Playground (a TV magazine of sorts dedicated to videogames in Vancouver
B.C.). Hopefully, they will work something out to send a broadcast to the
States, or at the very least, to Seattle.
Of the booths that I visited, the ones that most impressed me during the
show were as follows (no particular order):
Blue Sky Rangers
They had the best presentation of all the dealers. Very professional
setup along with games and demos of unreleased prototypes, my favorite of
which was the Sea Duel game for the 2600. Also shown were Rocky &
Bullwinkle (2600), Masters Of The Universe (Colecovision), Yogi's
Frustration and a couple of others. They also previewed the upcoming
compilation Intellivision Lives for the Playstation which appeared to play
much better than the Activision Classics. Best of all, they gave out neat
prizes, T-shirts and hats.
B&C Computers
They had some cool Jag and Lynx stuff which I couldn't resist buying.
I really enjoyed talking to Bruce when he had time.
Songbird Productions
Carl Forhan had demos of Skyhammer and Protector up and running for
the Jaguar. Protector looks pretty cool (when can we get that damn
encryption code released!). I also picked up his creations for the Lynx and
played Cyber Virus, the unreleased game Lynx title from Beyond Games.
CyberPunks
I talked briefly with these guys and picked up the Stella at 20 video.
I am still not sure what their intentions are in regards to the 2600,
however, the Stella at 20 video is very well done, save for the soundtrack
(very cool logo though). I sorely missed seeing Russ Perry Jr. as I was
hoping to meet him there.
Nyko
Hey, I really like Dan Kramer. Dan works for them as a consultant on
the PSX trackball. Dan was the creator of the Atari 5200 trackball (a real
piece of work). I forgot to get one of his T-shirts though.
Hasbro
Saw previews of Missile Command, Q*bert and Pong. The booth wasn't
impressive, but if you previewed their games you got a free Atari Classic
compilation disk for your PC (no Mac version unfortunately).
Telegames
The best part of this was the fact that you could buy without the
typical S&H fees. However, they charged upwards of $300 for both, the TG
Express and the TG Duo. Too expensive for my tastes. They also had 2 new
Lynx games for sale, Hyperdrome and Sokomania. In addition they had Yars'
Revenge for $19.95 for the GameBoy Color. Very good translation. I played
this on the plane home.
Once Upon Atari
Yars truly, Howard Scott Warshaw.... need I say more. Yeah, I bought
his video and he signed my carts.
Digital Press/Rolenta Press
Got to meet Joe Santuli finally. I also got to meet and chat with
Leonard Herman as well. Although I am a subscriber to the Digital Press and
I have a copy of Leonard's book, it was still cool to hang with these two
gentlemen. I think Leonard had his book for an incredibly low price of $12.
Oh yeah.... they also had a sign-up sheet for folks to get information on
the next edition of Worship The Woodgrain.
Hits:
Eric Bacher's version of 2600 Pac-Man. It kicks butt!!!!!!! Too
bad he won't release it :-(
Getting to meet and talk with the programmers in a one-on-one
situation.
Getting David Rolf's signature on my Beamrider cart.
Getting David Crane's signature on my Pitfall carts.
The Unreleased Protos from Blue Sky Rangers.
Talking with Dave Polaro at the airport on the way home.
Meeting and chatting with Ralph Baer.
Misses:
Not enough attendees.
Not enough vendors.
I hate to say it... no Nolan.
No Curt Vendel.
No Jerry Jessop.
Things I missed on my visit:
The Mustang Ranch's 2-for-1 going out of business sale :-)
A good night's sleep.
When I tally it all up... I had a great time for my money. Your mileage may
vary of course.
--==--==--==--==--
|| CGE '99: The Video
|| By: Mark Santora
\__// santora@earthlink.net
-----------------------------------------------------------------
[The following details the strange tale of Mark Santora's Official Computer
Gaming Expo 1999 Video. For all these updates and more, drop by Mark
Santora's website at <http://home.earthlink.net/~santora/> --Ed.]
In August of 1998, an expo was held in Las Vegas, entitled World of Atari.
This two-day show covered all aspects of the company that was Atari Corp,
good times and bad. It was designed as a way for people to meet each other
and revel in all things Atari.
But there was so much more at the show that was not Atari by namesake, but
came from that era-- the first generation of videogames. And it was decided
to continue with the Expo in the future but to change its name to reflect
all systems. Thus we have the birth of The Classic Gaming Expo!
So, what's my part in this little shin-dig? Last year I shot and produced a
two hour documentary covering the show. It was shot on Hi-8mm video, edited
online, and professionally duplicated. The producers of the show were so
pleased with the results, they asked me to produce a video for CGE '99. And
things will be a little different this year.
[] The video will be shot on Mini DV Video for quality
[] It will be edited online
[] New original music
[] More interviews
[] CG sequences rendered out in Lightwave
[] Higher quality audio
[] Included with each tape will be a Table of Contents
[] Color Labels
[] More direct feeds of games including:
o BattleSphere (Jaguar)
o Skyhammer (Jaguar)
o Phase Zero (Jaguar)
o Soccer Kid (Jaguar)
o Hyper Force (Jaguar)
o Ponx (Lynx)
o Merlin's Walls (2600)
o Pesco (2600)
o and many more!
[] Anticipated running time: 2 Hours!
Finally, I will be present at the show ACCEPTING ORDERS. You can tap me on
the shoulder and ask for an order form and hand me your completed one. I'll
be the guy in the black shirt with the CGE VIDEO logo slapped across it.
Wow! you say. Can it be true? Of course it's true! I've had more time to
prepare and expect to ship the final tape in early September, 1999.
Now the stuff of it. What's it gonna cost? As with last year's tape, I was
able to include shipping costs in the price of the video to all United
States addresses. I am continuing that policy.
PRICING AND POLICIES:
United States Orders:
[] Each tape will run $30 U$D and include two-day Priority
Shipping in the United States ONLY.
[] All Orders will be accepted via CHECK or MONEY ORDER.
I'd love to take Credit Cards, but it's just too cost prohibitive.
[] I will keep a mailing list updating all those who order
how the tape is coming and when it will enter duplication
and shipping.
[] Tapes will be shipped on a order priority basis. In other
words, if you order now, your tape will ship before the guy
who orders in two weeks.
[] I WILL NOT ACCEPT CASH. DO NOT SEND IT!!!
International Orders:
[] International orders will be individually priced from $27 US
dollars plus shipping.
[] All Orders will be accepted via CHECK or MONEY ORDER.
I'd love to take Credit Cards, but it's just too cost prohibitive.
[] PAL Tapes are the standard in Europe. If you are ordering from
another area, make sure you know your video standard and I will
find out about getting you a copy.
[] I will keep a mailing list updating all those who order how the
tape is coming and when it will enter duplication and shipping.
[] Tapes will be shipped on a order priority basis. In other words,
if you order now, your tape will ship before the guy who orders
in two weeks.
[] I WILL NOT ACCEPT CASH. DO NOT SEND IT!!!
//// 16 Aug 99
Well, I'm back from CGE and I've got a lot of footage to sort through, so
this will be brief. A last-minute problem occurred and I was unable to
acquire the Mini Digital Video Camera that I had planned to shoot the
material with. Instead I ended up using a professional Hi-8 L-1 Camera. It
has some pseudo-digital circuitry in it, but it is a much better camera
than the one used to shoot World of Atari last year.
Speaking of which, I have decided to offer the 1998 World of Atari Video
again. Several people asked me about purchasing it as well, so here's the
deal. Both the World of Atari and the CGE Video for $50. That's $5 off and
shipping is still included. Email me if you're interested.
As for the show, there was a lot to see. You can read my report covering it
at Next Generation Online. That's right, I also write. Eventually I will
have the time to put up a few samples on my site of other writing. but
enough of that now, I've got some logging to do.
Mark Santora
Terminator Line Entertainment
http://home.earthlink.net/~santora/cgevideo.html
//// 27 Aug 99
Silly me. I forgot to upload the page update after I got back from the show
last week! DOH! Anyway, here's an update for everyone out there. All 14+
hours of the footage is logged and I have a nice plan already set up for
piecing the tape together next week. I expect that I'll have some sort of
rough cut by next Friday. That's the plan at least.
What else? Oh yes, we have original music in the works from Stephanie
Wukovitz of 4Play fame. We also have more direct feeds as well as a
surprise or two that I'm gonna keep under my hat right now. More later.
//// 9 Sept 99
CGE Video Report
I wanted to get this out last night, but I was just too wiped.
Ready everyone? This one's a doozy!
So early last week I broke down and picked up a CDRW. I had been using a
SparQ to back up all my footage for the World of Atari Video and well, they
don't make those anymore. So, with all my carts filled, I went to Fry's and
picked a Creative Labs CDRW 6x4x24. And it was cheap. Under $240. I was
going to purchase the HP 8110, but this one was faster, so it must be
better, right?
So I take it home and drop it in my system. Everything seems fine. I've got
just short of an hour done and back up all the files onto CDs so I can wipe
the drive and do the second half of the video. Here's where it gets fun.
So I go to erase - FAT32 error.
Huh? The drive is defragmented on an every-other-day basis when I'm working
on something this big.
So I check for errors, CRASH.
What the fuck?
I boot with a Win98 floppy and get back into the system. I format the D:
drive and the system's back to normal, except my editing card (Miro DC30)
doesn't want to work now. Granted I haven't scanned anything since the CDRW
was installed, just been working with existing footage. SO I decide to pull
the CDRW and take it back, but wait there's more.
I check the CDs I burned before the system went south. They're a mess.
Nothing salvageable. Two weeks of work - gone. Mark, not happy.
After a half hour of cursing and screaming, I ripped the CDRW from my
system and tried to scan footage. Nothing.
Wait, I'm not done yet. So the footage's gone and my editing board's on the
fritz. I call Pinnacle (makers of the DC30). I get the deer in headlights
effect from them. After 1+ hour long distance Tuesday morning, nothing's
fixed.
It's down to that last ditch effort. Complete clean install of Win98 SE and
my editing drivers. It works. Back on the map - at square one. Ok, square
two. Rest of Tuesday re-installing other software, internet access, and
such.
So, here's the update. The tape will not be shipping on September 15. I
hope to get it to the dupe house then. The good side is that I've already
got the first hour in my head. So it's just a matter of piecing it back
together. That'll be done by the weekend and with Saturday and Sunday off,
I hope to have the bulk of the second hour done.
I'd love to have it to you too, guys, but I had a really crappy Labor Day
weekend. Now you're up to date.
A very tired...
Mark Santora
//// 30 Sept 99
Hey everybody. It's your overworked producer here with an update on the
status of the CGE video you've all ordered.
First off, let me say thanks for all those who understood and didn't push
when my system went south. It took me two weeks to get back up to speed and
it was a nerve-wracking experience.
Anyway, three weeks ago I joined the Discovery Channel/Travel Channel as a
full-time editor. My interview included a copy of the first five minutes of
the tape, and they liked what they saw. The good news was that they hired
me and I've got a ton of new toys to play with - most of which I've never
used, including the Quantel Edit Box. So last week they managed to get me
into an intensive one-week training course on the box in Atlanta. It was:
Monday, Mark you're going to Atlanta tonight. And I went. I had no access
to my email, so please don't be offended if you emailed me and I did not
get back to you.
So here's the update. Polishing up the last twenty minutes. That was
supposed to happen last week. Barring any "must work" weekends, on Monday I
will be sending off copies of the tape to the CGE organizers for
"approval". After that it goes to duplication.
Oh, quick note, Stephanie Wukovitz's system died a nice horrible death. The
kind you see in movies. So even though she had some music completed, it
wasn't up to her standards and therefore will not be featured in the video
- although some of the pieces from last year's video may make it. Another
musician I know, Kerry Smith, is contributing in her place.
I know everyone wants to see this, and frankly I need to have it done so I
can stop editing 15 hours a day - ten at work, five at home. I need the
down time at night. Expect a message once the tape is approved. Quick
message next week once I get the tapes out.
-Mark Santora
CGE Video Producer
//// 14 Oct 99
Well guys, it looks like we are finally hitting that home stretch. This
morning, on my way to work, I placed three copies of the first-cut CGE
Video in the mail to the show organizers. It's my way of making sure that
they don't find anything offensive, and frankly to make sure I didn't screw
anything up - like spellling. =-) They should get them this weekend, then
next week I expect notes - lots of 'em. This will be followed by a hardcore
editing session here, a final output and QC, then it's off to duplication.
I _HOPE_ (read that word gang, it's HOPE) to be in duplication in 2 two
weeks. Tapes will ship shortly thereafter. It's 4-5 working days at
duplication as I don't have the largest order. I get done at the wee hours
of the morning.
There you go gang. Now you know. I will update again once I go through the
notes and send the tape off for duplication.
-Mark Santora
//// 12 Nov 99
Here's what you've all been waiting on - the tape is DONE. That's right,
put a fork in it. I dropped it off at duplication on my way to work this
morning. Now I can catch up on all that TV I've been missing - except
Buffy, Angel, and the Simpsons which I go out of my way to watch.
So here's what is in the pipeline. Due to the relatively small order I
placed, tapes will not be ready until the end of next week. I was told the
19th. If it's me versus a 300,000 tape run of the Blair Witch Project, who
do you think's gonna win? But, If a window opens up before that, the tapes
will be done earlier. So if I get them on the 19th, expect them to ship on
Monday, the 22nd. That's the plan.
Quickly I'd like to thank everyone who supported the project and of course
not emailing me every week asking when it's gonna be done. It was a bigger
job this year and I hope you'll all be satisfied with the final project. So
it looks like I'll get a nine-month break until CGE 2000. Too much to think
about now. I will email one more time once the first batch of tapes has
shipped.
More Later.
Mark Santora
//// 18 Nov 99
I had a message waiting for me today when I got back from work basically
telling me that the tapes won't be done until Wednesday next week at the
earliest. An order of less than 100 tapes compared to several thousand
looses. And the dupe house is closed from Thanksgiving until the following
Monday - so I'm hoping to get them on Wednesday, pack them, and start
shipping as early as Saturday.
Sorry guys. I know you want to see it, but it's just gonna take a bit more
time.
Mark Santora
--==--==--==--==--
|| JEO Trivia Challenge VI: The Answers
|| By: Clay Halliwell
\__// clay.h@att.net
-----------------------------------------------------------------
These are the original titles, and the game they became:
1. Hammerhead -> Skyhammer
2. Star Battle -> BattleSphere
3. BattleZone 2000 -> Hover Strike
4. Missile Command 2000 -> Missile Command 3D
5. Redline Racing, Checkered Flag II -> Checkered Flag
6. Rage Rally -> Power Drive Rally
7. Ultra Vortex -> Ultra Vortek
8. Air Car Wars -> AirCars
9. Dinolympics (Lynx), The Humans (PC) -> Evolution: Dino Dudes
10. NetWar -> I-War
11. Formula One Racing -> World Tour Racing
BONUS QUESTIONS:
12. Green and Pissed -> Doom
13. Hover Hunter -> Phase Zero
14. Chaos Agenda -> Black Ice\White Noise
15. Phear -> Tetrisphere
--==--==--==--==--
||
|| Shutdown ....................... Power off, * + #, EOL, Game Over
\__// -----------------------------------------------------------------
Buzzword Index:
Buzzword Occurrences
Network 8
Bug 9
Protector 30
BattleSphere 33
Fest 40
Hasbro 49
CD 56
HTTP 88
Atari 312
Useless Fact O' The Month: The Jaguar's emergency backdoor encryption key
code is, in hexadecimal: $03D0DEAD. Yes, this is a reference to then-
competitor 3DO.
'Til next issue!
Your Editor
Clay Halliwell
<clay.h@att.net>
--==--==--==--==--
(This issue printed on recycled photons)
--==--==--==--==--
Soylent Green is People!
--==--==--==--==--
DNFTEC
--==--==--==--==--
Where do you want to play Atari today?
--==--==--==--==--
Jaguar Explorer Online Magazine is a diurnal publication covering the Atari
Jaguar community. Reprint permission is granted, unless otherwise noted at
the beginning of the article, to registered Atari user groups and not for
profit publications under the following terms only: articles must remain
unedited and include the issue number and author at the top of each article
reprinted. Other reprints granted upon approval of request. Send requests
to <clay.h@att.net>.
No issue of Jaguar Explorer Online Magazine may be included on any
commercial media, nor uploaded or transmitted to any commercial online
service, in whole or in part, by any agent or means, without the expressed
consent or permission from the Editor or Publisher of Jaguar Explorer
Online Magazine.
Opinions presented herein are those of the individual authors and do not
necessarily reflect those of the staff, or of the publishers. All material
herein is believed accurate at the time of publishing. The rain in Spain
falls mainly on the plains.
--==--==--==--==--
Atari, 400/800, XL/XE, 2600, ST, Mega ST, STe, Mega STe, Atari Falcon030,
Blitter, Atari Lynx, ComLynx, Atari Panther, Atari Jaguar, AtariTel, Pong,
and the Atari Fuji Symbol are all trademarks or registered trademarks of
Hasbro Interactive, Inc. All other trademarks and identifying marks
mentioned in this issue belong to their respective owners.
--==--==--==--==--
Jaguar Explorer Online Magazine
"Your Source for Jaguar News"
Copyright (c) 1999, White Space Publishers
******
**
**
** **
****
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: J E O ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
:: Volume 3, Issue 2 JAGUAR EXPLORER ONLINE November 20, 1999 ::
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
