:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: :: Volume 3, Issue 14 ATARI EXPLORER ONLINE 18 December 1994 :: :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: :: :: :: ATARI .............. News, reviews, & solutions ............ ATARI :: :: EXPLORER ............ for the online Atari .......... EXPLORER :: :: ONLINE ................. Community .............. ONLINE :: :: :: :: Published and Copyright (c) 1993-1994 by Subspace Publishers :: :: All Rights Reserved :: :: """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" :: :: Publisher .................................... Michael Lindsay :: :: Editor ........................................... Travis Guy :: :: Assistant Editor GEnie......................... Ron Robinson :: :: Assistant Editor CompuServe................... Albert Dayes :: :: Assistant Editor Delphi.................. Andreas Barbiero :: :: Assistant Editor Internet................. Timothy Wilson :: :: Atari Asylum ... [Closed] ............... Gregg Anderson :: :: Unabashed Atariophile .............. Michael R. Burkley :: :: Atari Artist ............................ Peter Donoso :: :: User Group Coordinator .................. Ron Whittam :: :: Jaguar Editor ................... Dimitri M. LaBarge :: :: :: :: Contributors: :: :: """"""""""""" :: :: Mark Santora, Christian Svensson, David A. Wright :: :: :: :: Telecommunicated to you via: :: :: """""""""""""""""""""""""""" :: :: GEnie: ST/JAGUAR RT Library 38 :: :: CompuServe: ATARIGAMING Library 10 :: :: Delphi: ATARI ADVANTAGE & WORLD OF VIDEO GAMES Libraries :: :: Fnet: AEO Conference, Node 319 :: :: AtariNet: AEO Conference, Node 51:1/10 :: :: :: :: Internet mailing address: aeo.mag@genie.geis.com :: :: FTP recent AEO issues from: rahul.net:pub/wilsont/AEO :: :: Search gopherspace under "aeo" for back issues :: :: :: :: World Wide Web: http://www.dl.ac.uk/MISC/ATARI/atari.html :: :: :: :: Internet subscription service: stzmagazine-request@virginia.edu :: :: (Internet subscription requests ONLY!) :: :: :: :: AEO is also in file format on the Jaguar Mailing List :: :: :: :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Table of Contents * From the Editors ......................................... Atari Forever! * "Atari Holiday" RTC ................. Tom Gillen and Dan McNamee guested at a recent GEnie RTC. Join the fun, and read along. * Ron Borta, Back into the Future ........... An interview with one of the pioneers of silicon gaming. * Jaguar Tackboard ................ AEO Development List - Press Releases - Jag Developers Wanted - CatBox manual - AEO's Top Games - Atari Demo Tape & T2K Soundtrack CD Order Info - AvP "Cheat On" Explained. * Doom ............................. The latest computer classic now rules console video gaming on the Jag! * Val D'Isere Skiing and Snowboarding ........... Swish and shred your way through the powder. * Checkered Flag ......................... "Gentlemen, start your engines!" * Shutdown ............................ Around the world and up your block. --==--==--==--==-- ||| From the Editors ....... Atari Explorer Online: The Next Generation ||| Travis Guy / | \ GEnie: AEO.MAG Delphi: AEO_MAG Internet: aeo.mag@genie.geis.com ------------------------------------------------------------------- Hey, whaddya know? AEO made it out on time for once! Hello there good readers, and welcome to the final issue of AEO for 1994. Your window on events in the World Atari would like to wish each and every one of you a Merry Christmas, a Happy New Year, a Nice Day to Have and just Good Gaming and Atari Computering in general! Inside, there's lots of Atari news; another GEnie RTC, three new Jaguar game reviews, an interview with a silicon pioneer ("Dad" is taking an interest in the industry again), and Michael Burkley's listing of the latest (and best) PD & Shareware titles for our computers - all led off by another stellar Atari Artist! (Dimitri's computer suffered a last minute problem, keeping him from contributing his column.) What you won't find as usual, is the Annual Readers' Poll. I've decided to postpone that, so you have one less thing to do during the holidays. It'll be in our next issue. If you've a Jaggie on your Christmas list, drop by the Jaguar Tackboard and check out the Atari Dealer Demo Tape and Tempest 2000 CD Soundtrack offers from Atari. I have copies of both (I'm listening to the Tempest Red Level music on my CD right now), and they'll make "Excellent" stocking stuffers. The Winter Consumer Electronics Show will take place in Las Vegas from January 6 - January 9. Look for more exciting Jaguar news to be formally announced there, like the availability of the Jaguar CD-ROM for $149, and some new Jaguar games to be shown. That news, combined with several original titles like the Highlander series, BattleSphere, and Defender 2000 ("Now with Q-Sound!(tm)") due out in 1995, and several new retailers, like Sam's Club, Venture and Toys R Us moving the Jag into mass distribution, it's obvious that Jaguar is set to pounce. We'll see you again around then! Take extra care during the long Holiday season, wish Peace and Love to those of Goodwill, and have a wonderful time. --==--==--==--==-- ||| Atari Holiday RTC ||| File Courtesy: GEnie Atari Rountables / | \ GEnie: JAGUAR$, ST$ ------------------------------------------------------------------ ========================================================================= (C) 1994 by Atari Corporation, GEnie, and the Atari Roundtables. May be reprinted only with this notice intact. The Atari Roundtables on GEnie are *official* information services of Atari Corporation. To sign up for GEnie service, call (with modem) 800-638-8369. Upon connection type HHH (RETURN after that). Wait for the U#= prompt.Type XTX99437,GENIE and press [RETURN]. The system will prompt you for your information. ========================================================================== Wednesday Night Real Time Conference December 14, 1994 Host - Mike Allen Guest Speakers - Dan McNamee Tom Gillen On behalf of the Atari ST Roundtable, I welcome all of you to this Atari Holiday Round Table Conference. Tonight I would like to welcome Dan McNamee and Tom Gillen of Atari. ------------------------------------------------------- Before getting started, some businlness about how an RTC works. While the RTC room is in Listen-Only mode, you can only address our guest when I let you talk. To get my attention, just /RAIse your hand. Just enter this from your keyboard: /rai I'll acknowledge your raised hand as soon as I can, but please be patient. I -WILL- let you know when your turn is coming up. To save time you could write your message in advance and upload a SAVED (ASCII) response using your favourite/favorite terminal program or Aladdin. To upload a text file using Aladdin go under the TERMINAL menu and hit "Send Text File", then select your previously saved question. When you are finished with your question PLEASE use GA. This does not mean you are gagging, rather: GA ===> Go Ahead It tells the guest that you are finished. Some other RTC commands are: ? - Lists all RTC commands. /sta - Status (list) of everyone in the RTC room. /exi - Exit the RTC, but you remain logged onto GEnie. /bye - Log off of GEnie directly from the RTC. /rai - Raise your hand. Lets me know you wish to address our guest. With that out of the way, let us proceed. Welcome Dan and Tom, do you have a few words to begin this evening RTC? GA Dan, should I go first? yep Hi there! My name is Tom Gillen, and the last time I was part of an RTC, I was the Manager of the test department. Well time has moved on, and so have I, into a Sports Producer position for the Jaguar. I am very excited about the opportunity to help mold a variety of different sports titles into what I like, and with the help and input of others, hopefully into titles that they too will enjoy again and again. I feel that too many of the sports titles currently out for other systems lack longevity, most importantly in the "fun factor and addictability" area. My goal is to overcome that hurdle, and insure that any game that I produce turns out the best it possibly can, utilizing the awesome power afforded by the Jaguar. I am relatively new to the position, and am currently working on Hardball III and a Motocross style game titled Supercross 3D. There are other Sports titles currently in development, but until I get my Producer feet all wet, they will be handled by their original producers, and I might co-produce several of them. I am anxious to know about what sorts of things you like and dislike about other Sports titles, and intend to open up some additional message areas in the Jaguar Roundtable for that very reason. By the way, I really appreciate all of the responses that I received in the "Football likes and dislikes" topic in the Jaguar category (CAT 26, TOP 45); they were VERY helpful, and I will update you on the subject when I am able to, I promise!! Having been out of the test department for a little while now, I am going to leave most of the non-sports related questions to Dan, though I will be happy to help out if I can! GA Thanks Tom. Your turn Dan. GA Hi I'm Dan McNamee. You all should know me by now. ;-) I work in the test department, and I was lead tester on both AvP and Club Drive. Beyond that, I have done at least a little testing on every game from Tempest 2000 on. GA Thanks guys. I want to note that new RTC software is bneing used. And it looks really cool! One thing to notice is that when you do a /rai it will tell you where you are in the queue. repeated /raises will not add you again until you have had your turn, but it will tell you where you are in the queue. This is kind of handy if you are getting impatient. First in the Queue is MikeL. ga Hi Dan & Mike! When can I get my hands on Iron Soldier, KN and the Ski/snowboard game, and WHEN will there be any RPGs for the Jag? IS should be out any time now I don't have any dates handy. Kasumi should be very soon as well Probably a couple more weeks for Kasumi As should Val D... I forgot how to type it, SKI should be too. Hey - good news. Any more Mike? Val d'Isere, Tom. ;-) RPGs - I certainly hope some will be comming soon. I LOVE them! Yeah... When will the stock go above 4.5? I would love to tell you, but that is not my area in which to speak. Ask your local psychic? < Tom @ Atari> GA Sorry, I use prunes and bran instead Hehe well, Next in the queue is KODGER. GA GA What do I do if I want to submit a game idea to atari? I'm really glad atari is listening to the people in this forum. Thatll make a big difference, I'm sure. Tom? You can submit as detailed a game spec as possible to either Dan or myself and we can make sure that it is seen by the appropriate people. groovy Please do send them in!! Thanks! GA and next up is... Thanks. Next is Sven, the latest addition to the AEO staff. GA my question involves the My question involves the Sega deal... Why hasn't Atari announced them yet? ga What do you mean "announced them"? I assume you are asking about the 5 titles? exactly Those are still being decided upon. It's kind of an involved process. As far as I know, they are not definate yet. There are some good possibilities in the current list, though. In fact, along the lines of game ideas, if any of you know of Sega titles that you think should be done... let us know! GA Is Daytona being considered GA Daytona is QUITE cool! Thanks! GA Next up is Eric. GA dan - any other secret areas in club drive? Yep, there is a whole hidden world. and what's the resolution & frame rate? Dedicated Hitchhikers will be able to find it. ;-) [Ed: Dan was referring to "Planet Todd", named for Todd Powers no doubt - reached by pressing and holding "4" at the World select screen, and then pressing "2".] Hitchhikers across the Galaxy? I'm not sure what the resolution is. I'd guess 320x200, and the framerate how bout a hint? we've found the dino, castle & hQ... ga varies depending on the number of objcets onscreen, nuimber of players, etc. Mike> ;-) Eric> I DID give a hint. ;-) yea.. thanks...:-) GA Dan, is that something that he might find on the hint line? Tom> I'll have to check on that. OK - thanks. Next is Brian Harvey who REALLY should be hosting this RTC. ga, Brian First, I wish to thank Mike for hosting this RTC. and I really appreciate it. OK, next year seems to be the year, according to the media, for the 64 bits SEGAS and Nitendos. I am sure this must make ATARI concerned. Can you give us any hints of what ATARI has planned to compete with them. That is, why should I buy an ATARI JAGUAR??? Lots of games available. lots of GOOD games! Sega will have to deal with not having a lot of titles just like Atari did. From what we have seen so far, we are certainly able to compete with, and likelydo better things with the Jaguar than on those systems. As for Nintendo, I've heard the U64 is delayed yet again, but even if it is not, they will have a title availability problem as well. GA Thanks Dan and Tom for making it here. I am all done! GA. yes, there are MANY titles in development currently. Thanks for showing up Brian. Thanks Brian, hope all is well! Thanks. ST.Lou is next. ga Lou. Dan and Tom, thanks for being here. It is always great to have Atari reps in the house. :-) No problem, Lou We enjoy being here when we have the time. I picked up a gaming magazine today and read about the year's best and worst Unfortunately, it listed the Jaguar launch as the year's worst because of the scarcity of titles. On the other hand it raved about the 64 bit engine and the look of the games that have already made it out. The review picked the Jaguar as the game console to watch in the new year! Hmmm, I would have said 32X personally. At least we had a title at launch. ;-) I am space invaders junkie so I would like to know what game(s) are coming that are like Xenon Megablaster!? GA I do not blame people for wanting a glut of titles right off the bat, but that does take time, especially with a newer system, and then there are plenty. GA Hmmm, I can't think of any off hand. Realize that there are many 3rd party titles being worked on that we don;t even hear much, if anything about! OK, what space-type shootemups are there, besides Trevor McFur. There is a 3rd party game being worked on called something like zzyyoorrxx but we haven't seen it internally yet. GA All right... let's try door number two... how about RACING car games!? GA There is a 3rd party title called F1 Racer that looks nice, and supports multi-player. Checkered Flag. ;-) I would like to Produce a really cool racing game myself, with network capabilities! I would buy such a game. Saves wear and tear on my _real_ cars :-) something with the SCCA tracks like Limerock and Riverside. The addiction of competing against my buds is the best! Tracks duly noted, thank you. Haha... when do you guys do any work? :-) Before I leave ... We never stop! If we don't "work", you dont play! I would like to publically thank Don Thomas for his tremendous assistance in resolving the prizes missing from some of the Dateline Conferences with Bob Brodie. Don has delivered... in spades! I love that kind of professionalism. Tell Sam to give him a raise, eh? GA Don is a good man, and I will pass that along to him. Good! I'm glad he was able to get that cleared up. Amen! Thanks. Thanks, Mike. Ok - next up is Carlos. GA Carlos. Hi, Do you know how Bill Rehbock(sp?, sorry) trip to Japan went..?? Or is he still there..?? GA I don't know if he is back yet. I haven't seen him at least. He is coming back tomorrow, and I therefor I dont know. Thanks... GA Thanks, Carlos. Next to the Mike is Pat. ga pat. Could you discribe any of the CD games that we will see in the near future? When will the CDROM drive be out??? GA. I think the CD is still on target for January as Bill announced. Battlemorph should be along soon, though I do not have a specific date. Battlemoprh looks AWSOME! The FMV intro is GORGEOUS. Better than any FMV I have seen on any of the other systems. Will there be a good supply of CD games coming out in '95? The game itself also looks great. I also got a look at a VERY preliminary Highlander game, and it looks real good too. The graphics blow away the cartoon it is based on. ;-) You should begin to see many CD games in the coming year, as I know there is a push to do more of them. GA Thanks I look foward to a great gamming on the Jag! ga Next up is Travis from AEO! ga Trav Hi Atari-dudes, we're really glad to have you here with us for the evening! Tom, as far as Sega titles, I'm partial to World Series Baseball. Would you say that Hardball III on the Jag will give WSB a run for the money in terms of realism/action? GA Hey Travis Trav - how about a FSU vs. Florida game? I agree with you about WSB, and yes, if you already like Hardball, it should give it a run for the money. We are incorporating as many enhancements as we can into the game Mike, only if VisorBoy throws and stomps on his hat! ;) and keeping in step with the new stadiums/divisions, etc. It is looking very good, and I am confident that it will do well. GA Tom, what about having a Hardball season interrupted by a player's strike? Ha ha ha. Please ignore that. ;) Seriously, oOne more question for Tom right now. Can you give out -any- information on Supercross 3D? Is it slated for CD or cart? Will it have "network capabilities?" GA and Thanks! They just said on the news that the 95 season is already in jepordy. Best thing that ever happened to Major League Baseball, IMHO. I agree Hey Dan and Mike, some of us like pastorial pastimes. ;) Already happened, oh wait that was real life, or was it a game, I cant tell the difference anymore! Yes,.... no seriously........ [Supercross 3D] is to be a cart game, with the possibility of 2nd and 3rd generation versions done on CD, and yes it should be network-able. Tom, will it be "photoreaslistic" like games on "other systems"? GA Personally I think the strikes are all a conspiracy by the game industry to up the sales of sports related games. It is going to look very cool, from what I have seen so far, with much texture mapping, and digitizing possible. Ok - next up is our very own Charlie. GA Charlie Hi Dan & Tom! Nice to have you here. I know this may be outside your knowledge, but I want to ask if you know the number of Jag's shipped to Japan for Christmas? A big deal was recently made of Japanise sales in, I think, a NY Time article. I'm curious what penitration of the market you're looking for. It's the one place where you will be going up against the Playstation and Sega machines early? I do not know that type of info, sorry. Me either. Sorry. ugh. and here I thought that was a good question. :-) It is a good question, I think we should do well over there, though because of 2 games, AvP and IS. ** disconnected. DOH! hehe. lost Tom Oh oh, we lost Tom. You're it Dan! Arrgh! ;-) well, lets try another question then. About Joysticks or paddles .... Know of any? :-) I've seen posts about a 3rd party stick being available, but I haven't seen one around the office. Also, Alan (COCO - SYSOP) has been asking some "marketing type" questions about how many people would buy a $25 paddle controller. So we'll see. ok, thanks Dan. GA Mike Let's try a limit our questions to one apiece. You can always /rai again after you finish the first question. I'd like to get through the queue a little more quickly. Hey! Lance is here! Tom is Back! next up is Harj. GA Harj. Battlemorph & Blue Lightning: Do the distant objects like mountains, buildings, etc just pop up suddenly like Cybermorph or is there a smoother transition like Iron Soldier? And do you think the Jag is even capable of doing a Daytona? GA I is back too! Hey Lance! Battlemorph is about the same. Maybe a little more distance on the horizon. I don't realistically expect the Jaguar to do Daytona as you see it in the arcades, but it could come fairly close. I haven't seen much of Blue Lightening yet to say for sure. GA The Daytona arcade machine is one big block of Silicon. Tom> Lance says Hail to the Chief! Ok - next up is Brian again. GA Brian. Hi my name is Brian and I own a SEGA GENESIS. (Pause while everone say hi Brian). I want a JAGUAR but I am waiting for a few more games to be released and in particular games that would appeal to my six and eight year olds. . I am wondering if the JAGAUR will have any games for this age group. Well, specifically, those 13 and under. GA A lot of younger kids do like Crescent Galaxy. Club Drive is also well liked, and I think everyone will flip for Rayman. Yes, I mean games like Dino Dudes and Raiden are fairly in line with that age group. And there are more in terms of variety to come. Lance says Bubsy! Bubsy, ZOOL II, SKI, etc. GA Thanks guys. BTW,a JAG ony comes with one controller right? Will there me many two player games coming out next year? Yes, it comes with one controller. Many two player games, and my focus is going to be to make every multi-player game support the Voice-Modem where possible! There should be quite a few 2 player games comming too. ga ok - Next is Sven. GA Sven. Thanks again. GA To me, two or more player is where it is at. My question is simple (I think) GA Why have no screen shots of Battlemorph been released? It wasn't even on the promo video? ga The producer would have to answer that, I really do not know. Dan? I think the ATD guys are being shy. ok fair enough... thanks! ga Next is our own, inimitable Thunderbird! Ga, Doug. With the release of JagDoom and 32Xdoom (lower case denotes inferiority), is id still hyped up on doing Jaguar Games? I'd like to see a Doom2 (shouldn't take long with the engine done) and a CD version with lots of .WAD files! GA. ID is far more hyped on the Jaguar than the 32X, from what I hear. Last I heard, iD is still hyped on the Jaguar. We are still working with ID. We should see a lot more from them for the Jag. Cool.... BTW on another topic... who's idea was "Club Drive"? Todd Powers I think. The programmer's idea. And just what good are snub fighters going to be against THAT? ;-) ;-) HA! (Star Wars is on USA now with JagDoom ads galore) in case anyone wants to tune in. That is what I like to hear! T-Bird - quit watching TV and program!! I'm can do both! oops I just can't spell. Ok, next up is MikeL GA Mike. Thanks! Who at ATari is responsible for choosing the music to go with the games? I compose music as a hobby and have some stuff that's appropriate for games. Just curious... < /raises are gratefully accepted. > The producer has a big say in that, but for general composing queries, contact James Grunke, director of music. If you had some music that you thought might be appropriate for a specific game, you could send it to me. I am a musician, and would love to hear (critique) it! GA Thanks Tom ga Ok thanks. Next is Pat. ga pat. Whats up with Tiny Toons? Will that ever make it out or will it suffer the same fate as Eye of the Beholder on the Lynx and never come out? GA. Tiny Toons is still in development, and getting close to the test dept, I bet. Tiny Toons is comming along froim what I hear. It hasn't hit test yet, but it should soon. ga GA ga GA, GA Thanks - next is travis again. This is for Dan and Tom (and Lance, if he's around). What game out of the next batch of Jag games would you buy if you could only buy one? GA Hardball III of course! Lance says he would buy Iron Soldier. Hmmm, tough. Tom, out of the Xmas batch. ;) I think I would buy IS also. Family Feud? I love IS, probably IS. Though if you love Sonic type games, ZOOL II and BUBSY are very good. Okay one more and I'll shut up. (Ha!) Will either of you be at WCES next month? How much better do you feel Atari's showing will be compared to last summers? GA I HOPE I will get to go to WCES. I will be there, and I was not at the last one, so I cant really compare, but.. I've always wanted to go to one. Me too. :/ I have seen a large, impressive list of games to be shown, so I will hope for the best. Ok, last before we go informal is John B. GA John. Recently on line, there have been posts describing a Lynx promotion advertized by a chain store. The special was a Lynx game machine with 4 bundled games for the price of 69.95 Seemed like a great Christmas present so I contacted to Atari Dealers to see if I could buy the unit. They both told me Atari had not made the deal available to it's computer dealers. 1. Why does Atari persist in alianating it's few existing dealers. 2. Who could we petition for Atari to open some sort of on line store so we could buy directly here on GEnie. Petition Don Thomas, he could do something in that area. Don Thomas, ok I do not make those decisions, and therefor, I do not alienate, nor condone alienating our dealers. John - Don's GEnie EMail name is ATARI. Tom, note I never you said you did, I said "Atari" :-) Could I ask one more? sure I know, I just feel your frustration, and wish I could do more! A little while ago there was a post by Bill Rehbok stating that Medusa systems had received the terms for licensing TOS from Atari but had not signed and returned the contract. Also Wizztronics which was to release a Falcon accelerator was also sent a licensing agreement which they stated they would not sign. No one mentions which TOS versions are being discussed. Which versions of TOS are available for licensing? a. TOS 2.06 b. TOS 3.06 c. TOS 4.xx C As far as I know. all of the above? me too. Ah..thanks. So TOS 3.06 is still for no one to have? Though, to get the best answer, call Atari directly, and ask Don Thomas, he should be able to find out for sure. Thanks. I wish to thank you, Dan and Tom, for making it here tonight. I also wish to thank all the attendees for their questions and patience. In frenzy mode ...now! [Ed: Some post-formal comments....] Dan, Club Drive originally had a menu option for analog control. Any chance that it's still in there? Clint> Yep! Cool. What about Checkered Flag? Clint> Nope, not in CF. Dan - any good RPGs in the works? AmberMoon, Ishar types? Mike> Legions of the Undead is the only one I know of for sure. I'm lead testing that one too. ;-) Legions of the Undead? Is that anywhere near test? Sven> Not yet, unfortunately. Scott says that the new GPU RISC routines are really _fast_, and simulated analog control now works! Question time: Who likes and who doesn't like "computer voices" in their Space Battle Games? Skylar is sexy, but dumb. I like I think I could use a good computer voice in my games here and there Computer Voices: Go for it, though let 'em be selectable. if the voice is majel barret, sure, go for it I like space voices. "Avoid the ground" and other comments make all I show the game to laugh. Sexy Womans Voice Hmm..I mean computer voices. Only ultra-sexy voices(who doesn't enjoy that "YES" from T2000) Sexy Robot Womans Voice I guess everyone agrees it should be a woman's voice... Sexy BritFem voices! We will see how RAM and ROM space go. maybe the computer can say " ooh baby" when you shoot the "Finch". yes, Sven, I'd think so. and the accent should be exotic. Autrailian or British How about indian? If you want to be different. We were thinking of hiring the guy that does "Beavis" for the voice... "I am thinking zat you jest hit de ground. Care for a slurppee?" Is it permissable to represent Hindu Deites in videogames? Heh, heh, your warp is like enabled...huh, huh Hey, They'll be NO think here here thank you very much ;) I saw the Playstation today. Looks nice. Lance, what did you play/see on it? Ridge Racer. Lance, was it really close to "1:1"? It's a good conversiion, but not exact. Lance, for the $64 question, could Jag & Jag CD do Ridge Racer =as=well= as Playstation? Jag Ridge Racre, I think so. But the Jag CD is worth the price of admission for the VLM alone. Lance. Thanks for the observation! Travis> Anytime, fellow oxygen breather!@+*% Lance, I'm really curious. Just WHOM did you strike to get sent to the brig? :) Bill? Nah, Jack. Maybe Sam? Travis> I struck Lt. Cmndr Cappa for getting in my face, and his last dieing wish was that he could praise me for having guts. Lance> What penalty would one get for slapping Tal around? :) Travis - a pay raise? Travis> you would be hailed by all in Test as God! --==--==--==--==-- ||| Ron Borta - Back into the Future ||| By: Christian Svensson / | \ GEnie: EXPLORER.5 Internet: svensson@bucknell.edu ------------------------------------------------------------------ =-=-=-=-=-=-= //// The Past =-=-=-=-=-=-= I've recently had the pleasure of speaking with Ron Borta from Borta and Associates, who has had his career deeply rooted in the gaming industry since the industry's inception. Considered by some to be the father of the "arcade port", Ron has been involved with nearly every console and computer ever released and has contributed such well known home arcade conversion titles as: Wizard of Wor (which was the first 16K cart on the 800), Gorf, Donkey Kong, Frogger, Q-bert, The Empire Strikes Back, Zaxxon, Robotron 2049 (which was the first 16K cart on the TI99), Mousetrap, Carnival, Crazy Climber and most notably Pacman for the Atari 800 which was the first "successful" port of an arcade game to a home system. Another notable star on Ron's profile is the fact that he became the first person to patent software. (In this case, a program generator.) He was part of a number of companies that were seeking the ability to patent "technological breakthroughs." Through six years of hard work and court cases, the United States Supreme Court finally sided with Ron and the other technological companies thereby allowing them to patent such items as bio-engineered organisms, certain chemical processes, and software. Yet even today, many people are unaware that software can be patented. After many years in the game development industry, Ron left Chicago and moved to Washington DC in order to branch out into a related area, interactive television. For seven years, Ron worked in DC, helping develop the concept of interactive television - or as he said, "making TV more fun." Unfortunately, the general public was not ready to embrace this concept quite yet, but Ron did learn many useful things during this experience. Much of what he learned dealt with the use of video and presentation, what frame rates are necessary to immerse the user into the game, and different modes of rendering. When programming Crazy Climber for the Atari VCS, Ron used a technique that had never been used before (or very much since for that matter). Each frame had separate parts of the game rendered such that a given frame wasn't "stand alone." If one were to pause the game, it would look as if the entire screen wasn't rendered. The result of this technique was a far more visually appealing image. His experience in interactive television, taught him why this was so, and more importantly, how he could utilize this technique in later projects. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= //// The Present =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Ron's next big venture was to create his own multimedia development company, Borta & Associates. This company does multimedia work both independently and as a sub-contractor for other larger companies. One of the many fields they are leading the industry in is data compression. B&A have developed not only specific compression schemes for specific applications, but have specific manners of employing them under different conditions. All of these schemes are written in assembly language in an effort to minimize decompression times. Borta & Associates currently develops for PCs, Macs, Sega (all platforms), Nintendo, 3D0 and Atari. The majority of their present work is in the PC market. Ron told me that they have products in development now that will allow for "fully interactive games." Another benefit B&A have over other competing companies is that their libraries for Mac and PC are identical. This allows B&A to port to the Mac far more easily (and quickly) than anyone else in the market. They are currently working on a PC/Mac game with PF Magic. As for Jaguar development, they are licensed developers and have a system, but haven't started any independent development yet. They are currently working on a Jaguar project with a LARGE developer. (Ron's words were, "as big as they get.") He couldn't disclose who it was, or what they were working on, but he said it was VERY impressive. "Just wait" he said, "you'll see." There are some things in the industry presently, that Ron is concerned about. Given the fact that most developers are 2 to 4 person teams/companies and that the most original gaming concepts are coming from these smaller companies, the costs of developing on the next generation consoles are really a big obstacle. Ron said to start up as an Atari developer, the cost isn't that bad ($15,000), but 3D0 was $35,000 (with a CD-ROM writer), and to jump into Sega Saturn development costs almost $100,000. This could really discourage a good gaming concept on another machine. He reminisced of the times when all you needed to develop on the VCS or Atari 800 was a computer for a couple hundred dollars or so. Another thing Ron would like to see Atari do, is to exploit more of its older licenses as updated Jaguar titles. Ron's current favorite video game is Crash and Burn on the 3DO, "It's got a couple of flaws in it, but it draws you into the game. It reminds me of the first time I played Star Raiders on the Atari 800. Though the graphics aren't realistic as they could be, the motion draws you in there. I know the Jag can do it and I want to see games like that on the Jag." As for Jaguar games, "I have all of the carts. I like Alien vs. Predator, but it's a Doomish game, and I tend to shy away from the violent games." Another recent development at Borta & Associates is the addition of Nolan Bushnell as COB. Nolan and Ron have been friends since the 2600 days, but had since gone their separate directions. It is ironic that after going in such different directions, they independently arrived at the same conclusion of what they should be doing. Nolan happened to come across a piece of Borta literature while researching the market, where he then gave Ron a call. After discussing the issues for a period of time, Nolan then purchased, "an undisclosed percentage of Borta & Associates for an undisclosed amount of money." Ron described their business relationship as Nolan as the idea man, and he as the person that makes these ideas a reality. Now they are basically partners. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-= //// The Future =-=-=-=-=-=-=-= The future for Borta and Associates looks bright. Ron has several ideas he would like to try on the Jaguar, but has been a little reluctant to begin them immediately. Ron is looking at the sales this Christmas in order to decide when they will start actively developing. If it sells as well as he think it is going to, he said that independent development could start as early as February. In closing, Ron stated, "I own stock in Atari. I believe in Atari in every way, shape and form and I believe that the Jaguar is the most viable platform on the market." I'd say that bodes rather well from a man with Ron's history and who develops for all the major platforms. --==--==--==--==-- --------------------------------------------------------------------------- -- --==--==-- Delphi Sign-Up Information --==--==-- -- -- -- -- To enroll as a Delphi subscriber, modem call 1-800-365-4636. Press -- -- [Return] until you see "Password:", then type IP26 [Return] -- -- -- -- Answer all of the questions, and you'll be cleared for Delphi -- -- access in a few days. If you have questions about Delphi services, -- -- give a voice call to Delphi Member Services at 1-800-544-4005. -- -- -- -- --==--==-- Delphi Sign-Up Information --==--==-- -- --------------------------------------------------------------------------- --==--==--==--==-- ||| Jaguar Tackboard ||| Confirmed information about Atari's Jaguar / | \ Compiled from online and official sources ----------------------------------------------------------------- =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= //// Independent Association of Jaguar Developers =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= The IAJD (Independent Association of Jaguar Developers) has started accepting members on GEnie. The IAJD is a private group where confidential discussions can be freely held. (Category 64 of the ST RoundTable is the IAJD meeting place.) Consequently, membership in the IAJD is limited to Jaguar developers who are registered with Atari Corp. To apply for membership, send EMail to ENTRY$ on GEnie (or if you're not on GEnie). Regular EMail correspondence with the IAJD should be sent to IAJD$ (again, or if you're not on GEnie). =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= //// Internet Jaguar Mailing List =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Anyone with Internet EMail access can join the discussions on the Jaguar mailing list. To "subscribe" to the list, send an EMail to the following address: Leave the subject line blank. In the body of the EMail, include this line: subscribe jaguar-l FirstName LastName (Where "FirstName" is your first name and "LastName" is your last name.) To send mail to be read on the Jaguar list, address your letter to: . It will go to the list server and be sent to the over 250 readers of the list. IMPORTANT: If your mail server charges you by the character or by the letter, please be aware that the Jaguar list can generate dozens, and up to a hundred EMails in a day. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-= //// Jaguar FAQ =-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Robert Jung maintains the Jaguar FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) file, an updated list of Jaguar specs and facts. The Jaguar FAQ is posted to rec.games.video.atari on Usenet around the first of every month, and can also be found via FTP, address: ftp.netcom.com, in Andy Eddy's /pub/vidgames/faqs directory. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= //// Developer / Game List 1.18 =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= //// Editor: The following developers, licensees and game titles have been confirmed to the best of AEO's ability as of December 16, 1994. Entries in the "S"tatus column reflects any "e"rrors, "u"pdates, "n"ew titles, new "d"evelopers, or "?"uestionable listings since the last AEO list. Titles in brackets (e.g. [Cybermorph]) have been completed and are available in the US. Expected dates are dates that have been provided by the developer. Expected Date or Titles S Developer/Licensee Rating under development " """""""""""""""""" """""" """"""""""""""""" 20th Centrury Fox Interactive u 21st Century Software 2/95 Pinball Fantasies (Pub. C-West) 3D Games - Rainbow Warrior - MORE 4Play Q2/95 BattleSphere Accent Media Productions - Varuna's Forces CD-ROM Accolade - Brett Hull Hockey - Charles Barkley's Shut Up and Jam Acid Software ? Activision - Return to Zork CD-ROM Alfaro Corporation Limited All Systems Go - BIOS Fear CD-ROM Q1/95 Hosenose and Booger CD-ROM Q1/95 Video Jukebox (cart multiplexer) - (IR controller station) American Laser Games - Mad Dog McCree Anco Software Ltd. - Kick Off 3 (for Imagineer) - World Cup Anthill Industries Argonaut Software - Creature Shock CD-ROM (For Virgin) Atari Corp. - Chaos Agenda CD-ROM *7* [Club Drive] u *3* [Crescent Galaxy] Q2/95 Fight For Life - (Football) - Hardball 3 u Q1/95 Highlander CD-ROM n - Highlander II CD-ROM n - Highlander III CD-ROM Q1/95 Hover Strike (was Battlezone 2000) - MPEG u Q2/95 Redemption (was Dreadnought) - Space War n - Supercross 3D Q2/95 Tiny Toons Adventures MORE Attention to Detail Q1/95 Battlemorph: Cybermorph 2 CD-ROM Q1/95 Blue Lightning CD-ROM *7* [Cybermorph] (For Atari) Audio-Visual Magic B.S.A. Bando Svenska AB Beris Bethesda Softworks Beyond Games Inc. 1995 Battlewheels 1/95 Ultra Vortex BitMotion Software Bizzare Computing u Black Cat Design PRODU Cat Box (AV & comm expansion box) (was ICD) Black Scorpion Software Borta & Associates Brainstorm - [x86 Jaguar Development System] Brandlewood Computers Ltd. u Bullfrog Productions Ltd. Q1/95 Syndicate (For Ocean) u Q1/95 Theme Park (For Ocean) Cannonball Software Celebrity Systems Inc. Clearwater Software Computer Music Consulting Condor Software Cybervision CyberWare DAP Data Design Delta Music Systems Inc. - Droppings - Nanoterror Denton Designs Ltd. Dimension Technologies Diskimage Domark Group Ltd. - F1 Racer DTMC - Lester the Unlikely - Mountain Sports - (Miniature Golf) Eclipse PRODU Iron Soldier (For Atari) - MORE Electro Brain Corp. Electrom Elite E-On Eurosoft Extreme EZ Score Software Inc. Factor 5 Flair Software Ltd. Frankenstein Software Funcom Productions a/s GameTek Inc. Genus Microprogramming Inc. u Gremlin Graphics Ltd. PRODU Zool 2 (Pub. Atari) - UNKNOWN TITLE (racing) - MORE? H2O Design Corp. Hand Made Software Q2/95 Jack Nicholas Cyber Golf CD-ROM (For Atari through Accolade) PRODU Kasumi Ninja (For Atari) u High Voltage Software Q1/95 'Dactyl Joust u Q2/95 Ruiner n Q3/95 (fighter) CD-ROM Q1/95 White Men Can't Jump (for Trimark) Hisoft Human Soft Ltd. Hyper Image Productions - Hover Hunter id Software *9* [Doom] *8* [Wolfenstein 3D] - MORE i-Space iThink - (3D simulation) Imagineer Company Ltd. Imagitec Design Inc. PRODU Bubsy *6* [Evolution Dino-Dudes] - Freelancer 2120 CD-ROM *6* [Raiden] ? Dino Dudes 2 ? Interplay - BattleChess CD-ROM - MORE? Jaleco - Bases Loaded - Cisco Heat - MORE CD-ROM JVC Musical Industries - Valus Force Krisalis Software Ltd. - Soccer Kid Kungariket Multimedia Level 7 Software - (RPG) - (Shooter) Limelight Media Inc. u LlamaSoft H2/95 Defender 2000 (For Atari) *10* [Tempest 2000] (For Atari) - MORE MINTER! Loricel S.A. Lost in Time Software Malibu Interactive Manley & Associates Inc. Maxis Software Media Technology Scandinavia Merit Industries Inc. Michton Inc. Microids - Commando - Evidence ? Microprose - Gunship 2000 u MidNite Entertainment Q1/95 AirCars u ? Assualt u ? Dungeon Depths Millenium/Teque *7* [Brutal Sports Football] (For Telegames) Miracle Designs Nebulous Games Neon-Buttner Network 23 Software NMS Software Ltd. Ocean Software Ltd. ? Apeshi- (working title) 1995 Lobo CD-ROM - Waterworld Odyssey Software Inc. -unnamed- - -unnamed- Photosurrealism - Galactic Gladiators Phobyx Pixel Satori PIXIS Interactive - Neurodancer CD-ROM Rage Software Ltd. - Rally Rainmaker Software Inc. - Nerves of Steel - Virtual Warriors ReadySoft Incorporated Q1/95 Dragon's Lair CD-ROM - Dragon's Lair II CD-ROM - Space Ace CD-ROM Rebellion Software Ltd. *9* [Alien vs. Predator] (For Atari) *5* [Checkered Flag] (For Atari) - Hammerhead - Legions of the Undead Rest Energy Riedel Software Prod. Scangames Interactive Sculptured Software Inc. Selgus Limited Shadowsoft Inc. Sigma Designs Q1/95 "Jaguar on a PC" PC card Silmarils ? Robinson's Requiem CD-ROM Sinister Developments Soft Enterprises Softgold Gmbh Software 2000 Software Creations Software Development Systems Spaceball Technologies Inc. Steinberg Soft-und- Hardware Gmbh Tantalus Entertainment Tantalus Incorporated Team Infinity Team 17 Software Ltd. Tecnation Digital World Techtonics Telegames - Casino Royale - European Soccer Challenge - Super Off-Road u 1/95 Ultimate Brain Games - World Class Cricket Teque London Ltd. Thrustmaster u Tiertex Ltd. 1/95 Flashback (for U.S. Gold) Time-Warner Interactive - Primal Rage - Rise of the Robots - Arcade Games Using Jaguar Titus Trimark Interactive Twlight U.S. Gold Ltd. UBI Soft International 2/95 RayMan - (Soccer) V-Reel Productions Q1/95 Arena Football League Q1/95 Horrorscope Virgin Interactive u Entertainment Ltd. PRODU Cannon Fodder (Pub. C-West) ... [Dragon] (Pub. Atari) u Q1/95 Demolition Man CD-ROM Virtual Artistry, Inc. u Virtual Studio *5* Val D'Isere Skiing and Snowboarding (For Atari) Virtual Xperience Q1/95 Burn Out (Pub. Atari) - Indiana Jags - Zzyorxx II Visual Concepts Visual Impact - Hyper Force Wave Quest Inc. u Williams Brothers 1/95 Sensible Soccer Williams Entertainment Q1/95 Double Dragon 5: The Shadow Falls 1/95 Troy Aikman NFL Football WMS Industries Zeppelin Games - Center Court Tennis Pts Stars AEO Ratings """ """"" """"""""""" 10 ***** GAMING NIRVANA!!! - You have left reality behind... for good. 9 ****+ Unbelieveable GAME!! - Your family notices you're often absent. 8 **** Fantastic Game!! - You can't get enough playtime in on this. 7 ***+ Great Game! - Something to show off to friends or 3DOers. 6 *** Good game - You find yourself playing this from time to time. 5 **+ Ho-hum - If there's nothing else to do, you play this. 4 ** Waste of time - Better to play this than play in traffic. 3 *+ Sucks - Playing in traffic sounds like more fun. 2 * Sucks Badly - You'd rather face an IRS audit than play this. 1 + Forget it - ... but you can't; it's so badly done, it haunts you. 0 - Burn it - Disallow programmer from ever writing games again. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= //// Press Releases =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= //// Jaguar On-line in Florida! Contact: Ron Beltramo Tammy Lindsay David Harrah Atari Time Warner Edelman P.R. 408/745-8852 407/667-2034 415/968-4033 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE ATARI JAGUAR ON THE LOOSE IN TIME WARNER CABLE'S FULL SERVICE NETWORK Orlando, FL . . . December 14, 1994 . . . Atari Corporation's Jaguar 64-bit interactive video game system went on-line today with the initiation of Time Warner Cable's Full Service Network (FSN) in Orlando, Florida. Atari Corporation's CEO Sam Tramiel joined Time Warner Chairman Gerald Levin at today's inauguration event in Orlando. Jaguar, the world's first and only 64-bit interactive game system features high-speed animation, textured three-dimensional color images and graphics, and CD-quality sound. Consumers will access the Atari games on the Full Service Network using the 64-bit Jaguar game system device, which processes more than 100 times as much data at one time than 16-bit games, and twice as much as 32-bit game systems. This significantly increases speed and lets the game player experience superior graphic performance and animation action. Through the Full Service Network, the Atari games are digitally compressed and stored on magnetic hard drives, and downloaded to the game device at the consumers' request. "Time Warner Cable's Full Service Network is the most advanced interactive network ever built, and it gives subscribers the most advanced interactive gaming system available -- the 64-bit Atari Jaguar," said Atari President and CEO Sam Tramiel. "Atari's Jaguar system brings the most sophisticated hardware and games to the network." Atari Jaguar Interactive Multimedia Systems are also in use at the "Home of the 21st Century, " a model home equipped with Full Service Network capabilities, and other state-of-the-art home services located in the Sweetwater, Wekiva, Lake Brantley and Springdale community near Orlando. Five 64-bit Atari Jaguar Interactive Multimedia systems are in use in the home, which is sponsored by Time Warner Cable's Full Service Network and Southern Living Magazine. "We're proud to offer consumers the Atari Jaguar system because it's the most advanced and powerful system available today," said Full Service Network President Tom Feige. "When we compared the graphics and capabilities of the game systems on the market, Atari Jaguar was the clear choice for us." Since its release in November 1993, Atari's Jaguar system has been named the industry's "Best New Game System" by Video Games Magazine, "Best New Hardware System" by Game Informer, and "1993 Technical Achievement of the Year" by DieHard GameFan. Time Warner Cable is the nation's second largest cable television operator with 7.3 million customers in 34 states, and serves more than 500,000 customers in its Florida division. Time Warner Cable's Full Service Network is a digital, interactive television network which merges cable, computer and telephone technologies to provide customers greater choice, control and convenience in accessing information and services. Atari Corporation markets interactive multimedia entertainment systems, including Jaguar, the world's only 64-bit game system, and the only video game system manufactured in the United States. //// Don Thomas Announces AvP RTC Trivia Contest Winners I am pleased to announce the winners of the Alien Vs. Predator (AvP) trivia contest. The contest was announced and the questions released by Atari's own Ron Beltramo at CompuServe's AvP conference on November 29 and on GEnie's AvP conference on November 30. The contest was open to all onliners who attended the conferences and/or obtained a transcript of either/both conference from the Atari Jaguar forum libraries. Here are the answers to those mind boggling questions ... 1) Alien Vs. Predator by Atari for the 64-bit Jaguar interactive multimedia system features the ability for the player to become any one of three characters. What are those characters? Answer: B. An Alien, a Predator and a Marine 2) Which film studios produced the Alien and Predator films? Answer: C. Twentieth Century Fox and Twentieth Century Fox 3) Alien Vs. Predator is a virtual world challenge which is described in the manual to be: Answer: A. a tactical simulator depicting the events following the fall of Camp Golgotha Colonial Marine Training Base. 4) An effective tool to be used while playing Alien Vs. Predator is the H.U.D. which offers status displays. What does H.U.D. stand for? Answer: A. Heads-Up Display 5. One of the many obstacles to avoid is referred to as a Facehugger. A Facehugger is which of the following? Answer: A. A creature that attaches itself to the face of its host. METHOD OF RANDOM DRAWING.... All names were alphabetized and duplicates were removed so all entries had an equal opportunity to win. A computer program written by Mr. Michael Fulton picked three random numbers which were used to count through the huge stack of entries ... AND THE WINNERS ARE ... PRIZE WINNER ONLINE ADDRESS ------------------------------------------------------------ Jaguar 64-bit Ewen Wheeler howard_saunders@ game system porthole.entnet.nf.ca Autographed AvP Cartridge Pete Ahles ahles@gate.net Jaguar Clay Halliwell ehalliwe@emh.kunsan.af.mil T-Shirt Congratulations to the winners and thanks to everyone for entering. The prizes have been shipped and are on their way. Don't forget.... Tempest 2000 Soundtracks (on compact disc) are available as well as Jaguar software preview tapes and Alien Vs. Predator Posters! Contact your SysOp for more information or contact Don Thomas at: JAGUAR$@genie.geis.com or 75300.1267@compuserve.com =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= //// Developers Wanted For Jaguar Publisher =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= C-West is a new California publishing house established solely to support the explosive growth in the Jaguar gaming user base. Currently, C-West has two games, Virgin's Cannon Fodder and 21th Century Software's Pinball Fantasies in production, and they are looking for new titles to handle. If you are a Jaguar developer without a publisher, give Peter Curry at C-West a call to discuss terms. Peter can be reached at: +1 (805) 546-9036 during normal Pacific business hours. Cannon Fodder is due in late January for $59.99 retail. Pinball Fantasies is due late February/early March for $49.99 retail. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= //// CatBox Manual =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= [Ed: The following is copyright 1994, Black Cat Designs.) CatBox Preliminary Manual - December 13, 1994 CatBox is a low cost, high value peripheral designed to plug into the Jaguar AV/DSP connectors on the rear of the console and provide standard ports for connectability. CatBox consists of two printed circuit boards (PCBs) mounted inside a stylish case. The larger lower main board is called the I/O PCB. The upper board is called the AVC PCB and holds the logic, amplifier, signal conditioning, and patchwork in order to make everything work. The AVC PCB also has space for future expansion and custom designs. CatBox power is provided by the Jaguar game console. There are two LEDs on CatBox which illuminate to show power and flicker to show communications activity. //// Cleaning the CatBox If you need help with this, call a cat lover. We like dogs. //// Opening the CatBox There may be a need to see what is really inside the CatBox. Most developer types wouldn't have read this far so this is really intended for the novice and it will not void your warranty. Remove the volume knob by gently prying it off with a screwdriver or knob extractor. There are two screws that hold the CatBox metal case together and two more that hold the circuit boards in place. Remove the two philips screws on the case bottom and slide off the top. Remove the two inner screws that hold the boards in place. Lift the board assembly out of the case bottom and pull the two boards apart with your fingers. The top AVC board which looks like it is mounted upside down has all the electronics on it that make CatBox work. The bottom I/O board has most of the connectors on it and the LEDs. The user moveable jumper plugs are all on the AVC board. Wow! Besides looking extremely cool, CatBox provides three main functions for Jaguar owners. These are Audio, Video, and Communications (AVC). Each has three sections for a total of nine features! AUDIO SECTION Audio signals are distributed on CatBox in three different places. These are the RCA type line level audio output jacks for left, right, or mono output, the mono line level RGB monitor output, and the amplified stereo headphone jacks. //// Line level audio. The I/O PCB has two RCA phono jacks that pass high quality line level audio signals (600 ohm) from the Jaguar to other audio devices such as audio pre-amplifiers. The red colored jack passes right audio while the white colored jack passes either left or mono audio. The left/mono switching logic works in the following manner. When an RCA cable is plugged into the right audio jack, the white jack passes the left audio signal. When there is no plug inserted into the right audio jack, the white jack passes the sum of left and right audio which is called mono. Use standard RCA stereo audio cables. //// RGB monitor audio. Pin 9 of the Analog RGB connector also carries the mono audio signal. This signal is used for Atari SC1224 or SC1435 monitors or any other monitor that has an audio amplifier and passes mono audio through its monitor signal cable. Since most users will prefer to use stereo audio, this mono signal is automatically disconnected when an RCA cable is plugged into the right/mono (red) audio jack or when headphones are installed. This function can also be disabled by removing jumper J1 (RGB Audio). For more information, see Analog RGB in the Video Section. //// Headphones. CatBox includes dual stereo headphone jacks on the AVC PCB. These support the common 3.5mm (1/8 inch) size headphones as used with most portable stereo equipment. Low noise amplification is provided to match the 32 or 16 ohm loads common with headphones. We have found that headphones with a sensitivity rating of about 100 dB SPL/1mW work very well with the CatBox. Headphones with lower sensitivity numbers usually have lower quality sound and lower volume. The headphone jacks take top audio priority and will disconnect all other audio output signals when a 3.5mm plug is inserted. There is a volume control knob on the rear of the CatBox. Take care when adjusting this level as higher volume levels for extended periods of time may cause permanent hearing damage. Optional headphone extension cables are also available for your convenience. VIDEO SECTION The three video outputs from CatBox are Composite Video, S-Video, and Analog RGB. These three and the Jaguar RF output may all be used at the same time or in any combination to connect multiple displays. Analog RGB has the best quality display while Jaguar RF has the lowest quality. Composite is much better than RF and S-Video is better than Composite. The output you will use depends on the capabilities of your television or monitor. //// Composite Video The yellow RCA jack provides composite video out. This signal is commonly available on VCRs and may be used for recording purposes. Since composite video has no provisions for audio, be sure to use one of the CatBox audio sources as well. //// S-Video S-Video used to be called S-VHS but was often confused with the totally different S-VHS high definition video tape standard. S-Video has also been called Composite Chroma and Composite Luminance and was used in the early 1980s on the Atari 800 XL and the C-64 computers. Today the standard S-Video connector is the 4 pin round mini DIN as found on many high end VCRs, TVs, video cameras, and CatBox. S-Video cables are commonly available at Audio/Video stores. S-Video provides an extremely sharp picture that is surpassed only by a good analog RGB monitor. //// Analog RGB This connector is a female (holes instead of pins) DB9 located between the composite video and S-Video connectors. Don't confuse this with the other DB9 on the CatBox I/O PCB which is male (pins) and provides RS232. The Jaguar supports Analog RGB monitors with a Horizontal Sync rate of 15.75 KHz. These monitors were very popular around 1985 but are not all that common anymore since VGA which has an H-Sync of 31.5 KHz became the new standard. Look in the older used market for some great bargains. An H-Sync rate of 15.75 KHz was found more commonly on monitors made between 1984 and 1990. The Atari ST color monitors and the Amiga color monitors both required this slower H-Sync rate. Since there is no one standard for RGB connections, custom RGB cable adapters are available to adapt most monitor cables. These include Atari SCxxxx, Amiga, DB9, and DB15. If you would like to make your own cable adapter, the pin connections follow. DB9S 1 Red 2 Green 3 Blue 4 Horizontal Sync 5 Vertical Sync/Composite Sync 6 Ground 7 Ground 8 Ground 9 Mono Audio/NC Note that jumper J7 (VS CS) on the AVC PCB allows you to select Vertical Sync (VS) or Composite Sync (CS) which is a combined sync signal not to be confused with Composite Video. The CatBox default is set for VS. If the vertical screen keeps rolling after adjusting vertical hold, try moving this jumper to the CS position. The mono audio signal which feeds to the Analog RGB connector may also be disabled by removing the audio jumper J1 on the AVC PCB. Although there is built in protection so that leaving this jumper enabled will not cause any problems, it is a good idea to disconnect J1 if you do not plan to use the Atari13 monitor adapter. The following is a list of compatible Analog RGB monitors that have been tested and the adapter requirements. 15.75KHz Horizontal Sync monitors that have been tested and their general requirements. Monitor/Model Adapter J7 Position J1 Position Atari SC1224 JVC Atari13 VS or CS ON Atari SC1224 Goldstar Atari13 VS Only ON Atari SC1224 Samsung Atari13 VS or CS ON Atari SC1435 Magnavox Atari13 VS or CS ON Commodore 1084D Magnavox Amiga23 CS Only OFF Commodore 1084S Magnavox Amiga23 CS Only OFF Commodore 1950 Amiga23 OFF Magnavox Professional RGB 80 OFF NEC Multisync Color Monitor None VS Only OFF NEC 3D HD15S VS Only OFF Sony 1302 OFF Princeton Graphics Ultra 14 None VS Only OFF Please write or send a fax if you have any questions about other monitors or would like a custom adapter made. Please also send us your positive experiences with other RGB monitors that we have not listed so we can let others know. Please do not ask us to support VGA and SVGA monitors that can't sync down to 15.75KHz. The required scan doubling adapter would cost more than the Jaguar even if manufactured in high volumes. There are exceptions to the above rules. For example if an Atari ST monitor cable for a Commodore 1084 monitor then naturally you should use the Atari13 adapter instead of the Amiga23. //// Atari SC1224 & SC1435 History The following information is an attempt to clear up the confusion in identifying the three different SC1224 monitors made for the Atari ST. These are all 12 inch color monitors and were later replaced by the SC1435 14 inch color stereo monitor which was made by Philips/Magnavox. The oldest was made by JVC and is identified by the 'Made in Japan' label on the back. These were mostly made in 1985. The FCC ID number is EBA90YSC1224. The signal cable and power cables both unplug from the rear of the monitor. The case top has ventilation slots. The JVC has a two-tone color scheme with a dark gray bezel (around the tube face) and a light gray casing. The push On/Off power switch is on the front bottom next to volume and contrast knobs. The JVC monitor is the best of the SC1224s. Next came the Goldstar monitor which was 'Made in Korea'in 1986. The FCC ID is EBA9QKSC1224. The signal cable does not unplug from the rear. The case top is solid and the entire case is light gray in color. There are three knobs all on the right side of the case. These are On/Off/Volume, contrast, and brightness. The last SC1224 was also 'Made in Korea' in 1987 by Samsung. The FCC ID is A3L9QNSC1225. Perhaps they had intended to call this the SC1225 when it was registered. Both the signal and the power cables are fixed in the case and cannot be unplugged. Like the JVC monitor, the Samsung is back to the two-tone color scheme with a dark gray bezel and light gray casing. The push On/Off power switch is on the front bottom next to volume, brightness, and contrast knobs. This is the least desirable and ugliest of the SC1224 monitors but it does work. In 1990 the SC1435 was “Made in Taiwan” for Atari by Philips/Magnavox. This is a 14 inch stereo monitor. Both cables unplug in the rear. The color is all light gray and a nice swivel stand is available. The push On/Off switch is on the rear. This is the best color monitor made by Atari for the ST and also works quite well with the CatBox. COMMUNICATIONS SECTION Two new communications methods are available on CatBox along with a DSP pass through. These are called CatNet and RS232. Communications allow you to connect two or more Jaguars together for multi-player games either directly or with modems. Each method is exclusive depending on the toggle switch position on the rear. The three position communications toggle switch next to the RJ11 jacks, points to the port which is enabled. UP = CatNet. Center = DSP Pass though. Down = RS232. The dual purpose power LEDs (lights) also show communications activity. The left LED blinks off when the Jaguar transmits data. The right LED blinks off when the Jaguar receives data. The activity should be visible to the human eye up to about 57.6K baud. You will need bionic eyes to see the activity on higher baud rates. Naturally since the Jaguar is a cartridge based system and not user programmable, drivers, baud rates and protocols are set by game developers. Check your game manual for more information on communications support. //// RS232 Simple RS232 is provided on CatBox through a male DB9 on the I/O PCB. This is connected as in the IBM AT standard as follows. //// DB9P 1 NC 2 RXD (receive data) 3 TXD (transmit data) 4 NC/DTR 5 Ground 6 NC (DSR) 7 NC (RTS) 8 NC 9 NC Note that there is no hardware handshaking. DTR is fixed on. An IBM AT type null modem cable may be used to connect two Jaguars together by their RS232 ports. An IBM AT type modem cable may be used to connect CatBox to a modem. //// CatNet The communications toggle switch should be up for CatNet support CatNet is a new dual-differential type of communications which is based on RS485. CatNet connects Jaguars together with standard 4 or 6 wire telephone cabling and RJ11 plugs. Although common telephone extension cables may be used, two conductor cables are not supported. Because of the wiring scheme used, plug polarity is not important. Cable runs of 1000 feet have been successfully tested but it is more practical to keep cable runs under 100 feet between Jaguars. Terminators should be left in the unused CatNet ports (ends) when running a network. Low cost 25 foot cables and replacement terminators are available from Black Cat Design. CatNet is a half duplex network which requires arbitration. CatNet uses 6P4C RJ11 phone type connectors and cabling and is reliable up to 120K baud per second with very long cable lengths. Up to 32 devices will work under CatNet although we expect to see it used more commonly in small local networks with a maximum of 4 or 8 players. //// DSP pass through port A DSP pass through port has been provided for compatibility with future devices that may require it. A prototype of Atari's Jaguar Voice Modem has been successfully tested while plugged into the DSP port. The communications switch should be in the center neutral position when using devices plugged into the DSP port. //// Options and miscellany. The following parts and accessories are available from Black Cat Design and better dealers: CatBox $69.95 Atari13 adapter $14.95 Amiga23 adapter $14.95 HD15S adapter $9.95 Custom adapter $19.95 (please supply pinouts) Headphone extension cable $9.95 Null modem cable $9.95 CatNet cable 25ft. $4.95 CatNet terminator $4.95 (standard equipment) Every effort has been made to make this a cost effective, innovative, indispensable peripheral for your Jaguar system. We would like to hear your comments and suggestions. Please write. CatBox is a product and trademark of Black Cat Design, Inc. Copyright 1994 All rights reserved. For more information contact Tom Harker at: ICD, Inc. 1220 Rock Street Rockford, IL 61101 815-968-2228 ext. 222 fax 968-6888 GEnie ICDINC CompuServe 76004,1600 =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= //// AEO's Top Games =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= I recently asked the editors and writers to submit a list of their "Top 5" Jaguar games. While not all of the AEO staff has a Jaguar, and not all of the Jaguar owners have five games, here's the lists of what we like: //// Albert Dayes 1. Tempest 2000 - Jeff Minter has revitalized Dave Theurer's 1981 classic to make it a must have game. Maybe someday Jeff will have the time to code Missile Command 2000 (the 1980 classic also by Dave Theurer). It is a Jaguar game that will always be one of the very best. 2. AvP - No other game generates the true environment where your own scream is louder than the Aliens. "HIGH STRESS Environment" is what my some of my co-workers call this game. Maybe there will be a multi-player version someday. 3. Cybermorph - Regardless what anyone says this game will always be an enjoyable game. It may not be a spectator's game like AvP or Tempest 2000 but always one of the best places to fly. 4. Doom - Where "fire blowers" (IMPS) and "chewers" (PINK DEMONS) are your friends, and cooporation usually means a rocket in your back from your partner. Deathmatch should be great once the CATBOX is available late this year. //// Tim Wilson 1. Tempest 2000 - Lots of fast paced action & cool music. Great update to a great game. 2. Iron Soldier - (I've played it!) Very smooth and chock full of weapons. 3. Doom - It's Doom. 4. Alien Vs. Predator - Using the Cloaking device & cocooning Marines were both cool. 5. Kasumi Ninja - (I've played it!) ...the Scottish fireball. //// Ron Robinson I'm not a gamer - probably related to my eye hand coordination being only slightly better than the average turtle on a cold Fall day. The two Jag games I like enough to go back to after having my son show me the final scene are: 1. Tempest is not only a game, but a work of art in both sight and sound. Probably one of the more beautiful games ever developed IMHO. It also has some nostalogic value for me. 2. AVP because it can still make me jump 8 weeks after first playing the blasted thing. I also enjoy the virtual world where you can set your own goals and still enjoy the game with the only limitation being your imagination. (e.g. try to clear out level 1 with only the shot gun... or pretend the Aliens are really French businessmen :') Just think what the second and third generation games will do to us. //// Dimitri LaBarge 1. Alien vs. Predator. Spooky. Eerie. Amazing. Gorgeous. Add in Barney the Marine, too. Gaming heaven! (Now start on that sequel!) 2. Tempest 2000. I still haven't finished this wonder, but there's nothing about it that isn't strictly dazzling. For me though, the defining moment was the astonishing first warp, which looks as if it was dredged up straight from the end sequences of 2001. The next generation of gaming? After scientifically analyzing it, I have to say: yup! 3. Checkered Flag. Who needs Virtua? Rebellion threw in everything but the kitchen sink (well, maybe not a steering wheel, but why nitpick?), and it made for a wonderfully thumb-numbing racing experience, especially in the grueling tournament mode. Other racing games will surpass it, but as one of the first sports games for the Jag, it's a good 'un. 4. Dooooooom! (TM--Ask for it by name.) I haven't had as much of a chance to play this beaut as I'd have liked, but a little while in Nightmare mode will convert the masses in no time. The crisp sound effects and vibrant colors put the Sega version's (allegedly) competing version to shame, and with a terrific frame rate as well. But maybe the most important thing is it cements the Jag as *the* premier FP perspective game machine out there... 5. Wolfenstein 3-D. Sometimes the simplest pleasures are the best, and this gut-churning throwback reinforced that. With its ultra-flat stylized Nazi goons and blazing graphics, it stands for me as one of the first true milestones on the Jag. Goofy slap-it-in-on-a- rainy-day fun! The list in my stocking next year: look for Ultra Vortex, 'Dactyl Joust, Rayman... Stick around to find out! //// Christian Svensson 1. AvP - one word: GodIt'sGotAtmosphere! 2. Doom - The speed is simply incredible, control is PERFECT! 3. Tempest 2000 - The techno is awesome (esp. from a subwoofer and five speaker surround), the speed and the number of enemies are simply incredible. 4. Cybermorph - The first game is definately one of the best. Great depth of play, many many worlds to explore and conquer. Puzzle solving in a shoot em' up is rarely seen. 5. Raiden - I'm just partial to shooters (esp. in 2 player mode). //// Mark Santora 1. Alien vs. Predator - You are in the ultimate immersive simulation. While the graphics engine isn't Doom quality, it has a better gameplay value. 2. Tempest 2000 - The ultimate adrenaline rush. It doesn't get much better for this type of game. 3. Doom - Great graphics and locals. Best version available. 4. Cybermorph - 1st Person Defender! Lots of fun, and a great pack in. 5. Raiden - I love a good shoot'em up. //// Eric Michard 1. DOOM - The fastest version I've played yet, with more colors, smarter AI. 2. AvP - Spent a lot of time immersed in this game. I love the adrenaline rush when you get startled by a stealthy Alien or Predator. 3. Tempest 2000 - forget the 3 other versions on the cart - Tempest 2000 is the only game to play. 4. Club Drive - I love this game for every reason stated in my review, plus now there's been a whole new world found. (Planet Todd.) 2 player Tag is the best 2 player racing game on any system. 5. Cybermorph - still one of my favorites. I love exploring 3D polygon worlds. Heck, I haven't been able to beat it yet. //// Travis Guy 1. Alien Vs. Predator - Simply incredible immersive gameplay! I still swerve & duck when a previously unseen Alien jumps into view, screeching its attack cry. 2. Tempest 2000 - A game that I can play for hours, once I get into "the groove". Nintendo's entire "Play it LOUD" campaign pales next to this one game. I keep telling myself, "It's Jeff's -first- Jaguar game. What's Depender 2000 going to sound like wailing on Q-Sound???" Get the soundtrack CD. 3. Raiden - A great way to blow off steam for a few minutes. I love tearing through enemies with the maxxed-out laser. 4. Cybermorph - Fly THIS, babe. 5. Dino-Dudes - Yes, Travis likes nice and simple puzzle games too. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= //// Offers from Atari Customer Service =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= //// New Dealer Demo Video Atari has a brand new VHS preview tape and it's better than ever! Over 30 Jaguar titles have been captured on video tape and just in time for the Holidays. This tape has been meticulously produced under the direction of Mr. Greg LaBrec using state-of-the-art direct-to-tape equipment and techniques. The action sequences selected were provided by the game producers or the guidance of the third party developers. Okay, okay... forget the hype... it's a darn cool tape and it has a cool plastic box and label too. This new edition updates the previously released software preview videos with exciting captures to show off last minute changes to games that are now in production. There are incredible sequences featuring action games such as Iron Soldier and high-resolution fantasy games such as Rayman by ubi Soft. Although this tape has been developed primarily for the use of Jaguar retailers, I have twisted marketings arm and they (actually he) has finally allowed me to sell copies to our faithful online Jaguar fans. I told him how everyone wants to see what has been taking so long. I mentioned that gamers want a good preview of things they are being asked to spend $50 to $70 on. I assured him people want an update of what has been going on in the past few months since CES. Now he's convinced and I have to sell more than three tapes fast or he'll never believe me again. Want more info? Here's the video menu... Approx. Tape Pos. SEGMENT AVAIL. IN STORES =========================================================== :20 TEACHER SPOT :49 Doom EARLY DECEMBER 2:34 Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story LATE NOVEMBER 4:00 Checkered Flag EARLY DECEMBER 5:45 Iron Soldier MID DECEMBER 7:42 Zool 2 LATE DECEMBER 8:57 Kasumi Ninja LATE DECEMBER 10:25 Club Drive LATE NOVEMBER 11:56 ALIEN VS. PREDATOR SPOT 12:27 Alien Vs. Predator AVAILABLE NOW 15:34 Ultra Vortex (Beyond Games) DECEMBER 17:06 Val D'Isere Skiing and Snowboarding EARLY DECEMBER 18:49 Bubsy LATE DECEMBER 20:05 Double Dragon V (Williams) DECEMBER 21:30 Flashback (US Gold) DECEMBER 22:49 Brutal Sports Football (Telegames) DECEMBER 23:50 Sensible Soccer (Telegames) 25:03 TEMPEST 2000 SPOT 25:34 Tempest 2000 AVAILABLE NOW 26:58 Wolfenstein 3d AVAILABLE NOW 28:06 Cybermorph AVAILABLE NOW 29:20 Raiden AVAILABLE NOW 30:32 Evolution: Dino Dudes AVAILABLE NOW 31:35 Trevor McFur in the Crescent Galaxy AVAILABLE NOW 32:50 Syndicate (Ocean) DECEMBER 33:47 Theme Park (Ocean) DECEMBER 34:35 Air Cars (Midnight) DECEMBER 35:39 Troy Aikman NFL Football (Williams) DECEMBER 36:34 Cannon Fodder (Virgin) DECEMBER 37:43 Dragon's Lair (Readysoft) 38:31 Hover Strike 39:20 Fight For Life 40:00 Burn Out 40:43 Rayman (ubi Soft) DECEMBER 41:52 VLM (Virtual Light Machine) DECEMBER Okay, okay... here's the deal. The cost is $8.95 plus $4.95 shipping and handling. That's a total of $13.90 ($14.64 in California) ($15.90 in Canada). Mastercard, Visa and money orders accepted (Checks and money orders should be made payable to Atari Corporation. NOT IN MY NAME! . I can ship to any location in North America including U.S. and Canada. To order, send your order to: Atari Corporation P.O. Box 61657 Sunnyvale, CA 94089-1657 OR contact me via Internet or on GEnie: jaguar$@genie.geis.com OR contact me via Internet or on Compuserve: 75300.1267@compuserve.com OR send me private E-Mail (to the SysOp) on: CATscan BBS ........ 209-239-1552 or fax your request to: Atari Customer Service Fax ..... 408-745-2088 Because Atari has a committment to fulfill dealer orders first, please allow up to 14 business days after your order is received before we ship. Shipping will be via UPS Ground to all North American addresses. Personally, I'm going to have my tape signed by Greg LaBrec. If you want him to sign your copy, let me know and I'll see if I can catch him in a good mood for you! I also have Alien Vs. Predator posters remaining. There is one for each shipping and handling fee of $4.95 ($6.95 in Canada). These are cinema-size posters and I've already heard back from gamers who have had theirs laminated, mounted and framed. By the way, you can help a LOT even if you don't want to order the tape or request a poster by passing this offer electronically to another Forum, Roundtable or BBS or make a hard copy and give to friends. Thanks! --Don Thomas Atari Corporation //// Tempest 2000 Audio CD The Tempest 2000 Audio CD is due in at Atari Corp. very soon! Sixty minutes of pulse-pounding techno-rave music, this marks Atari's first ever video game soundtrack. To help get everyone in the holiday mood, Don Thomas at Atari Customer Service has another special online offer. Send in your pre-order now, and Don will guarantee you'll get your copy out of the first run. What the heck, you'll even save on shipping. [] Song List 1. Thermal Resolution 3:59 2. Mind's Eye 4:52 3. T2K 5:23 4. Ease Yourself 7:52 5. Tracking Depth 5:04 6. Constructive Demolition 4:05 7. Future Tense 5:54 8. Digital Terror 5:07 9. Hyper Prism 4:26 10. Glide Control 5:12 11. Ultra Yak 4:00 12. 2000 Dub 7:31 [] How Much? The Tempest 2000 Audio CD is priced at $12.99, and if you order now, $3.50 for shipping and handling. (California residents, add the 8.25% state sales tax.) That comes to a total of $16.49. ($17.56 in CA.) Mastercard, Visa and money orders accepted. (Checks and money orders should be made payable to Atari Corporation) Note: This is a special pre-order! The CDs are not in, but are expected to arrive within two weeks. Please allow 14 days from the receipt of your order before shipping. Note #2: If you don't mind waiting an extra day or so for your CD to go out the door, ask Don really nicely if he can get John Skrutch and/or James Grunke to personally autograph your CD. [] Where To? To order, US Mail your order to: Thomas' Terrific Tempest Tunes Deal Atari Corporation P.O. Box 61657 Sunnyvale, CA 94089-1657 OR contact Don via the Internet on GEnie at: jaguar$@genie.geis.com OR via the Internet on Compuserve at: 75300.1267@compuserve.com OR via private E-Mail (to the SysOp) on: CATscan BBS ........ 209-239-1552 OR fax your request to: Atari Customer Service Fax ..... 408-745-2088 The CD is produced by AtariMusic; a division of Atari Corporation. The executive producer is Mr. John Skruch. The director of audio is Mr. James Grunke. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= //// AvP "Cheat On" Elaboration =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= There's been a few posts recently wondering just -what- the OPTION + 5 Cheat in the Alien Vs. Predator "Banana" cheat mode does do, besides toggling between "Cheat On" and "Cheat Off" on screen. [] Do the "Banana" cheat. (Details in AEO_0313.) [] Press OPTION and "5" together. ("Cheat On" will appear.) - When you take a hit, your energy bar will shrink, and it -will- eventually disappear =but=you=won't=die=! (Unless you press OPTION and "5" again without an energy bar present.) - When your energy is depleted, any hit you suffer will not flash the screen. (You can walk around quite freely while wearing a facehugger, but you can't operate anything or fire a weapon.) - (For Marine players) If you have -any- ammo, for -any- weapon, it will be replenished when you run out. (Press OPTION, "1", "2", "3" and "4" all together for full ammo on all weapons.) --==--==--==--==-- ||| DOOM ||| Review by: Mark "Stingray" Santora / | \ GEnie: AEO.4 Delphi: SANTORA ------------------------------------------------------------------ For those one or two people out there who don't know the plot of Doom - Interdimensional Space Travel is the wave of the future. The test site jumpgate near Mars, between the two moons of Phobos and Deimos, has been becoming more and more unstable, until recently when anyone entering the jumpgate, or surrounding area, has never been heard from again. Enter you and your team of intergalactic bad-asses. Your team is ordered to the base on Phobos to secure it. While you secure the perimeter, the rest of your squad heads into the base and are quickly ripped apart and turned into mindless zombies to battle the last intergalactic bad-ass - you. Now you are on your way in the ultimate first person shootemup, battling old friends and taking no prisoners. Along the way you are going to meet some new "friends." But let's not get ahead of ourselves.... =-=-=-=-=-=-= //// The Game =-=-=-=-=-=-= After the title screen you are introduced to the main screen. There are three items to decide upon before your journey into hell. First is the Game Mode. There are three options: Single, Co-Op, and Deathmatch. In a single game, you're alone battling the heavies. In a Co-Op you link 2 Jaguars together with a null modem cable (via the Catbox) and both of you go after the baddies. In Deathmatch it is you against a friend, no holds barred using the same set up as the Co-Op. There's no baddies present, just two good friends enjoying an afternoon of kicking the living daylights out of each other. Without a Catbox, this review is unfortunately solely based on the Single mode. Next you can choose which level to start at. The way this works (as opposed to other home versions) is that you can start at any level you have made it to. So, if you were playing yesterday and stopped on level 12, when you come back to it today, you can start anywhere you want, up to and including level 12. Unfortunately you start with the basic handgun and fist again and all the baddies are back. But, usually there is more than one advanced guns lying around in your immediate vicinity when you start a level. Finally there is the Skill Level. There are five levels of severity to choose from here. They are: I'm a Wimp, Not too Rough, Hurt me Plenty, Ultra-Violence, and Nightmare. The game suggests Hurt me Plenty to start, as do I. Obviously, the guys at ID Software are trying to intimidate you, and they should. This game isn't exactly easy. Control is handled by full use of the control pad. Up walks you forward, while pushing down backs you up. Left and right turn you respectively in those directions. To "Slide" to the left or right, you have to press the "C" button and press left or right on the control pad. "C" is also used to open doors and use the elevators. Using the "A" button while moving your character effectively conveys the sense of "running." Trust me when I say you will use this option far more than you think. "B" is your gun weapon. Of course, all these are customizeable so, to each their own with the set up. The Keypad overlay details which button to press of a specific weapon. Buttons 1-7 follow this while button 8 and 0 are not used. Button 9 is used to bring up the map. The Map falls into what is known as "automapping." You will only see on the map areas you have walked through. If you were to look across a lake of acid and see a platform, portions of that will show up on the map, but not all of it. Done against a black backdrop, the map is a basic representation of the level. Yellow lines are for the walls while brown indicates a door, and lifts can be found by a purple line on the map. While looking at the map you can zoom in and out of it to get a better indication of the area you are in by pressing "B" and up on the joypad. Conversely, if you want to zoom out press "B" and down. You can also scroll it sideways by simply pressing left or right on the pad. By pressing "C" and moving the joypad your character will move. He is represented on the map by the cutest little green arrow. One thing to note however is that the game does not stop while you are playing it. If you are getting hit by a zombieman and want to look at the map, he will continue to attack you while you stop to ask for directions. Find a safe place to stop and look at your map. There are 23 levels in Doom, and 1 "secret" level. Each level is massive and takes quite some time to complete. They are not as large as the levels in Alien vs. Predator, but there are 24 total here. I think it's more than a fair trade off. Throughout the levels there are doors, elevators, hidden doors, and levers. Some doors require the correct color matching key (red, yellow, or blue). You will have to find these keys. Hidden doors are in the walls and there is a lot of trial and error to find them. Although the map will sometimes give you a good idea of where to try and look. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-= //// The Basics =-=-=-=-=-=-=-= To battle in the world of Doom, at first you are armed with your fists and a pistol. As you progress throughout the game you will find a Shotgun, Chainsaw, Rocket Launcher, Plasma Rifle, and the BFG 9000 (Big YouKnowWhating Gun). Each of these weapons are unique as they each have a pay-off. There isn't any way to completely point out how much fun it is to take the chainsaw to a bunch of imps. But beware of using the Rocket Launcher on enemies that are too close to you as you will end up hurting yourself as well. When the game starts you are presented with a full screen image of the 3D world you are battling in. Across the bottom of the screen is your information bar. Listed in the bar, from left to right, are: 1. Your ammo count for the weapon you are currently using. 2. Your health (normally maxxes out at 100 but can be increased with soul spheres up to 200). 3. The key you have, or don't have. There are generally 3 keys per level. 4. A picture of you (kinda ugly,too!) 5. Your armor rating. Like the health, it normally maxxes out at 100 but can be raised to 200 with special armour. 6. The weapon indictors, which tell you which weapons you have. 7. The Level Indicator. Whichever weapon you are holding is displayed on the environment screen. The better to blast you with.... =-=-=-=-=-=-= //// Bad Guys =-=-=-=-=-=-= [] Former Humans (Zombiemen): these are your old friends, they're not anymore. [] Former Human Sergeants (Zombies with shotguns): Big guys with Bad Attitudes. [] Imps: Tough, brown monsters who spit out fireballs. [] Demons: Pink, but not nice. Will open wide and swallow you whole. [] Lost Souls: Flying around fireheads, but not the brightest enemy. [] Cacodemons: Huge floating heads that spit out lightning. [] Barons of Hell: Huge monster that make you wish for a T-Rex. One of the nice things to note is that each weapon acts differently with each bad guy. And on top of that, the power of the weapon seems to decrease with added distance between you and your intended dead meat. Also make note that these demons are full 3-D creatures, they turn. You can see their sides and backs. They just don't slide left and right as they do in inferior versions of Doom. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= //// More Basics =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Scattered throughout the levels are various items to pick up. To grab them all you have to do is walk over them. //// Healing 1. Stimpacks help you out by raising your health a bit. 2. Medkits are much better at healing you and are a step above Stimpacks. 3. Berserk Packs take you to 100% health and turn your fists into something that imps and the like should avoid. This power up will generally allow you to take out baddies with one or two punches. It lasts the rest of the level. 4. Health potions are in little blue bottles and raise your health by 2%. 5. Soul Spheres take you to 200% health. They are rare. 6. Invulnerability Artifacts make you invulnerable for a brief time. //// Things to Wear 1. Security armour (green) will bring your health up to 100%. 2. Combat armour (blue) will bring you up to 200%. 3. Spiritual armour will slightly raise your armour level. Radiation Suits help you as you trot your way through the green ooze that flows like rivers throughout the complex. Be sure to check these river or canals out for extra stuff. Backpacks allow you to carry extra ammo. They also have additional ammo in them when you find them. Computer Maps update your automap so you have a better idea where you are going. =-=-=-=-=-=-= //// Graphics =-=-=-=-=-=-= The textures used throughout the game are nothing short of awe inspiring. Sometimes beautiful and sometimes so discrete that you don't notice, those are the ones that are the most impressive. These textures are a combination of ones found in Doom and Doom ][ as stated by the programmers at ID Software. The levels are claustrophobic and hauntingly real. They look as if someone took a castle off the shores off the highlands of Scotland and moved it to Phobos. Excellent. The Characters are a well defined and move convincingly. They do get pixelated when you get really close to them, as do some of the walls, but it is not bad. In this game if you are close enough to a baddie to examine the pixilation, you're in a lot of trouble.... =-=-=-=-=-= //// Sound =-=-=-=-=-= Ok, I have a minor gripe here. After playing Alien vs Predator (and finishing all three scenarios, thank you), I was a little disappointed with Doom's sound. In AvP there is always a little background hum going on, something to give a little ambiance. I like ambiance. But in Doom the effects, while well placed, are a little scarce. It is important to note however, that there is music between the levels which is quite good. But lack of music during the actual gameplay did not deter from the overall experience. Though I feel that music during the gameplay would have distracted me from the game, I think there should have been at least a little ambient noise to keep the gamer going. Aside from that, great sound. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= //// vs. Doom PC =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= I had never played Doom on the PC but I had seen it. So, after getting Doom I made it a point to go over to a friend's and play it on his 486DX/33. I brought my Jag and A/V cable and we went over it, bit by bit... Speed is roughly equivalent to the 486. (Don't forget that the Jag is doing it in 16 bit color.) My friend was very impressed with the shading of the hallways. The Jaguar shines here as the lighting effects are far superior to the PC version. There was some slowdown on the Jag with a lot of enemies on the screen, but it doesn't detract too much from the game. My friend was actually so impressed, he plans to pick a Jag up after Xmas when he gets his bonus. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= //// vs. doom 32x [Ed: lower case used to denote inferiority] =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= There isn't really much to compare. The 32x version has forward facing bad guys, a smaller screen window to play the game through (so the game will run faster), maybe 256 colors, no level save feature (start anywhere), only 15 levels (2 secret if you play from the beginning), and is slower than the Jag version. Oh, please let me invest $100 in a Genesis, $160 in a 32x adapter, and another $70 to get a pseudo-Doom. Not. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-= //// Conclusion =-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Jag Doom is as close to perfect as it is going to get. Even John Carmack considers it to be the best version of Doom that ID has ever done. One thing to note is that the Doom engine was not fully optimized for the Jaguar; if it had been, it could be running faster than we could play it at! I assume that when Quake is released for the Jag, it will be fully optimized so we can see a major speed increase. This is the type of game you are not going to finish in one sitting, or two, or three. You are going to play this for a long time. Then, when you get higher up in the levels, you will wonder where all these guys are coming from. You will wish you were playing an earlier level only because it is easier. It is very difficult to find everything scattered throughout the levels. Secret rooms, objects that are placed at the exact point that if you don't walk over into a corner, you would never notice that something in the shadows; these are what will keep you coming back to Doom. Not to mention that this is the best way to take out aggressions on a video game since Tempest 2000! So go out, grab Doom, and go kick some interstellar butt! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= //// Final Ratings =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Title: Doom JagNet: No Design: Id Software Players: One or Two (via null Published by: Atari Corp. modem cable) Price: $69.95(US) Available: Now (US, UK) Here's the summary ratings: "*" is a whole "+" is a half 5 stars maximum Graphics - ****+ The graphics are top notch. If they had been at a little higher resolution they'd have been better. Audio - *** Nice sound f/x but a little more was needed to totally immerse the gamer. Control - **** Smooth and easy to pick up. Surprisingly good with the joypad. Gameplay - ***** Highly addictive. Don't forget to put the controller down and eat on occasion. Overall - ****+ Worth every penny. Mark's Keys to Ratings (sort of a state of mind) ***** - "There can only be one." Highlander. **** - "Excellent!" Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure. *** - "That was just called Pillow Talk, Baby." Army of Darkness. ** - "I've got a very bad feeling about this." Star Wars. * - "Not if you tied my tongue to the tailpipe of your car and dragged me naked through a field of glass!" The Hard Way. About your reviewer: Mark "Stingray" Santora has always been known as the "technical" one in his family. He is the most computer literate of his two other brothers and his parents still have trouble with the VCR. He is 23, and a May 94 graduate from the University of Miami with a dual major in Film Production and English Creative Writing. Mark has been using Atari products as far back as he can remember. The original style 2600 followed in 1980 by the big one - an Atari 800 with a whopping 48K. He moved on to a Mega ST2 (now a 4) in 1987 and it has been his proud computer since. Over the years he owned a 7800, which is still in his basement, one of the first Lynx game machines as well as one of the first Jaguars. (Serial number K13B002383 for those involved in the GEnie discussion.) The "Stingray" comes from two different backgrounds: 1. the very cool fish he's swam next to while diving, and 2. the extremely cool car. When he's not writing reviews, playing video games, or diving, he writes screenplays (two with the WGA so far) and works on film sets as well as rock concerts. Mark tries to stay diversified. --==--==--==--==-- ||| Val D'Isere Skiing and Snowboarding ||| Review By: Timothy Wilson / | \ GEnie: AEO.8 Internet: wilsont@rahul.net ------------------------------------------------------------------ You've seen 'em on the slopes and in the Olympics, those amazing skiers that can weave between those flags or jump amazing distances and land perfectly, In VSS you get your chance to step into the ski boots of one of these super shredders. When starting the game, you can choose to play one of three modes: Free-Ride, Training or Competition. In Free-Ride, you must beat times and ski through checkpoints, sometimes making decisions on which trail to take. In training or competion, you can also choose from Slalom or Downhill. Both require you to ski between flags, but the flags in slalom are closer together (less space to ski through) and are always set on the opposite side of the trail from the last. Downhill flags are spaced far apart left-right, and set up so radical moves aren't required to reach the next set. Of course, you can choose either skis or snow board, and pressing Option lets you configure buttons and joypad controls (yea!). Tim: Gee, maybe I should explain it a bit more huh? Reader: Yes, that would be nice, Tim. What does it look like? Ok, Your view is from behind and slightly above your skier, the camera pretty much retains its position from behind, so if a big hill comes up, you sometimes can't see what's on top. The course also wanders from side to side, and there are usually trees, rocks, poles, or signs framing the trail. The main trail has a "used" look to it with criss cross patterns of previous skiers. A nice touch is that your character also leaves a mark in the snow. Your character can jump, turn, or "power turn" at will. Although when jumping you cannot move left or right (nothing touches the ground of course!), and power turns tend to slow you down drasticly. If the charater happens to slam headlong into a tree, rock or snowplow, you'll be treated to a nice show of the skier bite the white, tumbling forward for a good 50-100 feet. I think the skier is really a Toon though, as he never gets hurt, only loses time in these collisions. So, no worrying about fatigue or life bars. Strangely, hitting other skiers only slows the player down a little bit. I was hoping for a tangled mass to slide down the hill and prehaps a reprimand by Val D'Isere Personel, but I didn't even get a "oof!" or "Ouch!". Everything in the game is a beautifuly scaled colorful sprite. No big chunky pixels as sprites get closer. The backdrops for the game and menus are nicely done, some look digitized, and some look drawn (but drawn very well). Val D'Isere logos, Atari Fujis, and Virtual Studio banners are all over, along with a dash of popular ski-sub-culture icons and motifs. The sound and music were pretty good. Title music, option screen music, and I think there was a few skiiing tunes as well, so there was always music playing, it didn't really grate on my nerves or anything, but eventually it would get old. The sound FX were adequate, with a good sampling of swoosh, hiss, and swish noises, and a few other sounds like bodies tumbling and slalom flags being hit, and the victory yell (YEEAH!) as you jump off a big hill. Control was fine, there were plenty of configurations to choose from, many of the controls can float between the buttons and the d-pad. A realistic setting is #9, you always accelerate, and you can only steer on the d-pad. I prefered having "up" being speed, down brake, while the buttons did jump and power turn. I got "Jaguar thumb" after a while, since a lot of jockeying is needed, and in that setting I needed lots of diagnals. If playing two player, you must hand controller 1 back and forth, which was slightly annoying. As for game play, hmmm, well, pretty much run-of-the-mill racer. There wasn't any difference between the skis or the board, only a change of graphics. The terrain in the game is what you could predict: Some places have ice, so you can go fast, but it's hard to steer, or sometimes it's a creek bed or bare dirt which -really- slows you down. My friend and I had the most fun in Free-ride, since we didn't have to beat other times, just make it through the checkpoint, and we could pick different routes. In competition, you have to get a better time than the person above you on the competition ladder. If you don't make it, you lose one of your chances, of which you only have three. Personally, I had played it out in a night, I had fun, but not enough. Admittedly, I only got to level 2 in the Free-ride, but it got exponentially harder from level 1, and you have no choice but to complete the current run, which you have to keep playing over and over until you basically memorize the tough parts. It does have a slightly addictive quality to it, in that I wanted to see the new scenery or just get the next checkpoint in sight. In the end, I have to give this a "try before you buy" stamp. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= //// Final Ratings =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Title: Val D'Isere Skiing Price: $59.95(US) and Snowboarding JagNet: No Design: Virtual Studio Players: 1 or 2 (one controller) Published by: Atari Corp. Available: Late December Here's the summary ratings: "*" is a whole "+" is a half 5 stars maximum Gameplay - ** Drop in cars and you'd have a so-so race game. Graphics - **+ Excellent use of colors and very fast. Sound - *** Music is just under T2K's. FX are sparse. Control - *** Lots of configurable buttons. Overall - **+ I'd rent it once, and then buy a lift ticket. (Overall is not an average!) My standard five star rating scores: ***** Whoa! this is some major powder! **** I can't wait to shred! *** These lines are kinda long, but at least it's a good run. ** Hey! Quit scratching my skis, dude! * MY LEG!!! OW! MY LEG! --==--==--==--==-- ||| Checkered Flag ||| By: Mark "Stingray" Santora / | \ GEnie: AEO.4 Delphi: SANTORA ------------------------------------------------------------------- It begins with a sound. The purr comes to life and surrounds you, echoing through your head. It is almost deafening. Your heart starts to pound harder. It gets louder, almost blocking out the revving engine noise. Then it happens, in a flash of light the green comes; and the race begins. =-=-=-=-=-=-= //// Overview =-=-=-=-=-=-= Taking a break from blasting imps, aliens, and predators, you strap yourself into the first full fledged racing game for the Jaguar, Checkered Flag. In this tribute to Virtua Racing you control your racer as you speed around 10 different tracks with 6 different views, in four different weather conditions, with up to 5 drones that compete with you for the title. As you can see, there are quite a number of different options in this game. A quick note: This review is based on having played Checkered Flag for over a week. So, none of those, "he only played it for five minutes" comments, please. =-=-=-=-=-=-= //// The Game =-=-=-=-=-=-= After the title screen comes the set up screen. Here is where the best part of Checkered Flag lies. You can control just about everything in the game. First you start with your car. What Color, sir? Choose between 6 color combinations. Next, what's it like outside? The weather is either Sun, Rain, Fog, or Dark (available with joypad code 8,4,7,3 when "weather" is highlighted). Next your airfoil, sir, would you like that high or low? Tires, dry or wet? Now, would you like to control the 6 speed transmission yourself or would you prefer the 5 speed automatic? And how many of the 5 drones would you care to race against? Fine. thank you. Is this a tournament, single race, or free practice? Good. How many laps would you like to go sir? Up to 99, we do have to sleep, you know. Splendid. And finally, which of our 10 tracks would you like to drive? If there were any more questions I would be certain a butler was hovering about. After selecting from your plethora of options, hit A, B, or C and let's go! You are on the starting line with the Announcer, very crisply saying, "Gentlemen, start your engines!" You drop your car into gear and your engine screams into action, redlining. When the starting light turns green, you speed off into the horizon. As previously stated, Checkered Flag is a tribute to Virtua Racing. Your car, the opponents, and the landscape are all comprise of polygons. The only bitmaps are the excellent skies that are the horizon. There are six different views in the game for you to choose from. View one is in the car looking out from the drivers position. View two has you just outside the car just above your airfoil. View three places you about 5 feet above and behind your airfoil. View four is like a helicopter chase view of the race. View five is a little lower than the helicopter chase, but much closer to the car. View six best represents another helicopter chase, but from quite a bit higher up. The exterior views smoothly flow from one to the other. They are changed by pressing buttons one through six on your numeric pad. I find that views three and four are the best for the game. Your joypad controls the movement of the car, left turns you left and right turns you right. When using a manual transmission, pressing up shifts you into the next higher gear. Pressing down, shifts you into a lower gear. There are six gears in the manual transmission. Control is one of the main factors that seems to have everyone talking. Of course, I picked up Checkered Flag on the day of release and my initial comments were not very good. The control is exceptionally touchy. The manual refers to steering as, "While holding the joypad down, the car will turn a small amount at first, then will turn more sharply before lessening again." What does this mean? It means that you can not hold the pad down while you turn. If you do, you will end up turning ninety degrees and crash into whatever polygon is there. Trust me, you do a lot of crashing in this game. Thank god your car is invulnerable. It does not get damaged, it does not blow up. It either stops completely, slows down, or flips - a lot. And it always ends up on its wheels. (I think they are taking this cat/jaguar thing a little far.) Another thing to note about the flipping is that while you are flipping you still have control of your car! If you keep your accelerator depressed, you will keep moving once you land. You can also steer your car somewhat, while you are flipping to help you correct your course once you land. The problem with the steering in this game is what will keep it from becoming a full blown hit like AvP. On the other hand, and if I didn't mention this there would be plenty of angry CF players out there, you can turn around. In other words, this game is not on rails. You can drive anywhere on the track you want. Sure, you can't drive over the water, but who can? So in essence you get 20 tracks, 10 in one direction and 10 in the other. There is also a pit right next to the starting line. You can pull in, and pull out. As far as I can tell there is no practical purpose for the pit. I wish there had been. Perhaps if you damaged you car, or in long races if your tires wore down. Maybe someone in your pit crew telling you how many laps you've done. =-=-=-=-=-=-= //// Graphics =-=-=-=-=-=-= The graphics are quite colorful. Your car is sharply animated and the horizon smoothly comes into view from the lower camera angles. As you move up, though, the horizon jumps into the frame much like Cybermorph. However, the distances to the horizon are accurately portrayed here by the use of color. The colors are faded and less vibrant in the distance than they are in the immediate vicinity of your car. Speaking of distance, there are several things that can hinder your driving ability (besides the control). There is Fog, which is very nicely implemented. In fact, you must specifically change your tires for it. The distance is covered in a wet looking blanket, and so is the road. Without the Wet tires, you're all over the place more than usual. The Rain isn't that impressive an effect. The rain is flat and boring looking and appears to be placed on as a sort of transparency behind your car. Ok, imagine the HUD on AvP. That's where the rain is. It isn't half a mile down the road. And the road doesn't "look" wet. You know little puddles and such. The best of the weather conditions is night. The darkness is great and I find it to be the most impressive of all the backgrounds and driving simulations. It kinda reminds me of the classic, Night Driver. On the screen you have the race course in front of you laid out and your speed indicator, gear, position, lap time and best lap time, tachometer, and your track map. All of these remain on screen throughout your race. You can, by pressing the option button on the set up screen, turn off the tachometer, and stop the race map from spinning - or turn it off as well. From the option screen you can also customize the controls of your pad. Default settings are "A" for accelerate, "B" for brake, and "C" for cruise. From within the game the Option Button gives you access to the sound f/x and music volume, which you can alter. These alterations, along with the pad controls and the screen display will be saved to the cartridge's flash memory. Like all the other Jaguar cartridges to date, up to 100,000 changes can be made before the memory is no longer usable. The five drones (maximum) that you race against are just as well drawn as you. Unfortunately, they are difficult to see at times until you are almost on top of them. All of the sudden you seem to be on top of them, and then you are, literally. You crash and go flipping through the air, and then you're on the road again. The sound of the other cars are not very well used, as it is difficult to tell sometimes if they have passed you because you can't hear them! =-=-=-=-=-= //// Sound =-=-=-=-=-= The music in the game is one of the best parts. For each of the ten tracks there is a specific tune. There is also a specific tune for the opening screen and option screen as well as the "Race Winner" screen. The music is top class, different than Tempest 2000, but then that type of music wouldn't work here. The sound effects are limited to that between your car engine and the other cars whizzing past you. =-=-=-=-=-=-= //// vs. Lynx =-=-=-=-=-=-= I know, I know, it isn't really fair to compare a 64 bit console to a 8/16-bit handheld. But I felt that this review would be strangely incomplete without it. Some say that the handling is identical between the two versions of the game, so I dusted off my Lynx case, dropped in my Checkered Flag card and played again. Like the Jag version, your car is invulnerable. It will come to a complete stop or spin 360 degrees before allowing you to take control of it. But unlike the Lynx version, the Jaguar version has multiple views. As for the control, the Lynx version handles much better. It handles exactly how you think it would handle for a video game. It doesn't overturn you for holding the pad. Also where the Lynx version shines over its younger brother is in the Lynxability of it. This is my biggest gripe with the Jaguar version, a one player game. If a split screen wasn't possible (I don't see why not) than you should at least be able to link the systems together like Doom. This would severely helped the gameplay of the Jaguar version. We all know there is nothing more fun than beating your friend at a video game. Don't believe me? How many times do you see people lining up to play Mortal Kombat 2 against a friend. It's one thing to beat up a computer, but beating your friend is another story. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-= //// Conclusion =-=-=-=-=-=-=-= I was disappointed in the end product of Checkered Flag for the Jaguar. I was expecting more, at least a two player option. I could at least forgive the harshness of the controls but without it, is just becomes a VR knock-off that can be fun, but requires patience to learn to drive. And then after a while, you end up wondering what else is there to do in the game besides drive in circles. We can only hope the Checkered Flag 2 will be what we hoped Checkered Flag would be. If you are in desperate need for a driving game, I'm not telling you to buy it, but you could do worse. With some other racing games in the pipeline, perhaps you should save your money and pick up other stuff until then. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= //// Final Ratings =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Title: Checkered Flag JagNet: No Design: Rebellion Players: One Published by: Atari Corp. Available: Now (US, UK) Price: $59.95 Here's the Summary ratings: "*" is a whole "+" is a half 5 stars maximum Graphics - **+ They are good, but not great. After 6 months delay, you wonder if this was the best they could do. Audio - *** Sound f/x are only adequate, but the music helps out. Control - *+ It just doesn't work all that well. Gameplay - ** Just below average. If it was average, you could control it better. Overall - **+ There are other racers in the pipeline. Wait for them unless you need to buy it. Mark's Keys to Ratings (Sort of a State of Mind) ***** - "Oh, you want some of this, too?" - Aliens. **** - "Yippie Ki Yea!" - Die Hard. *** - "Full Impulse Power, Mr. Scott." - Any Star Trek Film. ** - "Bogus!" - Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure. * - "There anything else that'll keep it from falling?" "Yeah, the basement." - Speed. --==--==--==--==-- --------------------------------------------------------------------------- -- --==--==-- CompuServe Sign-Up Information --==--==-- -- -- -- -- To sign up for CompuServe service, call (voice call) (800) 848-8199. -- -- Ask for operator #198. You will be sent a $15.00 value CIS membership -- -- kit for free. -- -- -- -- --==--==-- CompuServe Sign-Up Information --==--==-- -- --------------------------------------------------------------------------- --==--==--==--==-- --------------------------------------------------------------------------- -- --==--==-- GEnie Sign-Up Information --==--==-- -- -- -- -- 1. Set your communications software for half duplex (local echo) -- -- at 300, 1200, or 2400 baud. -- -- -- -- 2. Dial toll free: 1-800-638-8369 (or in Canada, 1-800-387-8330). -- -- Upon connection, enter HHH. -- -- -- -- 3. At the U# prompt, enter XTX99436,GENIE then press . -- -- -- -- 4. Have a major credit card ready. In the U.S., you may also use -- -- your checking account number. -- -- -- -- For more information in the United States or Canada, call 1-800- -- -- 638-9636 or write: GEnie, c/o GE Information Services, P.O. Box -- -- 6403, Rockville, MD 20850-1785. -- -- -- -- --==--==-- Atari's Official Online Resource! --==--==-- -- --------------------------------------------------------------------------- --==--==--==--==-- ||| ||| Shutdown ............................ Power off, EXIT, BYE, Logoff / | \ ------------------------------------------------------------------ We welcome feedback from all of our readers; feedback both positive and negative. Whatever you think of our efforts, we sincerely would like to know. Our EMail addresses are sprinkled throughout each issue - with the new Internet gateway into GEnie, you can reach us through the Internet also. Append "@genie.geis.com" to any of our GEnie addresses. Until the next issue of AEO, I remain, Your Editor Travis Guy Internet: aeo.mag@genie.geis.com --==--==--==--==-- (This issue printed on recycled photons) --==--==--==--==-- DNFTEC --==--==--==--==-- #1 Wide_left > 2*(Wide_right) --==--==--==--==-- No Inflation Necessary --==--==--==--==-- Atari Explorer Online Magazine is a bi-weekly publication covering the entire Atari 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 . 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. --==--==--==--==-- Atari, ST, Mega ST, STE, Mega STE, TT030, Atari Falcon030, TOS, MultiTOS, NewDesk, BLiTTER, Atari Lynx, ComLynx, Atari Jaguar, Atari Portfolio, and the Atari Fuji Symbol are all trademarks or registered trademarks of Atari Corporation. All other trademarks and identifying marks mentioned in this issue belong to their respective owners. --==--==--==--==-- Atari Explorer Online Magazine "Your Source for Atari News" Copyright (c) 1993-1994, Subspace Publishers * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: A E O ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: :: Volume 3 - Issue 14 ATARI EXPLORER ONLINE 18 December 1994 :: ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::