@BEGIN_FILE_ID.DIZDark Unicorn Dispatch Newsletter Nov/Dec Issue
Dark Unicorn Productions' bi-monthly newsletter.
This issue: CD32/SX-1, CD titles and where to get them,
software reviews, new DUP products, new commercial
games coming from UK, tons more. Get it!
@END_FILE_ID.DIZ
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"One Step Above Excellence"
Dark Unicorn Dispatch Newsletter
November/December Edition
"A Bi-Monthly Informative Look Into The Amiga and CD32."
Call Dark Unicorn Productions' World Headquarters - TOMBSTONE BBS
(803) 863-0313 - 24 Hours - 14.4 K Baud - Latest Amiga Shareware
On-Line Games and Interactive Fiction - Commodore News - Cheats
DUP Products Old and New Always On-Line - Specialize in Hard To
Find and Odd Amiga Shareware - Thousands of Titles Off-Line
* Next Issue: AmigaGuide Format! *
... Table of Contents ...
Introduction - Welcome to The Dark Unicorn Dispatch
Coming Attractions - What New Is Coming To The Amiga
Shareware Update - The Best In Shareware and PD
Software Reviews - A Look Into Cannon Fodder & Valhalla
Hardware Reviews - Find Out More About The CD32's SX-1
CD32 Corner - Learn About The Awesome CD32
The Future - Some Thoughts on The Amiga's Future
Where Are We? - How To Contact DUP Members
Introduction
Welcome to the Dark Unicorn Dispatch. This issue we discuss
the Amiga CD32 game console. If you are having trouble finding
software, this issue's column CD32 Corner will be sure to help
you out.
We also have great reviews of the popular games Cannon
Fodder and Valhalla: The Lord of Infinity. The latter really
goes to show what a great production house can do with AMOS (ah,
didn't know did you?). In addition to our helpful software
reviews, we will also review the SX-1 "A1200 Emulator" for the
CD32. All this plus much more! Next issue, we will release this
newsletter in the popular AmigaGuide format. Stay tuned!
There are a few things I would like to touch on in this
issue's introduction.
There has been tons of gloom and doom about the Amiga. I
have seen lots of people run for the MS-DOS platform, dumping an
old friend in the process. Some people, admittedly, DO keep
their Amiga, but never turn it on after the Pee Cee enters the
house. Let me share my outlook.
o Commodore has been figuratively dead for five years.
Drive the last nail in the coffin and let someone who CARES pick
up the pieces and run forth. In my humble opinion, NO ONE can do
worse than Commodore did.
o PCs and Macs are STILL playing catch up. Those of us who
have no choice to use those 'other' platforms at work realize
this fact EVERY DAY! In regards to Operating Systems, graphic
manipulation, and video production, in may be a long time indeed
until these platforms catch up. Find a cool game on the Pee Cee
that DOESN'T require a CD-ROM or five megs of RAM.
o MicroSoft is cutting its own throat. Why? Well, consider
the power of technology today and look at the 80x86 PC. There is
STILL a 640K barrier there (among other things) and it is because
no one wants to risk backward compatibility problems. Bing! Let
MicroSoft continue to set the standard: it is STILL SUB-
standard.
o The Amiga will not die. Do you all realize that the Amiga
should have died a thousand deaths already? The fact that this
machine has survived this long is proof that the Amiga is HERE TO
STAY somehow. You can't keep a good computer down. I also
recognize that NO other platform has the loyalty, endurance,
strength, and LOVE (yes, love) of its users. NONE. Consider
that when you consider changing platforms. Do you ever think you
could LOVE a PC? I couldn't.
o Development is still happening! Look around. Just
because Amiga World is shrinking and ads are smaller, there are a
LOT of products and companies not represented in the pages of
American magazines. If you really want a rush, get an Amiga
Format magazine from the U.K. They are available from large book
centers including WaldenBooks (if your local Walden doesn't carry
it, send about ten Amiga friends in and ask for it; it is on
their circulation list so they CAN get it). You can also order
it from major American companies like Sideline Software and
AmigaMan. Its nice to see a magazine totally dedicated to the
Amiga that is STILL in wide format with over a hundred pages a
month. I guarantee that this magazine will renew your faith.
Faith is a pretty hard commodity to hold onto these days.
o Above all, SUPPORT THE DEVELOPERS!!! I am really bad
about registering my Shareware (something I am working hard to
fix) so I understand why people don't. Being a Shareware
programmer myself, it is often depressing to see how poorly a
Shareware product does. Remember that demo groups, shareware
programmers, and such often become commercial developers. Show
the world that we are serious about supporting our platform and
maybe they will too. There are already some rumors flying around
about MicroSoft supporting the Amiga by coding a version of WORD
for us. This scares me and you will understand why when you read
the article 'The Future' elsewhere in this issue. It could be
the worst thing ever for the Amiga.
Well, I have rambled enough this issue. Hope you enjoy the
coverage and PLEASE drop us a line and tell us what you think of
the newsletter, our products, and anything else on your mind.
Unlike some companies, we truly CARE about the Amiga. I would
probably DIE without one. Of course, now that I have a CD32 and
realize that there are more CD titles for it than any other
console platform on the PLANET, life is good!
Shane R. Monroe
Coming Attractions
There are literally dozens of new titles coming for the
Amiga. Although there is a definate swing toward the AGA
platform, there are plenty coming for ECS Amigas and for the CD32
(which is AGA too). DUP also has a bunch of great goodies in
store for you. Last but not least, we included a couple of game
cheats to help you all out.
DARK UNICORN PRODCUCTIONS
This is a little summary of all the programs currently in
development here at Dark Unicorn Productions and some notes about
them. I also included the coder(s) at the beginning so you know
who is leading the project. Look for our demo/slideshow that
contains exclusive screen snapshots of all these great games. It
can be found on GEnie, Tombstone BBS, BIX, and any other good
BBSs.
FLYING TIGERS - (Seumas McNally) This is what we like to
call an Arcade Simulation. Here is the deal. Imagine for a
minute Choplifter, Gunship 2000, and Desert Strike all rolled
together. That is the best way to explain it. The game is a
horizontal side scroller a la Choplifter. You are offered
numerous choices of helicopters to fly, each with its own
distinguishing flying characteristics. You can even recruit a
couple of 'wingmen' for the computer to fly with you. Then you
arm up your chopper. Lots of missions will keep you busy for a
while. The destruction rate is excellent; you can kill or
destroy everything. The game is in its early beta stages and
VERY playable. This will be a classic.
IT'S THE PITS - (Kit Felice) An arcade adventure game
featuring multi-part game play, smooth graphics, and very clean
routines. I have seen the first couple of stages of the game and
it is IMPRESSIVE! One scene has you flying down a tunnel like in
StarDust blowing away these ugly bugs that are flying at you.
Another is a very clean Lunar Lander type segment with some
totally killer graphics. Pretty cool. I talk to Kit fairly
often, and progress is coming along well.
<TITLE CONFIDENTIAL> - (Troy Toulou, Shane Monroe <assist>)
A new financial program, the likes the Amiga has never seen
before. This will be a modular designed productivity title aimed
at the personal finance and small business community. Modules
can be added as needed by demand across a relational type
database. Using a very unique, flexible, easy to use interface,
this program will answer a lot of Amiga owner's prayers for a
good finance system. We are projecting a preview around
Christmas.
FLEET COMMANDER - (Shane Monroe) Take command of a starship
and explore the galaxy in this new space simulation! Very
similar to Star Trek, this game will feature rendered graphics,
digital sound, full motion video clips (!), exhaustive game play,
great special effects, and tons more. The Shareware version will
be a slightly crippled search, explore, and destroy game while
the Enhanced Version may be available shortly thereafter with a
campaign scenario which will allows landing parties, 3D asteroid
flights, plus much more. The Shareware version is about 60%
complete at this time (mostly coding is done; graphics are in
production). A preview will be out hopefully by Halloween.
TOMCAT - (John Graham) Quite possibly the most exciting game
to hit the Amiga in years. Finally, full motion video for the
Amiga; and without a CD-ROM! This new game will set new
definitions as to what the world can do with this killer machine.
The entire game is live video. If you want to see exactly how
the game is played and laid out, get a Sega CD and play TOMCAT
ALLEY. It is the root inspiration for TOMCAT. Plays just like
it, too. Very exciting. The graphics are 1/4 screen black and
white (color will probably come with our next FMV game), but very
smooth and fluid. Full digital sound, of course. Don't expect
it to be really big. The size and resolution of the playfield
allows us to keep stuff small. The game will require a hard
drive (or another device to install the game to) and will be
recommended to be played out of RAM (with an accelerator there is
NO break in the action at all running from RAM!). The caching
program HYPERCACHE from Prairie Software is also a recommended
option as it makes the game load faster for those with slow
machines. Loading is done on the fly while you play; much faster
than a CD-ROM. We project about 5 disks for this release. The
Shareware version will be only air to air combat, while the
registered version will contain reconnaissance and ground battle
too. The engine for the game is completed, now we are processing
all the tons of video to bring in. I have played it (early
preview) and it is just KILLER! We are all very excited about
it. A space simulation with FMV is tentatively planned if this
game is popular.
NOTE: Just before this newsletter went to 'press', we
released the playable preview of TOMCAT and the response was
TWICE as much as we had hoped for! We have people calling
Tombstone BBS from Germany getting our products. TOMCAT is going
to be HOT! Development for the NEXT FMV game is already in the
planning stages!
That about sums it up. If you have any comments or ideas
about these titles, please write us. We would LOVE to hear from
you!
COMMERCIAL OFFERINGS
Here is a list of games that are now available in the U.K.
(possibly in the U.S. by the time you read this) or will soon be
released. Start saving your money - it is going to be a merry
Christmas!!
Amiga Games
Theme Park (AGA/ECS) Bubbles and Squeak
Ishar III (AGA) On The Ball
World Cup USA '94 Dream Web (AGA/ECS)
Sensible Golf (AGA/ECS) Sensible World Soccer (AGA)
Dawn Patrol (AGA/ECS) Pinball Illusions (AGA/ECS)
Gulp! Mr. Blobby
Lords of the Realm High Sea Trader
Big Sea Kingdoms of Germany
KTM Motocross Lemmings III
Troll Islands All Terrain Racing
Battle Isle II (AGA) NHL Hockey
PGA Euro Tour Shaq Fu
Putty Squad Out To Lunch
Jungle Book (AGA) Super Stardust (AGA)
Breach 3 Castle Conquest
Dark Stone Dragon Stone
Field of Glory Hannibal
Police Quest III Robinson Requiem
Realms Ruff & Tumble
Mighty Max (AGA) Skeleton Krew (AGA)
Top Gear 2 (AGA) Magic Carpet (AGA)
Aladdin (AGA) Banshee (AGA)
D-Day Detroit (AGA)
King's Quest VI (AGA/ECS) Raiden
Sim City 2000 (AGA) TFX (AGA)
U.F.O. (AGA) Alien Breed-Tower Assault
Cannon Fodder 2 King Pin Bowling (AGA)
Kid Chaos
CD32 Games
Marvin's Marvellous Adventure Scavenger 4 (Nova Storm)
World Class Cricket Jungle Strike
MegaRace Communicator
Alien Breed II Arcade Pool
Banshee Captain Dynamo
Brian The Lion Brutal Soccer
Caesar & Chort Cannon Fodder
Combat Cars Dark Seed
Dragon Stone Fire and Ice
Guardian Heimdall 2
Litil Divil Liverpool
Ryder Cup Universe
TFX Simon the Sorcerer
Skidmarks Aladdin
Kin's Quest VI Sim City 2000
Theme Park U.F.O.
CHEATING
For those of you needing a little help in the game department,
here are a couple of cheats we came up with. Enjoy.
Dune II - If you want to make LOTS of cash with your harvester,
here is somthing to try. Every time you click on your harvester,
it reports how much spice the harvester has harvested. Well,
every time you click it, it also adds 1% to it. Just keep
clicking and you will have a full harvester in no time!
Valhalla: The Lord of Infinity - Here are the level codes:
Level 2: LOPFGW Level 3: UHGWIL
Level 4:ABHEFT
Shareware Update
Instead of discussing new stuff this issue, I want to recap
those titles that we have found exceptional. Some are old and
some are new; some maybe you have never heard of before.
Remember, we get some UNIQUE stuff on Tombstone. This list is by
NO MEANS comprehensive; but I want to give everyone some new
things to look at. I mean, EVERYONE knows about TERM but what
about Scheduler?
UTILITIES
1. Virus Z II V1.9 - How could you turn your computer on
and NOT have this program running in the
background? Virus protection done RIGHT.
2. Scheduler - Anyone who knows a little something about
the Amiga OS should have this program.
You can view and remove tasks, windows,
and just about everything else.
3. DirWorks V1.62 - Still the best directory utility ever.
Smaller than DirOpus and easier to use
than anything else. Skip Dir Works V2.0.
Too much like DirOpus and it is no longer
Shareware.
4. AmigaGuide - What the hell took this system so long to
make it to the premier multi-media
computer? Hypertext document system.
5. PC Task - Cool. Finally, I can cut ALL ties with the
PC world. Sure it is slow; but it WORKS!
Heh heh... Pretty neat playing PARATROOPER
on an Apple II emulator, Battle Chess on a
PC emulator, and still run the Amiga un-
scathed. HA!
MUSIC
1. EdPlayer - This is one of those titles that everyone
somehow forgets to register and really
should. Could support more formats...
2. EaglePlayer - THIS supports formats. I don't even know
what some of them ARE! Lacks the finesse'
of EdPlayer but has some really cool and
different options/displays.
3. 2 Unlimited Demo- I know, it should be in the demo section,
but it is more music than demo. This is
one of the best around for music quality.
DEMOS
1. H_Hammer II - Hypnotic Hammer II. 121K. Still one of
the most impressive demo-2-size ratio.
A total mind shock. Pumping cool music and
wild effects. A must have.
2. Virtual Dreams - This is one of the AGA demos I HAVE seen
and another bit of evidence that PROVES
that Amiga can run a DOOM engine properly.
This is from Fairlight.
3. State of the Art-Often copied, never duplicated. The very
first of the 'dancing silhouette' demos. I
still love the music mod (available on
Tombstone, BTW). This is a true favorite.
4. 9 Fingers - Some guys as SOTA. Somehow they took live
video and turned it into detailed polygons
and animated it! Truly awesome. Music is
decent, but the video process is what
really makes this one shine.
5. Sequential - A vector rollercoaster ride and the best
computer bubbles I have ever seen.
6. Americon Demo - Short but impressive look at what you can
do with chunky pixels.
7. Odyssey Demo - Five disks. Over 20 minutes. Killer
graphics and sound. Now hard drive
installable. Space battle. Any other
questions?
8. Kefren's D.D. - Desert Dream. God, what cool music!
If I could program like that, I would
really be making money hand over fist.
Write games, damn it!
9. Cube-O-Matic - See, we can do texture mapping too!
Good music too. Hey, interactivity!
10. Eric Schwartz - Take your pick. Favorites include Day
at the Beach, Quality Time, Morphy the
Magic Man, Batman (shed a lot of tears
laughing over that one), and the Anti-
Lemmings demo. Also, the intro from
Super Frog was his, too.
ENTERTAINMENT
(No bias here, folks, just the facts <grin>)
1. Scorched Tanks - This game does rule. Death and destruction
still sells. Up to 60 weapons and 13
shields with lots of tank deaths.
2. Ork Attack - Death, violence, and lots of gore: They
finally got it right. The blood left on
the wall is cool.
3. RingWars - Oh, yeah. It's STAR CASTLE! Vectors and
all. Well done.
4. Deluxe Galaga - The latest version finally got my
attention with the two player simul-
taneous option. Worth the cash.
5. Klondike AGA - This is cool. Nice graphics, but it is
still only solitaire.
6. MegaBall - Umm...I just threw this one in because I
would've gotten lynched if I didn't. For
me, I prefer Arakanoid...
7. Mine Runner - Lode Runner. Yup, perfect translation with
only one sound effect being wrong. Oh,
but you CAN play four players at once!
8. Deluxe PacMan - I still like it. Where else can you get
a gun for the yellow guy?
9. Extreme Violence- Don't lie...How long did you laugh the
first time you waxed the other guy? I
thought so. BINGO!
10. Llammatron - I finally realized what a GREAT clone of
RoboTron this is; I had to stop LAUGHING
first.
Next issue: A look at the latest and greatest from the
files of Tombstone BBS!
Software Reviews
Games have been sparse these days (at least here in the
U.S.) but the quality seems to have gone up. Cannon Fodder and
Valhalla are two of such games. Let's take a look.
CANNON FODDER
For those of you who have been stuck on a deserted island,
this game is pure classic arcade death action with some great
little puzzle solving thrown in to keep the game challenging.
The view is overhead and slightly tilted. The game play is
entirely with the mouse. You control up to three little soldiers
in various terrains like the jungle, frozen wasteland, etc. The
input is standard 'click on the place you want to go and you will
go there' deal. Weapons are handled the same way with the right
mouse button. There are lots of enemy soldiers, buildings, etc.
to demolish while you play. You can split your soldiers up and
leave a little 'detail' back while one soldier sneaks around.
You can even split them into three, one man details. In fact,
some missions REQUIRE you to.
The point of the game, basically, is to kill and/or destroy
people and stuff. This is all for a mission, of course. The
missions can be as easy as killing all the enemy soldiers or more
difficult like destroying a heavily guarded enemy ammo dump.
Some are almost wickedly hard 'Lemming' type puzzles where you
must put a soldier in a specific spot or carry out a smaller
mission within the mission. Beware, there are tons of missions
that will keep you busy for a LONG time to come.
The game is VERY well polished. The background graphics are
very rich and detailed. The other, moving graphics are small but
very well animated. As with all of Sensible Software's games,
the sprites are terribly cute (as cute as soldiers blowing each
other away can be) and though the detail is low, there is never a
question as to what they are doing.
Music and sound effects are excellent. The music is
perfect. The killer intro song will have you laughing awhile (if
you listen to the words). Sound effects finish the game off
right. From the terribly excellent explosions to the screams of
soldiers as they die, all are done exquisitely. Turn up the
volume!
Sensible Software definitely has a sense of humor. Most of
their games has some subtle humor, but this one is great. Take
for instance the fact that you can continue to shoot enemy
soldiers over and over again. This is great fun. Pop a round in
them and they scream, fly backward, fall to the ground and wait a
second before disappearing. So, pop another round into them
before they vanish. They will again scream and fly back. Repeat
this until you are tired of hearing their screams. Great bloody
fun. Speaking of blood, there is an appropriate amount littered
through the game. Cartoon blood, though, to be sure.
It is a very addictive game. Plan on wasting numerous hours
playing it. Big bang for the buck. Hard drive installation is
missing (of course) but the fast floppy loader makes life
bearable. Swapping of the disks in minimal. Some form of two
player action would've been a nice treat; maybe even over a null
modem cable or ParNet. The version I reviewed was PAL, so if you
still have one of those old OCS machines, you might want to ask
the dealer about it before you fork over the cash.
VALHALLA: THE LORD OF INFINITY
Once in a great while we get a game that is truly different
from anything on other platforms and certainly on the Amiga.
VALHALLA is one of those games.
VALHALLA comes on four disks and is billed (appropriately)
as the Amiga's first talking adventure game. In fact, the story
plot is told to you by the Prince of Valhalla himself (your on-
screen alter ego). Somehow, the speech really lends a hand to
the game. Even playing off of floppies doesn't slow down the
action that much.
The storyline is basic. Your father, the King, was killed
by his brother in an attempt to take the crown for himself. You
must find a way to reclaim the crown as your own.
This is a pure adventure game. There are NO monsters to
fight, however. The game is pure puzzle solving and exploring.
In its most basic sense, it is an object-exchange game. Find an
object, figure out where it goes, it will give you a new object,
use that object to open a door, get a new object, etc. This is
not a bad gendre, though, since you have much more time to think
things out instead of engaging in an encounter every two minutes.
The graphics are superb. Dark dank dungeon all done up in
brown. Very nicely detailed. There is very little on-screen
animation, though. In fact, the only real animation is your on-
screen alter ego, the Prince himself. He stays stationary in the
middle whilst the dungeon moves around him. His animation as he
walks, peers, and talks is incredibly smooth and sharp. Other
things, such as the talking skulls, have limited animation.
The true magic comes from the little guy's personality. He
will look 'up' at you and tell you just about everything that
happens. For example, when you look at a key, he will lean
forward, peer at it, and then look up and say 'It looks like a
door key!" or something appropriate. This is the standard
English accent of course. Other cute expressions are, "It
doesn't fit!", "I can't do that!", "It's a SKULL!!" etc. The
skulls themselves speak in their deep baritone voices, "BRING ME
BLOOD!" or something similar depending on what they want from
you.
Although there are no monsters, there are plenty of ways to
die, mainly through the use of pit type traps. His cuteness even
extends to this point where he screams as he disappears. There
are lots of ways to avoid the pits; sometimes you can see them,
other times a hidden map will tell you where they are. The save
game feature should be used often.
Technically speaking, the game was well written. I could
run it on numerous system configurations; from my brain dead A600
to my dressed out A2000/25mhz/7megs. (Haven't tried it on my SX-
1 equipped CD32 yet, but I don't see why it wouldn't work. The
hard drive installer facility was not only easy but flawless and
the icons from each disk arranged themselves perfectly in the
hard drive window after the install to form a nice large picture.
Nice touch. The game was written in AMOS, by the way. One more
notch in this awesome languages' belt. Aside from published data
deeming it so, any programmer of AMOS will recognize the
occasional 'echoing' samples during the introduction speech.
There are a couple of things I did NOT care for in the game.
First, there is only one save game position. That is NOT cool
for an adventure game of ANY type. On the plus side, it does
restore the game in a flash; even off floppy. There are no
options for turning off the repetitive speech. I wouldn't have a
use for it, but some people would. Some nice music in the
background during play would also be welcome. Also, I wouldn't
mind a little 'arcade' mode somewhere in the game. Just
something small to break up the monotony of the normal game play.
Last thing, perhaps an option to play with the mouse.
All in all, I heartily recommend this game. Even if you
don't really care for adventure games, this one is quite well
rounded and very pleasant. There is an instant liking of the
little Prince and you will find yourself sympathizing with him
when he says, "I'm SCARED!"
Hardware Reviews
This issue, we are going to discuss the new SX-1 expansion
unit (about $249) for the CD32 game console.
As most of you know already, the SX-1 basically turns your
CD32 into a CD-ROM equipped A1200. With the exception of the
Planar to Chunky chip, they are basically the same.
The SX-1 plugs into the expansion slot on the back of the
CD32. The box itself is rather plain, but has ports sticking out
all over it for the computer basics such as a keyboard, disk
drive, serial, parallel, etc. It also allows for RAM expansion
and includes an IDE interface as well. Once connected and an
Amiga compatible external disk drive in place, you are prepared
to run the dozens of AGA titles available. As much as I hate to
admit it, the games market is swinging to AGA. Some very hot
titles like U.F.O., TFX, Aladdin, Sim City 2000, and others are
AGA only.
Any AT PC keyboard can be plugged into it, making it cheap to
add it on. There is also a special SX-1 keyboard that better
matches the CD32 available for about $45.
This SX-1, naturally, allows you to use the popular PARNET
software and cable to connect the CD32 to your Amiga. This, of
course, allows you to tap that double speed CD-ROM drive as a
device. No, a $600 CD-ROM drive is not a great deal, but it is a
nice extra for the $30 it'll cost you for the PARNET stuff.
Chances are you already have it.
RAM expansion is handled by a chip and can be upgraded in
the standard one, four, or eight meg manner. I doubt you will
need more RAM, unless you plan on using the CD32 as your primary
computer as well as console game machine.
Software Hut has a 40MB HD for the SX-1 for about $150.
This, again, is really unnecessary if you have your systems
connected with PARNET. PARNET is REALLY fast, and should be
usable for most games.
Is the SX-1 expansion module for you? Well, if you are like
me and already have a fully dressed out Amiga 500/2000/3000 and a
CD32, and really want an AGA computer, this is one way of doing
it and getting the CD-ROM drive as an extra goodie. With AGA
fast becoming the gaming standard, it would really be wise for
all die hard game fans to get this SX-1 to keep up.
CD32 Corner
This is a new addition to the Dark Unicorn Dispatch and it
is here to stay. I got to see one of these incredible game
machines about a month ago, but have been so busy programming on
Fleet Commander that I haven't had a chance to try and get one.
Now, I have one and it is really the most exciting console
around.
For those of you who know all about the CD32, go ahead and
skip this part. I want to try and impart the excitement I have
for this machine to everyone.
I have a Sega Genesis at home too; I won't lie to you.
Although half the titles available on Sega started off as Amiga
games, there are always a couple of really big titles that take
awhile to make it to the Amiga (Such as Mortal Kombat II and
Beavis and Butthead). That is why I bought the Genesis.
Let's run down a comparison chart of Sega CD and CD32.
CD32 SEGA CD
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Processor/Speed 68EC020/14mhz 68000/16mhz
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Max Colors >256,000 64
-----------------------------------------------------------------
CD-ROM Speed Double Speed Single Speed
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Extra/Custom Processors AGA Chipset/Planar One Graphics and
to Chunky Converter One Extra 68000
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Expansion Ability One Port None
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Controller Type 11-Button/Pad 3-Button/Pad
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Software Available:
Firmware N/A Hundreds of Titles
CD Specific >130 Couple dozen
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Price: $369-400 $300-400
-----------------------------------------------------------------
There are a LOT of good quality titles for Sega CD. Some of
which I would really like to see make it to the CD32. Some of
these include Dragon's Lair, Sewer Shark, Double Switch, Tomcat
Alley, Night Trap, and some others. But, the grainy 64 color 1/4
screen full motion video from CD is becoming quite unacceptable
in this new age of games. Also, the Genesis has a tenancy to
overwork the hardware (yeah, like the Amiga has never done THAT)
sometimes to the point of losing graphics altogether (Mortal
Kombat II is a good example; have both players play Kitana and
both do the Fan Wave at each other and watch most of the player
graphics disappear). The graphic processor is very good, but no
match at all for the AGA Chipset.
Both can play regular CDs, CD+Gs (graphics are imbedded with
the music and are displayed while the music is playing), and DK
Karaoke discs. With a Full Motion Video Card ($249) you can
watch V-CDs (actual movies) on the CD32. These movies are
getting more and more popular and CD32 WILL play the CD-I format
movies, too (one of the only things CBM ever did right). No
option for this on Sega CD.
When you turn on the CD32, you will immediately want one.
The big AMIGA CD32 logo is on top of the screen with the CD in
chrome spinning around in 3-D. A CD flies up to the screen
and starts releasing colors at you. WOW! There isn't even a
DISC in it yet! As you would expect from an Amiga based product,
you can put in a CD at any time and it will detect it and begin
to play it. You hardly ever have to turn off the machine.
The CD playing facility in the CD32 is totally awesome. It
is the same one that was used for the CDTV and it really is
sharp. In addition to the standard shuffle, random, and
programmability found in most CD players, the CD32 has a really
neat (although mostly useless) feature. When playing a CD, it
will actually show you a CD spinning. Then, above it, a laser
beam is being shot onto the disc! The laser tracks the disc as
it plays, at least giving you the illusion that the laser on the
on-screen disc is in the same position as the laser is on the
actual disc. It is all aesthetics of course, but it is still
pretty neat to watch.
The expansion slot in the back of the CD32 is used for the
full motion video card or the now available SX-1 expansion
device, which allows you to basically turn your CD32 into a CD
equipped A1200. The SX-1 is reviewed elsewhere in this
newsletter. Since A1200s seem to be scarce these days, this is
one of your only methods of getting an Amiga comparable to this.
You can also purchase an inexpensive adapter that will allow you
to hook up your existing Amiga to the CD32 and use the CD-ROM.
So, how about the software? Well, as you may have guessed,
a lot of the stuff out is pretty much the same to its Amiga
counterparts, but with a really nice soundtrack and/or some extra
glitzy backgrounds. On the other hand, there are some miraculous
titles out there, too. Many companies are offering CD 'bundles'
of their popular games like the Lotus Turbo Trilogy (all three
racing games on one CD) or Team 17's Ultimate Body Blows (Body
Blows and Body Blows Galactic together). Don't forget, too, that
most of CDTV's software can be used on the CD32 also. These
titles are on BIG closeout everywhere and can be purchased for a
tenner or less most of the time. Remember, too, that you can use
all the PD CD's if you have an SX-1 or the adapter. There really
is a wealth of software out there.
So what are the best games for the CD32? I am still a
relatively new owner, but here are my favorites so far are
Liberation, Microcosm, and Chaos Engine. I have heard good
things about many of the other titles, too, like Zool 2, Banshee,
D/Generation, TFX, and Wing Commander. One title I was warned
about was DEEP CORE. I heard it is pretty bad. Below is a list
of all known titles that are AVAILABLE at the time of writing.
Prices range from $8-$60. That is FAR from meaning that there
are not tons of other titles out there being sold by private
parties or available in the UK. Check your local For Sale or
Trade Nets.
CD32 Specific Titles
Alfred Chicken Arabian Nights
Banshee BattleChess Enchanced
Battletoads Beavers
Brian The Lion Brutal Sports Football
Castles II Chambers of Shaolin
Chaos Engine D/Generation
Dangerous Streets Deep Core
Defender of the Crown 2 Diggers
Disposable Hero Donk the Duck Samaurai
Fire and Ice Fire Force
Flashback Football
Frontier: Elite II Fury of Furries
Global Effect Grolier's Encyclopedia
Gunship 2000 Heimdall
Humans Impossible Mission 2025
Insight International Karate Champ
James Pond 3: Starfish John Barnes Soccer
Jurassic Park Labyrinth of Time
Legacy of Sorasil Lemmings
Liberation Lost Vikings
Lotus Trilogy Mean Arenas
Microcosm Microcosm/Chaos Engine/Diggers
Morph Naughty Ones
Nick Faldo Golf Nigel Mansel Racing
Oscar Overkill/Lunar C
Pirates Gold Premier
Reach Out For Gold Robocod
Ryder Cup Golf Seek and Destroy
Sensible Soccer Sim City
Striker Summer Olympix
Super Methane Bros. Surf Ninjas
TFX (Coming Soon) Total Carnage
Trolls Ultimate Body Blows
Video Creator Whales Voyage
Wing Commander (Soon) Winter Super Sports
Zool Zool 2
Seven Gates of Jambala U.F.O.
Alien Breed II Top Gear 2
Vital Light Kid Chaos
Aladdin Guardian
Universe Little Divil
Jet Strike Simon the Sorcerer
Beneath a Steel Sky Second Samaurai
Arcade Pool Heimdall 2
Bubba & Stix Wild Cup Soccer
Alien Breed/Qwak Emerald Mines
Sheer Delight
CDTV Titles That Are Compatible
Long Hard Day At The Ranch Bun For Barney
Advanced Military Systems All Dogs Go To Heaven
American Heritage Dictionary American Vista
AMOS PD Library Animals in Motion
Barney Bear Goes Camping Barney Bear Goes To School
Battle Storm Case of the Cautious Condor
Cinderella Classic Board Games
Fun School 3 8yrs+ Fun School 3 5yrs-
Garden Fax: Fruits & Veggies Garden Fax: Garden Plants
Garden Fax: Indoor Plants Garden Fax: Trees, Shrubs, Roses
Hound of the Baskervilles Illustrated Holy Bible
Illustrated Shakespeare Moving Gives Me A Stomach Ache
Mud Puddles My Paint
New Basics Cookbook Paper Bag Princess
Psycho Killer Raffles
Sexual Fantasies Snoopy: Case of the Missing Blanket
Strip Poker Tale of Peter Rabbit
Team Yankee Thomas Snowsuit
Tie Break Tennis Time Table of History: Business
Time Table of History: Science Women in Motion
Wrath of the Demon
SOURCES:
Software Hut 800-93-AMIGA
Better Concepts 800-25-AMIGA
Sideline 800-888-9273
AmigaMan 800-258-0533
The Future
This information is as current as 10/24/94 ...
Right now, there is still no buyer for the Amiga. The
contenders at this time are confirmed to be Commodore UK,
Creative International (CEI), and Commodore Germany. Reports all
say that all other contenders are no longer in the running (so
what's the problem?) All the other contenders had no intentions
nor wants to keep the Amiga alive; but simply to cannibalize it.
Some ugly rumors are floating around about CEI as well. Let's
take a look at each of these contenders and what we know. All of
them want to resurrect the Amiga (Lazarus, eh? Remember AmigaDOS
V1.x?) at least in SOME form.
Commodore UK - My own personal hopeful based on all the new
information about CEI I have. CBM UK wants to revamp the Amiga
using RISC technologies and get AGA product back into the
mainstream as soon as possible. They will concentrate solely on
the UK market to start off with and will work with ANYONE who
wants the distribution rights in other countries. Full support
of the NTSC standard will also continue. I have a feeling that
if CBM UK gets the bid, we will see a very different Amiga in the
next year or two. One that will run just about everything. I
also believe that UK will also license out the Chipset and make
an Amiga Emulator for the PC and Mac. Overall, I think that they
know how to market and will restore the Amiga. It just might
take us awhile to see it here.
Commodore Germany - Sorry, I have NO information at all at
this time of writing. Just that they have entered the foray and
are interested specifically in the A4000T.
CEI - Something is really WRONG here. I truly think that
there is something really bad happening behind the scenes of this
deal. This is *all* speculation, folks. I really hope that I am
wrong and I will be perfectly happy to eat every page of the
newsletter if CEI gets the bid and I am wrong. Consider the
following information and see if you can put them together
yourself. Then you will understand why I am so afraid!
1. CEI has SILENT financiers whose names are NEVER revealed
in any interviews or text.
2. The silent partner is reputed to be a multi-billionaire.
3. Rumor has it that Microsoft is developing MS-WORD for the
Amiga...
4. When CBM UK made their extraordinary offer for the Amiga,
CEI came forth with a bid that CBM UK couldn't HOPE to
touch. (This is still rumor)
5. Commodore's liquidation got a rather large press spot in
Microsoft's in-company newsletter.
Okay, do you see it? BILL GATES WANTS THE AMIGA or at least
parts of it. Don't laugh and say that it isn't possible or be
REALLY stupid and ask why he would want it. WINDOWS SUCKS. That
much is true. What about stealing the Amiga OS and making a
brand new version of Windows? Or some other "new" and "standard"
OS based on AmigaDOS? The Amiga is one of the most powerful
computer engines ever made (VIRTUALITY virtual reality game
systems are based on it as well as lots of other high tech and
powerful systems). My guess is that CEI is a front for
Microsoft. Bill has been waiting for years for Commodore to go
under so he could step in and snap it up for a song. Steal the
Chipset and make a new Windows-accelerator card. Before you
start cheering, remember who we are talking about...Do you REALLY
think that he would let it be Amiga compatible? Nope. He
doesn't need compatibility with anything but MS-DOS and Windows.
Don't forget; Bill Gates doesn't change a lightbulb, he just
declares darkness as the standard and people follow him. Afraid
yet? I certainly am.
Once again, this is all speculation on my part. Sure makes
a lot of sense, though, doesn't it? Ah, I know, why not just
take Commodore outright? Because the liquidators KNOW that
resuming production is the only way to make the Amiga immediately
make money. If Microsoft stepped in, everyone would know what he
was up to. Therefore, the CEI front. I'll bet CEI has even has
the wool pulled over their eyes. Don't forget that Jay Miner
pulled the wool over a lot of investor's eyes with the original
Amiga (claiming to be building a game console). Bill probably
promised Microsoft support and financial backing to CEI. In
doing this, he will own a piece of the new Amiga technology. Now
THAT is depressing. Hopefully, the creditors and courts will
award the bid to UK even if the bid is lower. I just don't want
to take the chance.
Well, enough doom and gloom for this issue. All things
considered, though, things are actually looking better for the
Amiga. Lots of new products, hardware, and support. People are
not abandoning the Amiga in droves like people predicted. I am
confident that the Amiga will survive (even as Windows V5.0 or
Chicago Deluxe or something). Ten years later and STILL in
demand and on top of technology. Long live the Amiga.
Where Are We?
You can reach Dark Unicorn Productions in numerous ways.
* U.S. MAIL
Member's Name
c/o Dark Unicorn Productions
110 S. Cranford Rd. #6F
Goose Creek, SC 29445
* INTERNET
Shane Monroe - s.monroe1@genie.geis.com
Seumas McNally - j.mcnally1@genie.geis.com
John Graham - viruality@bix.com
* GEnie
Shane Monroe - S.Monroe1
Seumas McNally - J.McNally1
Kit Felice - K.Felice
* BIX
John Graham - virtuality@bix.com
* Tombstone BBS - (803) 863-0313
Shane Monroe - WYATT EARP
John Graham - VIRTUALITY
Seumas McNally - LONGBOW
Troy Toulou - SPYDER
Peter Olafson - PETEROO
Kit Felice - CAPTAIN PSYCHO
Dale McBane - MORGAN EARP
Mike Hall - DOC HOLIDAY
* Secret Service BBS - (803) 766-2050
Shane Monroe - WYATT EARP
John Graham - VIRTUALITY