========================================================================= (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. ========================================================================== ************ Topic 2 Sat Jun 05, 1993 STEVE-J [Steve @ NLS] (Forwarded) Sub: Atari Jaguar 64-bit RISC Game Console This topic is to ask about Atari's new 64-bit RISC-based game console the Jaguar. Ask here if you need help or have a technical question to ask about the JAGUAR. Discuss it CURRENT details and characteristics. 210 message(s) total. ************ ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 1 Sat Jun 05, 1993 STEVE-J [Steve @ NLS] (Forwarded) Since Atari has now officially announced the Jaguar, it now deserves its own topic in the official Atari Corp. category. To start things off on the 'official' Jaguar topic, here's the Jaguar press release: OTC 06/03 1552 ATARI LAUNCHES THE JAGUAR, A 64-BIT MULTI-MEDIA GAME SYSTEM SUNNYVALE, CA (JUNE 3) PR NEWSWIRE - Atari Corp. (AMEX: ATC), the founder of the video game industry and the creative force behind some of the world's best- known titles, has announced the launch of a revolutionary new multi- media entertainment system, the Atari Jaguar. The launch will be supported by aggressive advertising, promotion and marketing efforts to be centered in the New York market in the fall, with a national roll-out of the product within one year. The Atari Jaguar, housed in a futuristic casing, is an interactive multi- media system based on an Atari-designed proprietary 64-bit RISC processor. The 64-bit system is four times the technology currently seen in the market today. The Atari Jaguar features over 16 million colors in 24-bit true-color graphics and produces shaded 3-D polygons to be manipulated in a "real" world in real time. The Atari Jaguar also has real-time texture mapping and creates spectacular video effects. The sound system is based on Atari's proprietary, high-speed, Digital Signal Processor dedicated to audio. The audio is 16-bit stereo CD quality and processes simultaneous sources of audio data, allowing for very realistic sounds, as well as human voices, which are essential for future multi-media applications. The Atari Jaguar is truly expandable and will include a 32-bit expansion port which allows for future connection into cable and telephone networks, as well as a digital signal processing port for modem use and connection to digital audio peripherals such as DAT players. The unit will also have a compact disc peripheral, which will be double- speed and will play regular CD audio, CD + G (Karaoke) and Kodak's new Photo- CD(R). Currently, there are multiple software titles in development, which will be available on MegaCart(TM). Atari, known for such groundbreaking 3-D titles as "Battlezone 2000(R)" and "Tempest 2000(R)," will issue spectacular new versions for the Atari Jaguar. New 3-D game titles will include "Cybermorph(R)," "Alien vs. Predator(R)," "Jaguar Formula One Racing(TM)" and many more. Atari will license third-party publishers to join the Jaguar family. "The Atari Jaguar system will revolutionize the state of home entertainment as we see it today," said Sam Tramiel, president of Atari. "The idea of a 64- bit system is earth shattering and kids and adults will be amazed at both the imagery and manipulative capabilities. And we are proud that our entry into the multi-media entertainment category will be fully made in America." The Atari Jaguar will retail for approximately $200 and will be available nationwide next year. The Atari Jaguar packaged unit will include one software experience and a Power Pad(R) Controller with a ten-key pad and other special features. Atari Corp. manufactures and markets personal computers and video games for the home, office and educational marketplaces throughout the world. Atari headquarters are located at 1196 Borregas Ave., Sunnyvale, CA 94089. CONTACT: August J. Liguori of Atari Corp., 408-745-2069 ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 2 Thu Jan 20, 1994 J.ROGOZINSK2 [Rogo] at 18:02 EST If you live near Buffalo, NY (and your car battery isn't dead from the cold): My grandson was calling around today in search of Jaguar games when when a sales person at Babbages [(716) 681-7594] in the Walden-Galleria Mall said they have 12 Jaguars in stock. This was around 12:45 this afternoon. He also said that Electronics Boutique [(716) 685-3655) had a couple of games for sale. This also in the Walden-Galleria Mall. === Joe Rogo === Thursday, January 20, 1994 5:38 pm ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 3 Thu Jan 20, 1994 M.LYDA [mike] at 18:16 EST Rob; So are people renting the Jags at Blockbuster? Do they come with the S-VHS cable, or just RF? Have they sold any? If I remember, there's over 2500 Blockbusters across the U.S., so this could make an impact on Jaguar sales. thanks.. ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 4 Thu Jan 20, 1994 ICDINC [Tom] at 18:18 EST My local Babbages also received 12 today. I wonder how many Babbages there are? - TOM - ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 5 Thu Jan 20, 1994 PMC.INC at 19:39 EST Hi everyone, I'm writing an aricle about the Jaguar and I need some quotes from people who are using it. Could you please send me some e-mail - the catch is I need it ASAP (by tonight - Thursday Jan. 20, 1994). So drop me a line - it doesn't matter how late, just try to get it by tonight or early tommorrow morning. Thanks, Oscar ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 6 Thu Jan 20, 1994 S.WINICK at 21:10 EST Joe, >> ....... calling around today in search of Jaguar games ... We're still awaiting a new shipment of Jaguars ourselves, but we do have the game cartridges in stock. We have a shipment of Dino Dudes coming in tomorrow (Friday) morning along with some additional Composite Video Cables; Crescent Galaxy and Raiden are already in stock, as are the extra Keypad Controllers. If you have an Atari dealer anywhere nearby, why not give them a holler. With Atari concentrating almost exclusively on the Jaguar, Atari computer dealerships are really hurting trying to make any sales possible in order to survive, and could really use any business you can direct their way, even if it is only to buy a new cartridge for your Jaguar. Babbages and Elecronics Boutique will survive just fine by themselves. Besides, when you're going to need something for your Atari computer system, you CERTAINLY won't find it a Babbages or EB; and unless your Atari dealerships can make sales of SOMETHING before then, you just may not even find THEM around much longer. Sheldon (Computer STudio - Asheville, NC) ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 7 Thu Jan 20, 1994 PG.MUSIC [PG-Kevin] at 23:04 EST Sheldon, I haven't forgotten ya! :) I just 'ran outta money' until I get paid at the end of the month. Once a month. --Kevin ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 8 Fri Jan 21, 1994 D.SWEETLAND at 00:23 EST I got it, I got it, the local babbages got 12 thursday and they had sold 4 before I bought mine. long cable, auto switch. nice...machine.. sold my sega before christmas, it was an ok machine.. the number on mine is k13c012138 ft.myers fl. ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 9 Fri Jan 21, 1994 HEAD.TRIP [Wayne] at 02:27 EST Well, I got one! I'm pretty impressed by it so far. I actually _like_ Cybermorph, and I wasn't sure I would after seeing some posts. I was kind of bummed that Atari Computers weren't on the warranty card (!). I have to say thanks to David Nicolau who sent the Jaguar. He was kind enough to offer on this Topic... Well, back to playing... Wayne - Thursday, January 20, 1994 - 11:28 p.m. PST ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 10 Fri Jan 21, 1994 REALM [Joey] at 03:39 EST Sheldon, I'm doing my best.:-) ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 11 Fri Jan 21, 1994 B.DUNCAN12 at 04:12 EST I have been reading about the Jag for weeks now... And thanks to Dave, I'll be getting a Jag Monday!!! Thanks Dave, you are truly on of the nice people... Someone should clone him or something!! Patiently awaiting the Jag!.... Who am I kidding, Where is that UPS guy??????? ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 12 Fri Jan 21, 1994 STEVE-J [DrHfuhruhurr] at 06:33 EST M.LYDA - Jaguars aren't for rent at ALL Blockbuster Video stores -- just SOME stores in a FEW areas. ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 13 Fri Jan 21, 1994 G.K. [Greg] at 09:14 EST Well, I got my Jaguar on Wednesday.. Unfortunately, it has to go back :-(. It works fine for about 5 minutes or so, then the sound goes crazy. I called Atari, and they said that it was definitely a problem with the system. From what the woman on the phone said, it sounded like it was a fairly common problem. ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 14 Fri Jan 21, 1994 K.STEVENS1 [Capt. Marvel] at 18:38 EST Sheldon, do you do mail order service? We don't have an Atari dealer around here (Aiken, SC). Mar-vel ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 15 Fri Jan 21, 1994 J.ROGOZINSK2 [Rogo] at 19:38 EST Sheldon (Computer STudio - Asheville, NC): > >> ....... calling around today in search of Jaguar games ... > > We're still awaiting a new shipment of Jaguars ourselves, but we do > have the game cartridges in stock. > I (we) have all the games now out at the present time but thank you for the inventory. I may be looking for a new joy pad soon we hate the one with the short cord that came with the machine. Either that or if someome will manufacture an extention cord for it. > If you have an Atari dealer anywhere nearby, why not.. > Nearby is still a few hours drive. > Babbages and Elecronics Boutique will survive just ... > Yes I agree. The only reason I know they had the machines was that my grandson was calling around and thinking he will find a new title. He also likes to here the sals person reaction when he asks if they have any Jaguars in and they don't know anything about them or tries to give him some line of ____. (You fill it in.) ;) But for the record I did buy my Jaguar from Steve's Software right here on GEnie. I had called alot of Atari Dealers you included but no one had any at the time. (I don't get on waiting list incase I can get one "now".) Also for the record I do suppost my Atari Dealers. In fact you are one of them along with TOAD Computers and maybe one or two others that advertise in "Current Notes". I buy most of my software through dealers and not the authors/programmers (sorry CodeHeads). In fact you maybe getting a call soon 'cause when I booted my Mega ST tonight I got a message saying "BAD ROM CRC IN CHIP E". But the machine booted correctly the second time and seems to be working fine. BUT I don't know for how long. (Searching the area for Topic Cops...Sorry.) Oh, and BTW I do really enjoy your articles in GEnieLamp. I wish you much success with Computer STudio, if it weren't for dealers like you (and a couple others) Atari would have been dead long ago. Atari and many of us users owe you more than we might know for keeping the platform alive this long. With any luck it will last alot longer. === Joe Rogo === Friday, January 21, 1994 7:23 pm ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 16 Fri Jan 21, 1994 T.MCCOMB [=Tom=] at 20:38 EST Rogo- Re: Controller extension cords. Go to any PC computer dealer and get a Hi Density 15 pin VGA monitor extension cable. Staples is where I got mine. $8 or $10 bux for about a 10 foot cord. -Tom McComb {8:30 pm} Friday, January 21, 1994 ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 17 Fri Jan 21, 1994 M.TROUPE [Helium] at 21:06 EST Anyone know where the information for making the RGB cable adaptor is at? I have a couple of brothers who will do it for me if I can get them the information. ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 18 Fri Jan 21, 1994 D.NICOLAU [David] at 21:28 EST Helium, Down load the file Jaguar8 (#31034) it has the pin out of the jaguar. If you need more help leave me some e-mail D.nicolau ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 19 Sat Jan 22, 1994 E.BAIZ at 06:49 EST Anyone know of a place (mail-order) that sells the cables for the Jag? Just got a call from Electronic Boutique. My Jag is in and I can hardly wait to pick it up... ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 20 Sat Jan 22, 1994 S.WINICK at 08:45 EST Capt. Marvel, >> Sheldon, do you do mail order service? We don't have an >> Atari dealer around here (Aiken, SC). Well of course we do! And even better than that, we also do GEnieMail-order service, which makes us LOCAL to everyone! ;-] Sheldon (Computer STudio - Asheville, NC) ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 21 Sat Jan 22, 1994 D.VANTREASE [Shadow] at 17:49 EST Will someone that owns a copy of "Dino Dudes" _P-L-E-A-S-E_ post a nice, detailed review for the rest of us? (I need more than "It's like 'Humans'", because I don't _have_ "Humans"!) I want to buy this, but can't find it locally to check it out, and no magazine reviews are out yet. I hate to spend $50 mail-order on a game totally unseen. Thanks, Shadow ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 22 Sat Jan 22, 1994 K.STEVENS1 [Capt. Marvel] at 18:10 EST Sheldon, in that case, what credit cards do you take and tell me when a copy of Evolution dino dudes is in....probably best by e-mail, don't want to piss off the topic police.... Mar-vel ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 23 Sat Jan 22, 1994 FAIRWEATHER [David] at 18:38 EST I second Shadows request. And while you're at it, if you own Lynx DinoLympics please state the differences between the two games. Why should I buy the Jag version over the Lynx version? What does the Jag version do that can't be done on a DOS computer, SNES or Genesis? How does Dino-Dudes compare to Lemmings? Harder? Easier? More Fun? Less Fun? I'm getting very impatient waiting for new Jag games and I am considering buying Dino Dudes, but I want to know that it will at least pop a few of my friends eyeballs when they see it on the Jag instead of them saying "that looks just like Humans looks on my '486." I'm starting to wonder if Atari is intentionally trickling out new releases at a snail's pace just to get Jag owners to buy up the few games that are now out there. I know I never would have bought Crescent Galaxy if there had been anything better available at the time. I don't want to be suckered into buying DinoDudes for the same reason. ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 25 Sat Jan 22, 1994 S.WINICK at 19:04 EST Capt. Marvel, >> ....what credit cards do you take and tell me when a copy >> of Evolution dino dudes is in.... We accept all major credit cards (Master Card, VISA, Discover, and American Express. And... Dino Dudes is IN STOCK right now! Please move to E-mail if you need additional information or to place an order. Thanks. Sheldon (Computer STudio - Asheville, NC) ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 26 Sat Jan 22, 1994 ICDINC [Tom] at 19:26 EST David, If you really believe that then maybe you should try developing a game yourself for the Jaguar. :-) If Atari could, they would have released 100 games for the Jaguar during the month of December 93 along with 100,000 Jaguars. - TOM - ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 27 Sat Jan 22, 1994 E.BAIZ at 21:12 EST I got my Jag today and I love it. Only Cybermorph (of course) and Crescent Galaxy.... Am having a great time... ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 28 Sat Jan 22, 1994 P.BURNETTE [pablo] at 21:14 EST i dropped by a gaming store that sales/rents genesis and netindo hardware/software and asked if they were going to carry the jaguar; "nope, we're waiting on the super nentendo". so much for buying american... anyway, it was off to toys r us and i bought one. i kinda wish i wouldve sought out an atari dealer. i'll find one for future hardware/software. so far so good with the jag. although i'm not too crazy about the included game it does show off some neat-o capabilities of the machine. i also bought raiden, which was a mistake. i'm not into shoot-em-ups that much. where's the golf game? where's the dungeon master? i know, be patient. my tv/monitor has a rgb connection in back. is it possibe to home-make a cable that will connect the jag to my rgb pin??? ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 29 Sat Jan 22, 1994 J.ROGOZINSK2 [Rogo] at 21:46 EST =Tom= Re: Controller extension cords. Go to any... Thanks for the info, it is really appricated. === Joe Rogo === Saturday, January 22, 1994 9:11 pm *S ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 30 Sat Jan 22, 1994 D.NICOLAU [David] at 23:23 EST Pablo, If you know the pin out of the TV. The file jaguar8 (#31034) has the pin out of the Jaguar. You can e-mail me for some more information. David ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 31 Sat Jan 22, 1994 J.ZENTZ1 [wintermane] at 23:44 EST Evolution dino dudes is nothing like lemmings. Its more like a very cute nice pictures in the background platform game. Your dudes are far larger on screen than lemmings and you fully control each dude( when not bein use other dudes stand around scratchin themselves ). The typical screen is nicely done(not eye popin except for the far background screens that are very well done:)). You walk about getting eatin by dinos :) pole vaultin over pits/lava/streams with your spear. Run over other dudes toes with the wheel:):) And basicaly have a cute fun time watchin a dude sizzle in a lava pit. I enjoyed it because i can jump up to any level start fresh with 12 dudes and after figurin the thing out making it too the next cute level. ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 32 Sat Jan 22, 1994 J.BATTEY1 [J. L. Battey] at 23:54 EST Joe Rogo, >... if someome will manufacture an extention cord for it. If you can find an SVGA cable that has ALL 15 PINS WIRED THROUGH it will work as a joypad extension cable. John L. ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 33 Sun Jan 23, 1994 JOHN.KING.T [JOHN KING T] at 00:02 EST Pablo, At only $19.95 for the ready-made RGB cable you'd probaly be better off with that. You'd spend almost that much for the connectors to make a home-brew cable. The pin-outs are in the library, here on GEnie, file #31034. JKT ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 34 Sun Jan 23, 1994 REALM [Joey] at 01:55 EST I'll second what Tom said! The Jag is complex and the artistic side alone of creating a decent game would take 6 month's to a year at least. 200 games aren't just going to appear the first month. In fact I wasn't expecting to see anything really good until July or August. Why does everyone want something to impress there friends? Get a life!:-) Dino Dudes should be a great game if it's anythign like Dino Olympics. Take Sam's advice and have fun with your software.:-) To be honest I don't think I would have bought Cybermorph had it been released later. I've had a blast playing it! Glad it's the pack in game or I might have missed out. ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 35 Sun Jan 23, 1994 HEAD.TRIP [Wayne] at 02:46 EST I know this isn't a _total_ review (or total anything), but Die hard Game-Fan said Dino Dudes was one of the best puzzle games around... They also said Raiden on Jaguar is BETTER than arcade! Wayne - Saturday, January 22, 1994 - 11:34 p.m. PST ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 36 Sun Jan 23, 1994 T.MCCOMB [=Tom=] at 03:14 EST Latest AEO has some really great quotes/interviews with Jag developers. The guy from ID who is doing DOOM was particularly good. I agree with his viewpoint 100%. -Tom McComb {3:12 am} Sunday, January 23, 1994 ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 37 Sun Jan 23, 1994 STEVE-J [DrHfuhruhurr] at 07:15 EST FAIRWEATHER - Well, trickling out 3DO titles didn't work for THAT system! Basically, I believe Atari just wanted to release the Jaguar as early as they possibly could. Unfortunately, there were some delays in getting some of the software ready, so rather than having 8-10 titles ready at release, they only had about 3-4 titles ready. JOHN.KING.T - What "ready-made RGB cable" are you talking about? The only one available is the composite cable. The S-Video cable is due out any time now, but Bob Brodie said they wouldn't be distributing RGB cables for sale due to low demand. By the way, according to ATD, BATTLEMORPH: CYBERMORPH II will be texture- mapped. That and BLUE LIGHTNING are expected toward the end of 1994. Also, for those interested in past 'credits' for ATD, they also did the NIGHTSHIFT and INDIANA JONES AND THE FATE OF ATLANTIS ST games for Lucasfilm. ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 38 Sun Jan 23, 1994 M.SCHEFFEL at 12:28 EST To all those in the New Jersey area: We do have a local Atari dealer in the area. Lou at Software Spectrum, Plainfield , would be happy to sell you a few games. He has all three currently available in stock. He is the last local dealer that I know of and could always use the support. His phone number is (908)561-8777. ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 39 Sun Jan 23, 1994 JOHN.KING.T [JOHN KING T] at 12:35 EST Steve, Oh JKT ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 40 Sun Jan 23, 1994 J.ROBORECKY [RAILROAD] at 22:34 EST To all, To add to M.SCHELLEL's post thay have the composit cables also. Software Spectrum 386 Somerset Street North Plainfield, NJ 07060 1-908-561-8777 Joe ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 41 Mon Jan 24, 1994 P.BURNETTE [pablo] at 01:54 EST i think someone may have already commented on this, but i filled out my regristration cards tonight for the jag and raiden. the st is not listed as one of the computer systems they ask if you own. even if atari didn't print these things up, they should've looked at them first! pablo ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 42 Mon Jan 24, 1994 D.VANTREASE [Shadow] at 22:02 EST GOOD NEWS, FOLKS!!!... I made my weekly call to Atari today, asking about the S-Video cables for the Jag. Today I got a different answer. They usually say "Those aren't ready yet", but today the lady told me "They ARE ready, but we are stocking up first. They should be available by the beginning of next week" !! (No pre- orders, though.) I didn't think until later, but I forgot to ask what the price will be. Anyways, hopefully they'll be sellin' them by this time next week! -Shadow- ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 43 Tue Jan 25, 1994 REALM [Joey] at 02:32 EST Pablo, Atari should know if you own an ST... you did send in warranty card didn't you?:-) ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 44 Tue Jan 25, 1994 STEVE-J [DrHfuhruhurr] at 04:53 EST Atari needs to do some newsworthy stuff with the Jaguar. Is Atari being out- PR'ed by the competition because they have nothing new to say, or are they just being modest by not tooting their own horn a lot publicly. Then again, if they DID get very active that way, they COULD come across as annoyingly boastful as Trip Hawkins (or MY pet name for him, "Trick Hawking") is about 3DO. ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 45 Tue Jan 25, 1994 DOUGWILLIAMS [Doug] at 20:49 EST Well, I finally saw my first "ad" for the Jag, a small flyer came with the composite cable & Dino Dudes I ordered direct from Atari. There's not much to it but it has a chart comparison of the Jaguar, 3DO, SNES, & Genesis. Guess who wins? ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 46 Tue Jan 25, 1994 G.GEORGE3 [Fruitman] at 21:46 EST With all this talk about monitor cables, has anyone tried hooking up their Jaguar to an Atari monitor? I hear Atari just released a Falcon monitor (but strangely enough doesn't support the hi res true color mode.) I just wonder how good the Jag would look on it... I also heard (just a rumor) that some of the earliest games for the Jag were started when the Panther was being developed. In other words, the early games are only taking advantage of 32-bit power! And another thing, has anyone noticed how Anti-Atari EGM is? I think we should just boycott them and buy Die Hard Game Fan from now on... Fruitman ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 47 Tue Jan 25, 1994 HEAD.TRIP [Wayne] at 22:31 EST >i think someone may have already commented on this, but i filled out my >regristration cards tonight for the jag and raiden. the st is not listed as >one of the computer systems they ask if you own. even if atari didn't print >these things up, they should've looked at them first! Pablo, Do you honestly think they didn't look at them? I always make a box of my own for Falcon, ST, and Portfolio, all of which I own... Wayne - Monday, January 24, 1994 - 10:00 p.m. PST ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 48 Tue Jan 25, 1994 R.WATSON15 [Wayne Watson] at 22:40 EST Atari has this thing about 2 different monitors. Don't buy it (if it exist). Get a good Multisync that can do it all. ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 49 Wed Jan 26, 1994 W.FAANES at 01:39 EST Most all of the new multisync monitors out on the market cannot handle the Jaguar signal. Most all of the older "RGB" style monitors / tvs appear to work... Bill ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 50 Wed Jan 26, 1994 J.BATTEY1 [J. L. Battey] at 01:46 EST STEVE-J, How about Tricks Hawpin. John L. ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 51 Wed Jan 26, 1994 HEAD.TRIP [Wayne] at 02:18 EST You know, as big a fan as I am of Jeff Minter, the prospect of Tempest 2000 doesn't do a whole lot for me. Is it a remake of that 70's (Green & Black) game where you spin around a 3D square tunnel? Ummmm... yippeee... But maybe I'm a minority anyway, cause I actually _like_ Cybermorph & Cresent Galaxy, and Evolution-Dino Dudes is growing (festering?) on me. (Though Evolution-Dino Dudes has a 'retro' 16-bit feel... Hey call it 'Classic-Bits' and everyone will buy it!) DrHfuhruhurr, Trick Hawking should be more concerned that 3DO only has a 4-way joypad... Yes, you read it right! The 3DO cannot go Left/Up, Right/Down, etc. I saw a review of the latest 3DO flying game and they said it looked pretty, but if you have a 4-way stick it's kind of pointless... (Where's the beef?! It's all a big bun! ) Realm, > Pablo, Atari should know if you own an ST... you did send in warranty card >didn't you?:-) Nice try at bailing Atari out - but they ask if you own a Lynx... Unless they put that there to remind people of it. It does concern me a little that me spanking new Falcon (as well as my Portfolio & ST) are not on the Atari warranty card... Maybe I'm paranoid/maybe I don't trust Atari anymore... Wayne - Tuesday, January 25, 1994 - 08:10 p.m. PST ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 52 Wed Jan 26, 1994 STEVE-J [DrHfuhruhurr] at 05:05 EST G.GEORGE3 - A "Falcon monitor"??? What the heck does THAT mean? Anyway, it's not true (unless you're referring to the old VGA monitor they made for the TT030). ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 53 Wed Jan 26, 1994 ICDINC [Tom] at 08:30 EST G.George, To work on the Jaguar as an RGB device, the monitor needs to be Analog RGB with a horizontal sync rate of 15.75 KHz. Most of the newer multisyncs wont sync that low. The VGA standard is twice that (31.5 KHz) so most modern multisync monitors work at that rate and higher (faster). - TOM - ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 54 Wed Jan 26, 1994 D.VANTREASE [Shadow] at 21:50 EST I went into my local WaldenSoft today, looking for the newest "DieHard Game Fan", but they said that many magazines and software arrivals have been delayed due to Mother Nature. (Has anyone out there seen the newest GameFan with Dino Dudes review?) Anyways, we start talking about the Jaguar, and the saleman seemed very positive and very informed on the Jag. He showed me the latest list of release dates; said the list just arrived Monday. They had AlienVsPredator listed as 2-28-94. I told him that I heard it was delayed until April, and he acknowledged that my "source" (GEnie) was more current then his, but says that's the latest "official" date given from Atari to distributers. He also offered a pre-order, looked up the skew number, and said it was priced at $59.95. I gotta admit, I thought it was going to be more than that, considering all that I've heard that has been put into this puppy... Shadow PS. I heard today what "BILLS" stands for (as in Buffalo Bills)... Boy I Love Losin' Superbowls !!!! hahahahaa... ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 55 Wed Jan 26, 1994 W.FAANES at 21:57 EST Tom, Thanks for the 15.75 KHz answer.. .I was too lazy to look up the decimal points.. heh.. Bill ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 56 Thu Jan 27, 1994 G.DULLECK at 01:01 EST I went to my local Atari dealer today looking for Dino Dudes. They were out but he said he just came from Atari and was told that Atari would be getting more in stock next week along with Tempest. As usual time will tell but it sounds good for a quick release of Tempest. ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 57 Thu Jan 27, 1994 STEVE-J [DrHfuhruhurr] at 06:19 EST ICDINC - What would be needed to make a box that 'converted' a 15.75kHz signal to 31.5kHz, and how cheaply could it be made? D.VANTREASE - Electronics Boutique had the same date for AvP listed. I actually keep MY local EB store informed on the Jaguar. I've made up lists of developers and games using PageStream and given them copies. The current one is two pages and has a slightly altered version of the developer/games listing that was in the most recent AEO on the first page and then the descriptions of upcoming games (also from AEO) on the second. Maybe I'll upload them into the library for others. G.DULLECK - If Atari just finished TEMPEST 2000 at the end of last week or the beginning of this week, it PROBABLY won't be out for a couple weeks yet. By the way, a bit of good news is that even through all of EGM's lies about Atari, a recent reader survey showed that OVER HALF of their readers plan to buy a Jaguar (that would be over half a million there!). ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 58 Thu Jan 27, 1994 E.BAIZ at 07:25 EST Yes on the warranty card Atari had 12 choices as to what you had in your home. I just made another box as the 13th choice, checked it and put "ST" beside it. <> Any idea when A Vs P will be out? ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 59 Thu Jan 27, 1994 L.FULGENZI [Chas] at 12:38 EST STEVE-J, I'm missed that info on EGM readers planning on buying Jags, what page is it on? That's great news and just the mention of interest like that in EGM is sure to get some attention from prospective developers. I may have to recant previous statements I've made on how much influence EGM has on game/system sales . Regarding boycotting EGM, I'm letting my subscription run out. Mostly because I think the quality of the magazine has been in the pits since expanding to their 300+ page maga-zine format. Too many dang mini-reviews of games I want to see fully reviewed. Interesting to note that EGM's sister publication Electronic Games gave Tempest its award at WCES. Now that VG&CE changed its format for a younger target audience, it's the only video game magazine aimed at older readers. I'm looking forward to see their reviews of Jag games. Electron Games seems to be a month behind in lead time compared to EGM, so hopefully reviews of Cybermorph and the others will appear in the next issue. :) -Chas ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 60 Thu Jan 27, 1994 K.STEVENS1 [Capt. Marvel] at 19:53 EST I haven't heard anything from atari lately about the Jag. Are they still producing commercials in the 10 ten markets? How are the sales going, I haven't seen any figures lately. How is the European release going (if it started yet), what are the tentative release dates on some of the games. It looks like to me everything has dried up. Mar-vel ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 61 Thu Jan 27, 1994 P.FLETCHER4 at 20:58 EST hi! Just got my Jag, and its awesome. I was, however, a little shocked that Atari didn't make room for my Falcon or St on the registration form. Does this suggest that Atari could care less about we loyal customers? Or does the lack of Falcon and St users justify being left out? I just wish Atari would realize that we current users have funded this jaguar project. Question, the controller ports on the Jag look just like the extra ports on my Falcon. If this is the case can I use the Jag controller with current Falcon/st programs or do I have to wait (yeah right..) for developers to make use of this controller on the falcon? I hope the Jaguar finally puts Atari back on the map, but I fear that my Falcon and St might quickly be forgotten by Atari. I hope not, but VIVA ATARI no matter what happens. Pete Fletcher ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 62 Thu Jan 27, 1994 G.GEORGE3 [Fruitman] at 22:37 EST STEVE-J- No I swear...I was talking to my dealer the other day and he said he just got some Stereo Speaker Falcon monitors. I thought for sure he was talking about the older ST Stereo monitor with the green button, but he said he just got them in... Boycott! Boycott! Boycott EGM! Fruitman... ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 63 Thu Jan 27, 1994 D.ENGEL [Thunderbird] at 22:41 EST I bet W.FAANES could make a fortune building "Continuous Paddle" controllers for this game! _______________________ \hunderbird ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 64 Fri Jan 28, 1994 D.VANTREASE [Shadow] at 00:05 EST RE: EGMs "attitude" toward Atari - I think the damage is done. I never really bought gaming mags until recently, and I bought a couple issues of each one to read up on the Jaguar and Jag games. EGMs attitude was a big turn-off, DieHard GameFan seems the most positive supporter, and others seem to fall somewhere in-between. I, for one, have no plans on buying another issue of EGM. The fact that so many of their readers plan to buy a Jag (if thats true) shows that these readers are reading other magazines, and I believe they'll lose a _lot_ of readers. If they "change their minds" about Atari, just to "jump on the bandwagon", it will be too late. RE: Jaguar rollout - Bob Brodie said in his last conference that he would post the national city rollout schedule ASAP, but I have yet to see it anywhere. Does anyone out there have some sources to get it? Also, if anyone can get their hands on that Atari/Jaguar VIDEO that I've seen mentioned, I'll gladly pay $10 for a copy!! -Shadow- ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 65 Fri Jan 28, 1994 W.FAANES at 01:33 EST Thunderbird: I have a controller in the works (wink wink) heh.... actually I do have some controllers that _could_ work but I gotta wait for T2000 to _really_ test them... I do _not_ want to fill my house with controllers now... I have RGB monitors and Jaguar cables all over the place! No more room!! Mr Brodie said on AtariBase BBS (Atari Corp's) that Tempest 2000 will be be released in Feb.. He didn't say beginning or end or middle, just 'next month'..... Since they just finished it a week or so ago , I would have a hard time believing it will be ready soon.. . but who knows..? Shadow: I will email you info on the WCES video.... I play the A vs P part to all my Sega-CD friends.. .They can't believe it is on a cartridge!! heh. Bill ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 66 Fri Jan 28, 1994 STEVE-J [DrHfuhruhurr] at 04:50 EST G.GEORGE3 - (re: stereo "Falcon monitors") Sorry, but that's most definitely incorrect info! They're either SC1435's or a non-Atari brand (maybe an SVGA w/ stereo speakers). D.VANTREASE - Yep, the 10 city rollout was supposed to happen IMMEDIATELY and Bob was going to tell us the cities, but now it's almost a MONTH later and the 10 new cities haven't been added OR announced! You're not actually SURPRISED, are you? ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 67 Fri Jan 28, 1994 J.ROGOZINSK2 [Rogo] at 18:09 EST >PS. I heard today what "BILLS" stands for (as in Buffalo Bills)... > Boy I Love Losin' Superbowls !!!! Yes, and as long as we keep losing, we'll keep coming back and you will have to DEAL WITH IT AMERICA... ;) === Joe Rogo === Thursday, January 27, 1994 7:39 pm ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 68 Fri Jan 28, 1994 C.SMITH89 [CLINT/A.P.E.] at 19:08 EST Steve, the rollout to the top 10 markets is from February to March and then it expands to the top 20 markets from April to June. ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 69 Fri Jan 28, 1994 D.FREELAND [SAXMAN] at 19:55 EST I just saw a copy of EGM which reviewed Cybermorph and did nothing but praise it. It said that it is a great sign of things to come. I also noticed that in the table of contents, the Jaguar had its own 'section'. It was like reading a different magazine. I did not buy it so I can not quote from it but it was in my local mall this past week. I don't remember them saying anything negative about the Jaguar or Atari. It is a first I think. David ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 70 Fri Jan 28, 1994 C.SMITH89 [CLINT/A.P.E.] at 23:05 EST David, unfortunately EGM has this Jeckyl/Hyde type content. I'm betting you read the fact file coverage which was very good. However, in the review section in the beginning of the magazine they raked Cybermorph over the coals and received numerical ratings of 4,4,5,6 from their reviewers. ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 71 Fri Jan 28, 1994 K.DRAKE [Sir Fransis] at 23:32 EST RGB on a Commodore 1084S RULES!!!! RGB, Stereo, and a Jaguar, a perfect combination. I might just get Crescent Galaxy just so I can see those 24-bit backgrounds in crystal clear RGB! Still Sailing, Sir Fransis because I _really_ like that RGB picture! Thanks Redmond! ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 72 Fri Jan 28, 1994 E.EPPERSON [Ed] at 23:33 EST Clint/A.P.E. -- Regarding the rollouts to the top 10 and top 20, is that official or hearsay? In what capacity are you saying that? Ed ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 73 Sat Jan 29, 1994 STEVE-J [DrHfuhruhurr] at 06:28 EST C.SMITH89 - Then they shouldn't have said "IMMEDIATELY" at CES! K.DRAKE - An SC1435/1CM135 is better! ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 74 Sat Jan 29, 1994 L.FULGENZI [Chas] at 08:00 EST Saxman, Yeah, that was the strange thing about the EGM Jag coverage. They raved about Cybermorph in the Fact File section and trashed it in the review section. Guess someone out of Ed and Steve's inner circle must have done the Fact File and submitted it too late for them to get a look at the article before it went to press . -Chas ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 75 Sat Jan 29, 1994 C.SMITH89 [CLINT/A.P.E.] at 10:39 EST The top 10 and 20 comment came from Bob Brodie during his RTC from the CES. The IMMEDIATELY that Bob referred to involved the fact that the Jag would be officially available nationally IMMEDIATELY at Babbages, Electronic Boutique, and Toys R Us. ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 76 Sat Jan 29, 1994 P.FLETCHER4 at 13:40 EST Does anyone know where I can get a cable to hook my Jag to my SC1435 monitor. I've seen people mention it, but since the Jag is officially released in my area I have no real contacts. Thanks, Pete ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 77 Sat Jan 29, 1994 M.RIVMAN1 [MATT] at 19:34 EST Dr H. --- Great job on the PgS Devlist.DOC.! My local Babbages thanks you for the effort. There is just one tiny thing... That 6 pt. type! It's a killer. Nothing a quick change to 7.5 pt. wouldn't cure. (I was too lazy to add a 3rd page and go to 8 pt.!) ;-) Matt ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 78 Sat Jan 29, 1994 C.SMITH89 [CLINT/A.P.E.] at 20:51 EST Picked up the February DieHard Gamefan today. Highpoints include: In the Editorial about the recent Winter CES, the editor talks about how Atari's booth was packed, how good the games looked(he mentions that Double Dragon looked especially good despite being very early along), and what happened when he went to the 3DO booth wearing a Jaguar button. The entire game tips section is devoted to 9 planets of Cybermorph. On the reader's Most Wanted poll, a Jag game appears for the first time in 10th place. Not suprisingly it's AvP. Dino Dudes is reviewed(everybody rated it in the mid 80s) and there's 2 pages of it in the Jaguar's Domain. They have a page on the CES with a list of 3rd party developers, and shots of Tempest 2000(wild), Checkered Flag 2, AvP, and Kasumi Ninja. In the European column, Microprose is rumored to be doing Geoff Crammond's Formula 1 Grand Prix and Stunt Car Racer(I hope, I hope) for the Jag. Possible confirmation of one of the developers on that list: The column says that Infogrammes has signed on and is doing Alone in the Dark. In the Other Stuff column, they have a rumor that Bally Midway may go into the home game business(possibly giving some credence to something else on the UNofficial list). Finally, in the letter section,a guy writes in singing the Jag's praises. In the response, the Postmeister mentions some of the 3rd parties who have signed up and says that Acclaim and Bethesda Softworks were just some of the rumored names he overheard at CES(I would LOVE one of their Terminator titles on the Jag). The issue is definately worth picking up. ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 79 Sat Jan 29, 1994 D.NICOLAU [David] at 22:00 EST I will trade my Raiden for Dino-Dudes or Crescent Galaxy. E-Mail me: D.Nicolau Thanks David ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 80 Sun Jan 30, 1994 W.FAANES at 03:58 EST Do you get your Die Hard Game Fan from the stands? Where?! The January issue of DHGF hit the stands in the Bay Area (Calif) just a couple of weeks ago! Every time I see a message about the new issue, we have to wait 2 weeks to get it here in California!! Not fair! :( heh.. Bill ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 81 Sun Jan 30, 1994 STEVE-J [DrHfuhruhurr] at 05:40 EST P.FLETCHER - Someone on Internet said they got an RGB cable from Redmond Cable, but that it was $45 AND an utter piece of crud. You might want to ask W.FAANES about an RGB cable in GEmail. M.RIVMAN1 - Yeah, unless you have at least a 300dpi printer, that 6pt type may not print out well! It looks fine on my inkjet, though. It was an oversight of mine that it's at 6pt. I had it that small (since the only options that PageStream GIVES you in that area are 8 and 6) to make sure it'd fit on one page, but after editing it, I forgot about being able to MANUALLY enter in 7 or 7.5pt. I was also playing with putting faint Atari and Jaguar logos on the pages that you could still read all the text over, but I couldn't get it to work right. ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 82 Sun Jan 30, 1994 C.SMITH89 [CLINT/A.P.E.] at 09:25 EST It takes forever for the games to pop up here in Chicago(I'm still waiting for my stores to get Dino-Dudes)but we seem to have better luck with GameFan. They had a ton of the things at Electronic Boutique and they also had them at one of my Captron stores. ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 83 Sun Jan 30, 1994 L.FULGENZI [Chas] at 09:42 EST The thing I *hate* about GameFan is my subscription copy always arrives at least 10 days after the month's issue shows up on the news stands....grumble....grumble. -Chas ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 84 Sun Jan 30, 1994 D.ENGEL [Thunderbird] at 10:56 EST Clint: What's on the cover of that DHGF issue? We get them up here a few weeks after everyone else, and I want to keep my eyes out for it. ______________________ \hunderbird ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 85 Sun Jan 30, 1994 DANNY.M [Yuperman] at 13:00 EST >Atari-ST RoundTable > > Will someone that owns a copy of "Dino Dudes" _P-L-E-A-S-E_ post a nice, >detailed review for the rest of us? (I need more than "It's like 'Humans'", >because I don't _have_ "Humans"!) >---------- Shadow, take it from someone who has all four of the current Jag releases, "Dino Dudes" is a _must have_ if you like climbing/strategy games. I finished "Cybermorph" weeks ago, my reflects aren't quick enough anymore to hope to dent "Cresent Galacxy" or "Raiden" (but I try). ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 86 Sun Jan 30, 1994 C.SMITH89 [CLINT/A.P.E.] at 14:12 EST T-Bird, a snowboarding Sonic graces the cover. ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 87 Sun Jan 30, 1994 S.LEGRAND [Oppressor] at 15:03 EST T-Bird et. al: I live in LA and Die Hard Game Fan the store is but 8 miles away from me in seismically challenged Van Nuys... Even so, it seems to take an eternity for the magazine to reach me... I suppose I could drive to Van Nuys but that's not the most pleasant thing in the world to do right now... So alas I wait like everyone else... Scott ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 88 Sun Jan 30, 1994 W.FAANES at 17:47 EST I was going to stay away from making anymore RGB cables for the Jaguar, but due to Tom's (ICDINC) electronic investigative work on the A/V port I may make some. I have a 'box' that I have been using that allows me to hook up to the RGB port on Amiga monitors. I have been playing the Jaguar on the 1084S model monitor and after playing the Jaguar on other types of RGB monitors, I would say this one is the ideal gaming monitor. I also have hooked up to the older style Amiga 1080 monitor (no stereo inputs) and it works great. These monitors have a 'standard' DB9 connector for RGB input (with a composite sync). The 1084S monitors are being sold (closed- out ) at pretty low prices in the mail order business. The Atari monitors seem to be a little more picky with the sync inputs. They require separate horz and vert sync inputs and the connectors are considerably more expensive (and more difficult to wire!) than the DB9 'Amiga' connectors. I have 4 (ugh!) 1224 Atari monitors that I have been playing around with and the only ones that seem to be unique in the wiring scheme (sync) is the 'front' button type.. I don't really want to make these connectors unless I can test it on the actual monitor. I have heard a couple of compaints of the Redmond cables (the s-video's chroma / luma being switched, etc!) on internet and that makes me upset that they don't extensively test each cable before being shipped. I know a few others have made their own Amiga / Atari RGB cables and have loved the results so if there are others that would like to enjoy the RGB output of the Jaguar, I could make some up and ship them. It would have the composite / S-video / stereo audio / RGB output all in one small box. Please email me if there is an interest out there for such cables. Thanks, Long-winded Bill :) ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 89 Sun Jan 30, 1994 C.OINES1 [Chazz] at 18:10 EST I just looked up the hardware section of the Compendium on the enhanced joystick ports, and found that the port could handle a six-button analog joystick by treating it as two three-button paddle controllers. Can we say "Thrustmaster?" ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 90 Sun Jan 30, 1994 ICDINC [Tom] at 18:37 EST Bill, I agree the 1084S makes a great gaming monitor. Mine uses circular DIN 6 though, not a DB9. That seems to be the standard on 1084s so take care. - TOM - ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 91 Sun Jan 30, 1994 B.REEVES2 [Alter Ego] at 19:00 EST Wayne, Tempest was _not_ green & black. It used a full color Quadrascan (TM) monitor. Rather than a rasterscan monitor like almost _everything_ uses these days, this was a vectorscan monitor that paints lines on the CRT phospher at any angle. This insures that all of the lines drawn on the screen have no stairstepping. I have often wished that someone would revive this technique for desktop computer monitors, but when it shows up it is usually on very high end workstations or in special applications such as the Electronic Display Units that my company Collins Avionics makes for commercial aircraft cockpits. ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 92 Sun Jan 30, 1994 G.HONIS [GARY] at 20:21 EST Using the information provided here by AEO and Bill Faanes for making Jaguar video cables, I have made a SHVS/Stereo Audio cable and a cable for the Atari SC1224 monitor. The SVHS cable gives an outstanding image on my Sony 32 inch XBR and Raiden and Crescent Galaxy sound great in dolby surround sound. As reported by others, I have not been able to get the vertical sync to work properly on both of my Atari SC1224 monitors. These monitors are different types; one made in November 1986 and the other being a "VERSION 2" made in 1985. I can adjust the vertical sync on both monitors to get the rolling display to stop but after a few minutes the display begins to shift vertically again. Also on restart, the display will be steady but may or may not be positioned correctly. I've toyed with the idea of changing out the pot in the monitor to a lower ohm for better sensitivity when adjusting the vertical sync, but I'm not sure this will help. It's too bad an Atari product won't work with an Atari monitor but will with an Amiga monitor. Thanks Bill and AEO for the cable info. ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 93 Sun Jan 30, 1994 ICDINC [Tom] at 22:54 EST Gary, Switch the V-Sync and H-Synch lines and your SC1224s should work. They are documented incorrectly and should lock on without any roll. - TOM - ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 94 Sun Jan 30, 1994 T.MCCOMB [=Tom=] at 23:39 EST Gary Honis- did you try swapping the H-Sync and V-Sysnc in the cable for use on those SC1224's? Mine works fine that way. ====================== Bill Faanes or Tom at ICD, could you post an updated pin out for people (with appropriate disclaimers ofcourse). -Tom McComb {11:08 pm} Sunday, January 30, 1994 ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 95 Mon Jan 31, 1994 HEAD.TRIP [Wayne] at 00:58 EST I picked up an extra controller yesterday, and I think it's a newer run. It has black number & option/pause buttons and a long cable, but the best part is the buttons feel better. It could be my imagination or a fluke, but if not I admire the fact that little things like button feel are considered and improved... As for games, I got Raiden yesterday and I'm hooked on it. I know it's a simple game, etc., but I hadn't played my Stupor Nintendoze or my Geri(atric)sis for months before selling them to buy the Jaguar, so I need a few fast firin', thumb scrunchin' games to get in shape with before the thing officially comes out and things get going... I still like Cybermorph a lot, it kind of calms me down, puts me in another world with headphones on. Cresent Galaxy I use to show people some cool graphix, but it wore on me quick like. I was kind of bummed that the cheat was posted on another Topic with no 'here's a cheat - don't look if you don't want to know' warning, because once I saw the cheat I had to try it, and once I found out that that was all there was to it (the rest of the game) I 'didn't wanna play no more'. Probably Atari gave away the cheat to sell more controllers, which I'm glad I bought one because (go to top of message and start over.) See Ya, Wayne - Thursday, January 27, 1994 - 11:33 p.m. PST ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 96 Mon Jan 31, 1994 W.FAANES at 01:42 EST Tom: Yes, I know the 1084S has the DIN 6 connector , the old 1080 series of monitors had DB9's .... sorry ... Tom McComb ... As soon as I get a text file together.. (with the _correct_ syncs ) I'll post it here.. Or if Mr Tom (ICDINC) can do it , I won't complain _at all_ :) . ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 97 Mon Jan 31, 1994 REALM [Joey] at 02:47 EST Seems like Atari could just sell the cables their using with their SC1224 Kiosks(sp?). I've got an actual Tempest game I picked up cheap. It's definately full color with a vector screen. It also has some kind of sound system that was a first at the time. It has a real earth rumbling effect! I'd have to dig out the books again. It had all the schematics with it too. ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 98 Mon Jan 31, 1994 D.ENGEL [Thunderbird] at 06:27 EST Alter Ego: The Color Quadrascan(tm) system really shines in my "Star Wars" machine. _____________________ \hunderbird ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 99 Mon Jan 31, 1994 PG.MUSIC [PG-Kevin] at 07:40 EST Thunderbird, Any hope for a "bank switched" ROM for the Star Wars machine to make it run Tempest? --Kevin ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 100 Mon Jan 31, 1994 D.ENGEL [Thunderbird] at 18:58 EST Joey: There's a lot of Color Quadrascan(tm) machines out there that you can get for dirt cheap in excellent condition because the screens stop working. There's a pair of these mongo power transistors that drive the electron gun plus and minus in the X and Y axis, and they fail over time. The screen will get all squashed up either top, bottom, left, or right but the other half looks fine when one fails. All you have to do is yank the display out (good time to clean the glass inside), and replace the offending part. ____________________ \hunderbird ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 101 Mon Jan 31, 1994 P.FLETCHER4 at 20:12 EST I have an Atari SC1435 which has the same inputs (db9) as the Amiga monitor. (in fact I use my Falcon, ST, and Amiga on the same SC1435.) I keep reading that the Amiga Monitor's inputs are different than the Atari's input. Are people refering to the Sc1224 or do I have an odd monitor? Pete ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 102 Mon Jan 31, 1994 M.RIVMAN1 [MATT] at 21:09 EST Dr. H - As it happens, I use a bubble jet with 360 dpi output. That 6 pt. type printed out fine... it was just sooo tiny! ;-) All in all, a great job though. Thanks again! Matt ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 103 Mon Jan 31, 1994 D.VANTREASE [Shadow] at 22:19 EST Well, I made my weekly call to Atari today, wanting to order the S-Video cables, and I was told "We don't have them yet. We should have them in sometime next week.". (That's also what they said _last_ week.) Shadow ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 104 Mon Jan 31, 1994 K.DRAKE [Sir Fransis] at 22:23 EST My only complaint with the Redmond cable is that it seems too fragile. Now, I'd like to get an Atari cable just so I can affix that connector on the end of the Redmond cable. I'm just afraid that one day >SLIP!< no more cable! Maybe some electrical tape and a dip in rubber will do the trick!!! The perfect solution would be a box shaped connector that would output all the different modes to industry standard ports. This would slide and plug into (and close up!!) that hole in the back and, of course, include an output for the DSP/ComLynx port. Tom, I've seen 1084S's with DIN's and with DB9's, so apparently there was a design change somewhere. (Mine has a DB9) Still Sailing, Sir Fransis ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 105 Mon Jan 31, 1994 DANNY.M [Yuperman] at 22:30 EST I also heard (just a rumor) that some of the earliest games for the Jag were started when the Panther was being developed. In other words, the early games are only taking advantage of 32-bit power! In a way I kinda hope that's true, because after hearing and seeing the kind of quality that Cypermorph, Dino Dudes and the rest have, then the first production that takes real advantage of the entire 64 bit compasity of the Jag will be something to experience! ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 106 Mon Jan 31, 1994 D.VANTREASE [Shadow] at 22:36 EST To anyone with "Raiden"... (that _is_ a 2-player game, right?)... I was just wondering if the 2-player games come with TWO plastic overlays for the controllers?? Seems like they obviously would, but I just wanted to confirm... Thanks, Shadow ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 107 Mon Jan 31, 1994 DANNY.M [Yuperman] at 22:37 EST I also heard (just a rumor) that some of the earliest games for the Jag were started when the Panther was being developed. In other words, the early games are only taking advantage of 32-bit power! In a way I kinda hope that's true, because after hearing and seeing the kind of quality that Cypermorph, Dino Dudes and the rest have, then the first production that takes real advantage of the entire 64 bit compasity of the Jag will be something to experience! ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 108 Mon Jan 31, 1994 ICDINC [Tom] at 23:09 EST Shadow, There are no overlays with Raiden nor with Dino Dudes. Sir, I have heard that there is something like that in the works. :-) - TOM - ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 109 Mon Jan 31, 1994 C.OINES1 [Chazz] at 23:23 EST Maybe, but Raiden doesn't have enough controls to bother with an overlay, so there weren't any. ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 110 Tue Feb 01, 1994 W.FAANES at 01:40 EST Here is an _updated_ diagram of the Jaguar's A/V port. This is for reference only and the author(s) will not take responsibility for 'smoked' Jaguars! Much thanks goes to Tom (ICDINC) for his electronic skills (and O-scope!). DO NOT OPEN THE JAGUAR, OR THE WARRANTY WILL BE VOIDED!! [view from back of unit] Category 26, Topic 2 Message 24 Sat Jan 22, 1994 TQUINN [Terry~Sysop] at 19:01 EST The first 200 messages in this topic have been archived and are available in Library 13 as file # 31705 (JAGUAR12.ARC). This archive covers the period between January 4, 1994 and January 22, 1994. Terry Quinn ST RT Sysop and BBS Janitor ------------ 1A 2A 3A 4A 5A 6A 7A 8A 9A 10A 11A 12A _________________________________________________ _________________________________________________ 1B 2B 3B 4B 5B 6B 7B 8B 9B 10B 11B 12B Bottom 1A - Left Audio 2A - Ground 3A - 4A - Chroma Ground (S-VIDEO) 5A - Blue (RGB) 6A - Horizontal Sync (RGB) 7A - Green (RGB) 8A - Chroma (S-VIDEO) 9A - 10A - 11A - 12A - 1B - Right Audio 2B - Ground 3B - Ground (RGB?) 4B - Red (RGB) 5B - Composite Sync (RGB) (Vertical + Horizontal Sync) -Can be used as a vertical sync if needed. 6B - 7B - Luma Ground (S-VIDEO) 8B - Luma (S-VIDEO) 9B - Ground 10B - Composite Ground (VIDEO) 11B - Composite (VIDEO) 12B - Phew! I'm glad it's over! Bill ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 111 Tue Feb 01, 1994 STEVE-J [DrHfuhruhurr] at 03:32 EST C.SMITH89 - That's right! I forgot about SONIC 3 coming out on Wednesday! REALM - Atari MIGHT sell RGB cables directly, but they won't be distributing them. ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 112 Tue Feb 01, 1994 STEVE-J [DrHfuhruhurr] at 04:48 EST Here's the diagram again minus the reformatting! Top 1A 2A 3A 4A 5A 6A 7A 8A 9A 10A 11A 12A _________________________________________________ _________________________________________________ 1B 2B 3B 4B 5B 6B 7B 8B 9B 10B 11B 12B Bottom 1A - Left Audio 1B - Right Audio 2A - Ground 2B - Ground 3A - 3B - Ground (RGB?) 4A - Chroma Ground (S-VIDEO) 4B - Red (RGB) 5A - Blue (RGB) 5B - Composite Sync (RGB) (Vertical + Horizontal Sync) Can be used as a vertical sync if needed. 6A - Horizontal Sync (RGB) 6B - 7A - Green (RGB) 7B - Luma Ground (S-VIDEO) 8A - Chroma (S-VIDEO) 8B - Luma (S-VIDEO) 9A - 9B - Ground 10A - 10B - Composite Ground (VIDEO) 11A - 11B - Composite (VIDEO) 12A - 12B - ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 113 Tue Feb 01, 1994 PG.MUSIC [PG-Kevin] at 08:09 EST Thanks for the format fix Steve! --Kevin PS. Where can I find an edge card conn to hook up to the Jag's rear port? ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 114 Tue Feb 01, 1994 W.FAANES at 10:58 EST Steve: I don't know how to upload a text file I guess! I use the *U command and then do a *L command to review it and it looks great. Why does it look fine when I list it and then when it is posted it gets reformatted. Why? :)? Thanks, Bill ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 115 Tue Feb 01, 1994 C.PILKINGTON [Charlie] at 13:14 EST What a surprise I got this weekend! My wife took our son to a video game store in town and ended up coming home with a Jag! It seems that whoever bought it two weeks ago decided that paying their rent was more important,(weird priorities), so she got a practically brand new Jag for $200.00,tax included. I was planning on waiting till at least A vs P came out before I got my Jag, but I'm very happy I've got it now. CyberMorph is a fun game and I'm looking forward to beating it and eventually playing CMII. One last note...I called Atari yesterday to order a composite cable and chatted with someone on the phone for a while. His latest release dates for games is... Tempest 2000...End of February. Club Drive and Star Raiders 2000...March(no specific date). A vs P and Checkered Flags II...Early April. Looking forward to playing most of those titles. Charlie ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 116 Tue Feb 01, 1994 G.K. [Greg] at 13:45 EST Star Raiders 2000? That's the first I've heard of this one. ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 117 Tue Feb 01, 1994 L.FULGENZI [Chas] at 19:13 EST STAR RAIDERS 2000??? !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! If true, OH HAPPY DAYS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :) -Chas ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 118 Tue Feb 01, 1994 D.ENGEL [Thunderbird] at 21:09 EST Charlie: I hope that Atari drops that "2000" nomenclature. Those "2000" names are getting real old real fast. I thought that the game was supposed to be called "Ultra Star Raiders". __________________ \hunderbird ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 119 Tue Feb 01, 1994 ARCHIVIST [Charlie] at 21:49 EST I've heard it's being worked on, but don't expect it 'till late summer. God, summer seems so long away.... :-( Charlie/sysop ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 120 Tue Feb 01, 1994 R.WATSON15 [Wayne Watson] at 21:54 EST If S-Video is just Chroma and Luma seperated, then hasn't it been around for awhile? If my memory serves me correctly (the way it's been going lately, I am not too sure :-)), there were monitors back in the 80's that had seperate Chroma and Luma inputs. Was I dreaming or did they exist? Bill, When GEnie goes to save the message, it will then do it's infamous format (I call it mangle) of the message. To keep it from happening, use *SN or place 2 spaces at the beginning of each line that you do not want formatted. If you use Aladdin, then it can me made to do an *SN. ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 121 Tue Feb 01, 1994 G.K. [Greg] at 22:54 EST Wayne, computers as far back as the original Atari 800 had separate chroma and luminance outputs on the monitor port. It wasn't called S-Video in those days, of course. ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 122 Tue Feb 01, 1994 S.LEGRAND [Oppressor] at 23:00 EST Star Raiders 2000? That's for the Lynx I believe... Tempest 2000 looks to be a must buy though! Scott ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 123 Tue Feb 01, 1994 RHETT [Mr.Anderson] at 23:28 EST Wayne Watson, You're right. The Commodore monitors for the 64 had separate inputs for chroma and luma. The 1702 was the big seller. --rhett ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 124 Wed Feb 02, 1994 E.HALLIWELL at 00:47 EST W.FAANES-- *L is the List command... all it does is print each line of data that you've entered. What you want to use is *P, the Preview command, which shows how GEnie will reformat your message. And last but not least, preformatted messages should be saved with *SN (Save, No formatting). ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 125 Wed Feb 02, 1994 E.HALLIWELL at 00:48 EST Wayne-- Yes, the much-vaunted S-Video is nothing more than Y/C (aka split video, aka chroma/luma) video. Funny how it took VCRs and game systems almost a decade to catch up to what the 8-bit Atari (and C64?) had from the start. ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 126 Wed Feb 02, 1994 R.WATSON15 [Wayne Watson] at 01:02 EST Greg, Rhett, Thanks. That's what I thought. I remember the 1702. ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 127 Wed Feb 02, 1994 W.FAANES at 01:36 EST Thanks for the 'text upload' info... Funny how the online help only mentions the *U and the *L commands... I'm _slowly_ getting used to the hidden commands. Bill ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 128 Wed Feb 02, 1994 STEVE-J [DrHfuhruhurr] at 04:43 EST PG.MUSIC - Most people are buying 34-conductor card edge connectors from Radio Shack ($2.99, I believe) and cutting them down. W.FAANES - Save it with *SN to keep GEnie from reformatting it. For a brief explanation, all messages that are left on GEnie are automatically formatted for however many columns each user has specified (e.g. if you send a message that's 60 columns wide, GEnie will reformat it to 80 columns for most users) -- *SN makes GEnie keep the message exactly as it was sent. The only bad thing about *SN is that 40-column users will see stuff like: GEnie is the absolute bestest online source of Atari info ever! In fact, the ST Roundtable is one of the most active areas on the whole service. The other way of keeping GEnie from reformatting text is to begin lines that you don't want reformatted with a space (like the example above). That's how Aladdin users do it, since Aladdin only saves messages with the *S command (though perhaps v2.0 will have an option for either *S or *SN???). G.K. - (ULTRA) STAR RAIDERS (2000) was just mentioned on the Internet a few days ago (by the apparent Internet Atari gaming guru, Robert Jung). It would make sense that Atari would want to keep this one hushed up right up until release. They're also making a Lynx version. ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 129 Wed Feb 02, 1994 J.ZENTZ1 [wintermane] at 04:51 EST Actually s-video also supports higher res pictures(svcr) and higher contrast and color brightness and better sound. ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 130 Wed Feb 02, 1994 STEVE-J [DrHfuhruhurr] at 06:41 EST Here's an interesting post from Bob Brodie on AtariNet: Date: 01-30-94 (13:48) Message Number: 3256 (77 of 96) To: Sal Manfredonia Ref #: From: Bob Brodie Read: Public Subject: Star Raiders 2000 & Jagua Conference: Atari Explore ---------- ------------------------------------------------------------------- .FROM Bob Brodie @FIDO 51:1/10 In reply to: > I've read these two things on Usenet, and I was wondering if you could > confirm them, and possibly discuss them in further detail. > > First, a user called up Atari and asked about the release dates for Jagu > games. Most of the games he listed were ones we knew about, but under > "June" he also had a game listed called "Star Raiders 2000." Is this tru > I hope so! Yes, we are working on a Star Raiders title for the Jaguar. It is scheduled to be available in June, but I haven't checked on it to see how the progogress is at this time. Re the Jeff Minter comment...Jeff does lightshow style stuff back in Wales. He's working on some other projects for us here, including having just finished up with Tempest 2000. --- FiFo V2.1o [JetMail 0.99beta4] * Origin: 51:1/10 @ Atarinet.ftn Atari Base, Sunnyvale - CA. (51:1/10) --- * OrigZ*Net News Service (Fnet 593) ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 131 Wed Feb 02, 1994 STEVE-J [DrHfuhruhurr] at 06:50 EST J.ZENTZ1 - S-Video has nothing to do with audio. An SVHS VCR has better sound, yes, but SVHS and S-Video aren't the same thing -- SVHS _uses_ S-Video for the video signals. ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 132 Wed Feb 02, 1994 C.OINES1 [Chazz] at 07:01 EST At least hold onto it until someone does "Death Race 2000"... (I'd buy it...) ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 133 Wed Feb 02, 1994 K.DRAKE [Sir Fransis] at 09:51 EST I don't know, I like the 2000. It's just like the early days of SNES with "Super" this and "Super" that, although I like 2000 a lot better than "Super," "Hyper," or "Ultra." 2000 will also let people know that these are updated classics and sounds better than "x Classic." Of course, there may be a problem in about 6 years... Still Sailing, Sir Fransis ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 134 Wed Feb 02, 1994 PG.MUSIC [PG-Kevin] at 10:48 EST What about SuperHype Asteroids 2000? :) The Ultimate game. --Kevin ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 135 Wed Feb 02, 1994 G.HONIS [GARY] at 18:09 EST Thanks to the advice from the two Toms (ICDINC & MCCOMB) I have a working Jaguar to SC1224 cable. I switched the V-sync and H-sync connections as suggested so that the connections are now as shown in the updated diagram given here by Bill and Steve (msgs #110 & 112). The Version 2 SC1224 monitor made in 1985 works perfectly. It has a square power switch on the right front and also contrast and volume controls on the front. The SC1224 made in 1986 with the On/Volume, Contrast and Brightness controls on the right side of the monitor will not work with the cable; it still has the rolling problem. Both monitors work fine with an STE. I tried using all the ground points shown for the Jag but this did not help. Thanks again guys for getting the cable working. ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 136 Wed Feb 02, 1994 ICDINC [Tom] at 18:53 EST Gary, If you waill pay for shipping both ways, I would be glad to look into the problem with your newer monitor. The grounds are all in common so there shouldn't be any difference which one you use. - TOM - ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 137 Wed Feb 02, 1994 M.TROUPE [Helium] at 19:08 EST Shadow, Raiden doesn't have an overlay since it doesn't need it. ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 138 Wed Feb 02, 1994 R.GRIDLEY [Rick G] at 21:01 EST Well, after 14 years since the original, I hope that the Jaguar version of StarRaiders is a killer. Its got a great name to live up to. Anything less than Wing Commander/Privateer/X-WING graphics will be a disappointment to me. A 3D type map with your starbases on it would also add to the strategic aspect of the game. ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 139 Wed Feb 02, 1994 R.WATSON15 [Wayne Watson] at 21:32 EST Steve, Or you have modified Aladdin to do *SN. :-) ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 140 Wed Feb 02, 1994 B.DEWITT [Perfesser] at 22:24 EST Warning: rather long post follows.... Thought you Jag fans might be interested in part of an article I came across recently. It comes from a relatively new gaming magazine called "The Sports Game Review." The article was titled "An Easy Look At Game System Hardware." After reviewing SNES, Sega Genesis and CD hardware in obviously positive terms, the author deals with 3DO (calling it "the focal point of the greatest hype this industry has ever seen." He then goes on to say that "In five years, 3DO will be a staple course at most business colleges, either as an example of the best way to launch a product or an example of the perils of hype. For nearly two years, Trip Hawkins and crew have been dazzling the industry with nothing more than mirrors. 3DO went public, and a feeding frenzy ensued, all for a company that lost $14 million its first year and had yet to produce any product." At the end of the article, under the heading, "The Future" the author addressed the coming of the Jaguar. He did not feel confident in the Jag's future. His words: "The basic problem that the Jaguar has is the credibility, or lack thereof, of Atari. The dearth of quality developers flocking to the system is noticeable. Nor do consumers seem particularly excited about the Jaguar, even though, technically, it is a significant advance...." He then goes on to say: "To the best of my knowledge, there has never been another ship named the Titanic and for good reason. Similarly, Atari is synonymous with the sinking of an entire industry, and I sincerely doubt that they will ever be a significant player in the video game business as long as they remain Atari." I'm not sure when the article was written, but it was printed in the February 1994 issue. While the author's opinion about Atari is quite understandable, given Atari's past performances, I wonder upon what he bases his opinion that no "consumers seem particularly excited about the Jaguar."? Apparently, he hasn't logged on to this GEnie topic recently :-). Th'Perfesser ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 141 Wed Feb 02, 1994 FAIRWEATHER [David] at 23:52 EST You know what game I would really like to see ported to the Jag someday? OMEGA. The same primitive ASCII graphics RPG that is available here in GEnie's ST RT library. OMEGA was a fantastic game that kept me fascinated like no other game since Dungeon Master. Imagine if that same great gameplay could be translated into a 1st person perspective, 3D, True Color, smooth scrolling, texture mapped world as vast as the one in the original with its city and all its guilds and shops, the graveyard, the temple, the arena, homes, brothel, jail, library, and the catacombs beneath the city. And then outside the city walls all the vast wilderness and mountains, and castles and towns and caves and magical sites. I loved the weird mysticism of that game with all its different religions, and I loved the way your character could be nurtured along to develop and mature in strength and magic (that's what I also loved about Dungeon Master.) The frantic fighting of OMEGA with its hordes of varied monsters would be SO great on the Jag in 1st person perspective! And then to top it off, the game had a great sense of humor too! I'm tired of no-brainer hack 'em ups and arcade conversions. Let's hope for some INTELLIGENT rpgs like OMEGA for the Jag. ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 142 Thu Feb 03, 1994 C.SMITH89 [CLINT/A.P.E.] at 00:10 EST Quick, somebody get that author an interview at EGM! An interesting yet incredibly flawed argument. A large amount of the video game playing audience was either really young or not even born yet when the video game industry went bust. On the other end, alot of the older players have fond memories of their good old 2600's. I don't associate Atari with the fall of the video game industry. My mind immediately springs to all the fly-by-night companies with dollar signs in their eyes who flooded the market with inferior titles(many times based on some property license). As a matter of fact, Alien Vs Predator isn't the first time an alien has been running around a maze on an Atari system. 20th Century Fox Games did the Alien game on the 2600. Mind you, that was an overhead maze game which was similar to Pac-Man. ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 143 Thu Feb 03, 1994 D.VANTREASE [Shadow] at 00:32 EST ###### EVOLUTION: DINO DUDES - A MINI-REVIEW ######### The following is a "first impressions" review of the latest Jaguar release, "Evolution: Dino Dudes". Thirsty for another game cartridge to feed my Jaguar, I picked up Dino Dudes (from Atari / Imagitec Design Inc.) for $44.99. Dino Dudes (hereafter refered to as 'DD') is a one-player game. It does not come with a plastic controller overlay, but none is needed. DD is more of a puzzle/strategy game, similar to the popular game 'Lemmings", but with a cave-man theme. Basically, each screen is a puzzle of its own. You are given a certain number of "dudes", a time limit, and a certain goal to accomplish on each level. Goals can range from reaching a goal 'block', freeing a tribe member held hostage, discovering fire, etc. If you accomplish your goal within the time limit, your score is increased and you are moved up to the next level/screen. According to the box, there are 80 levels! Also on each level are various objects scattered around to help you achive your goal. Objects include spears, torches, ropes, and wheel. As you pick up certain objects, you gain certain abilities. For example, you can throw a spear, use it to 'vault' over openings in the ground, or 'brandish' against attacking dinosaurs. Torches are used to burn objects (like bushes) that are blocking your path. Ropes are used for climbing, and wheels can be ridden to propel you across chasms. Without these items, you are limited to walking, and 'stacking' (forming a human ladder) to help you climb to high places. Other characters in the game include dinosaurs (who WILL eat you!), and flying birds, which you can jump on and ride. You may also have a special dude in your tribe called the Witch Doctor. He can be used to create a needed object which you don't have, but at a price; a human sacrifice! Depending on the difficulty level you choose, you start out with 12, 10, or 8 dudes in your tribe. Not all dudes are used in a given level, and if one of your dudes dies, he is immediatly replaced buy one from your tribe. Also, if you rescue a dude being held hostage, he joins your tribe. A higher difficulty level also means you are given less time to complete each level. The graphics in DD are very nice. While not exactly 24-bit, the game is very colorful. The backgrounds for each level have a nice "oil painting" look to them; very colorful but not distracting. The animations are hilarious! When your dudes are just standimng around not doing anything, they will randomly do things like scratch their bellys. Some of the death-scenes are also fun to watch. (Although I haven't seen them yet, I have read that many other animations are very funny, like the Witch Doctor sacrifice, or running over someones toes with a wheel!) The sound is also very well done. There is a nice 'peppy' tune during gameplay (which can be turned off). The sound effects are good, including some digitized ones. Listen to a monster roar, or when a caveman is held hostage, he yells "Help!". Music and sound effects volume levels can be changed and saved. The controls seemed awkward at first, but I got the hang of it in about 10 minutes. The C button cycles through your currently available actions, which are shown as icons on the bottom of your screen. The B button selects/activates an action, and the A button is used for controlling the power behind a throw or a vault. These buttons can be reconfigured and saved. The numberic keypad is used to select which dude you are going to control. The gameplay is very smooth, and lots of fun! If you are a fan of this type of game, then Dino Dudes is a 'must have'! Each level/screen is well thought-out. As expected, the 1st level is very easy, and things get a little harder as you go on. As a nice feature, you can stop and re-start a level at any time, regaining any lives (or objects) you may have lost. This helps a LOT, especially when you just realized your original stratagy was flawed, or you lost too many lives. Each level has a password to it, so you can jump to any level on your next startup, or just choose "LP" and it automatically takes you to your Last Password you have completed. (The only problem with this, I've discovered, is when you have someone else play the game after you do!) Overall, I say Dino Dudes is a "thumbs up", *** 1/2 stars, 88%, etc. While not "the ultimate game", it sure beats Crescent Galaxy! Fans of puzzle games will love this new Jaguar title, and you'll enjoy watching the humorous animations in the game. I highly recommend it. -Shadow- ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 144 Thu Feb 03, 1994 J.ZENTZ1 [wintermane] at 03:20 EST I read somewhere that s-video cables allowed cd quality sound in sterio as well as more bandwith for the picture....Think it was popular mechanix or some such... ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 145 Thu Feb 03, 1994 STEVE-J [DrHfuhruhurr] at 04:46 EST K.DRAKE - Then how about just TEMPEST, BATTLEZONE, and STAR RAIDERS (and NO "2000" or "Super/Ultra/Hyper/Mega"!)? Heck! Even ___ II (or III in the case of STAR RAIDERS) would be better! R.GRIDLEY - I hate to sound negative, but since Atari is doing SR themselves (I think), I'm not really expecting that much (judging by CRESCENT GALAXY standards!). Now if they have someone else working on it FOR them, then that's another matter. ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 146 Thu Feb 03, 1994 STEVE-J [DrHfuhruhurr] at 07:26 EST J.ZENTZ1 - S-Video only uses two signals (+ ground) -- chroma and luma. Like I said before, SVHS VCRs USE S-Video, but they also have digital audio (which has nothing to do with the S-Video). By the way, everyone... Concerning the reports of some Jaguars making a "hissing" noise... this has apparently been traced to the RF modulator. ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 147 Thu Feb 03, 1994 ICDINC [Tom] at 09:12 EST Shadow, One other really nice feature of DD was the Demo mode which acted as a tutorial for me. It rotates through about 8 different levels and shows some of the basic strategies. I also like the use of meaningful words for level selection as opposed to random letter or number groupings that are used in others. - TOM - ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 148 Thu Feb 03, 1994 ARCHIVIST [Charlie] at 17:55 EST Th'Perfesser, the lead time for magazines can often be 3 months or more though many try to cut that back if they're presenting themselves as 'fast breaking news' types. It's quite possible that review was written before the Jaguar hit the stores. Certainly the authors comment about 'consumers [not] particularly excited....' has been proven quite wrong since the release, but was true before it simply because no-one knew about the Jag. I hope future articles from this author have a different tune. Charlie/sysop ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 149 Thu Feb 03, 1994 D.ENGEL [Thunderbird] at 18:49 EST Steve-J: I don't know who's doing Star Raiders 2000. All I know is that someone was already working on it when _we_ offered to write it. :-) Heck, someone could write an 800 emulator, and just port the 800 version, and it would be better than most SNEESE and Geriatrisis games. ___________________ \hunderbird ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 150 Thu Feb 03, 1994 DMJ [dmj] at 19:13 EST I thought I'd share with you something I read in the January 31 issue of InfoWorld. I should note this came from their "Notes From the Field" column, which contains their latest "industry secrets". Atari, having had a resounding lack of success so far in selling its Jaguar 64-bit video game machine, is getting Jaguar 2.0 read to go this fall. The new box combines the Tom and Jerry ASICs into one chip and replaces the 68000 with a PowerPC. What you get is a $250 home video game to which you can attach a SCSI hard disk and use it as an Oracle server. Of course Atari will screw it up, but there is always the prospect that somebody will buy out the Tramiel family and start running Atari like a real business. IBM would be a good choice, given that it builds the Jaguar for Atari and is moving into the TV set-top business. I've heard that there is interest, too, from Sega, which could put a patent suit to rest with such a purchase, as well as pick up the technology. Normally I don't read InfoWorld, but this particular clip was passed on to me by a friend. I don't necessarily agree with the conclusions in the column, but it's interesting to see the Jaguar pop up in a publication like InfoWorld. ~dmj ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 151 Thu Feb 03, 1994 ARCHIVIST [Charlie] at 19:54 EST Hmmm. Who wrote that bit, do you know? Sounds more like something out of STR.... Charlie/sysop ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 152 Thu Feb 03, 1994 ICDINC [Tom] at 20:06 EST :-) Somebody is bitter. - TOM - ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 153 Thu Feb 03, 1994 R.QUEZADA [B-B-Q] at 22:23 EST PG.MUSIC--- About building those cables... you can also use a disk drive ribbon-cable connector. All you have to do is cut part of it so it will fit on the port without hitting the DSP port. It works really well and made it easier for me to make a S-Video cable. ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 154 Thu Feb 03, 1994 FAIRWEATHER [David] at 22:31 EST >"Resounding lack of success"??????? C'mon! Atari hasn't even started its national campaign yet! I wouldn't doubt that they may be facing some resistance from retailers, but its way to early to say the Jag is a flop with the public. All the Jag needs is a few killer titles out the door like Doom, AvP and Return to Zork. I just pray these announced titles arrive sooner than "real soon now." The Jag needs these titles NOW! ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 155 Thu Feb 03, 1994 L.FULGENZI [Chas] at 23:26 EST Hmm....my local Babbages sold out of their shipment of a dozen Jags in 2 days. Doesn't sound bad to me . -Chas ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 156 Fri Feb 04, 1994 PG.MUSIC [PG-Kevin] at 00:35 EST Hey T-Bird, Why not work up a hardware hack and write an emulator for the Jag to allow playing VCS2600, 7800, XE-GS, and maybe even Genesis games on the Jaguar. In addition to the kick butt native Jag versions. --Kevin ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 157 Fri Feb 04, 1994 W.FAANES at 00:38 EST Instead of using the floppy disk ribbon cables, one should use the 26 'pin' connectors that one can find at any good electronics store.. Its referred to as a '26 Position Card Edge Connector' and a 'IDE26' . Then the last 2 pins can be removed and a 'plug' can be inserted to make it a perfect 24 postion card edge connector. I've looked all over silicon valley for a 24 pos. connector and haven't found one. Even the large electronic 'surplus' places have never heard/ seen such a beast! Bill ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 158 Fri Feb 04, 1994 FAIRWEATHER [David] at 01:07 EST Demand Systems in Camarillo has had Jags on backorder for almost a month. If anything Atari's problem appears not to be that they can't sell enough Jags but that they can't MAKE enough Jags. ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 159 Fri Feb 04, 1994 AEO.MAG [Nat'l Champs] at 02:14 EST Mr. Robinson (EXPLORER.1) was kind enough to FAX the InfoWorld article to me Thursday. I left a message with Mr. Cringely, but he never returned my call. :( A PowerPC-based Jaguar for $250??? Who's gonna subsidise (sic) it? --Travis ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 160 Fri Feb 04, 1994 AEO.1 [Albert Dayes] at 02:23 EST Travis, Have you tried Cringely's internet address? ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 161 Fri Feb 04, 1994 S.LEGRAND [Oppressor] at 02:23 EST Thunderbird: Gee, is that a hint about what we're doing or what? :-) heh heh heh Scott ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 162 Fri Feb 04, 1994 STEVE-J [DrHfuhruhurr] at 04:56 EST DMJ - Ha! Sounds like a pretty big load to me! It SOUNDS like whoever wrote the InfoWorld bit, if he actually thought it was true, got wind of some of the Atari COMPUTER rumors (a PPC-based computer with the Jaguar chipset as a graphic co-processor, or whatever). ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 163 Fri Feb 04, 1994 D.ENGEL [Thunderbird] at 06:27 EST dmj: I _might_ believe a "Jaguar Computer" is rumored to be coming out, but a second Jaguar game system so soon would be really stupid. Why try and surpass YOURSELF when you're at the top and the next contender is years away??? ____________________ \hunderbird ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 164 Fri Feb 04, 1994 D.ENGEL [Thunderbird] at 18:30 EST PG.MUSIC [PG-Kevin]: > Why not work up a hardware hack and write an emulator for the Jag to >allow playing VCS2600, 7800, XE-GS, and maybe even Genesis games on >the Jaguar. In addition to the kick butt native Jag versions. Heck, why not cob up a keyboard and write a '486 emulator and run all those Windoze applications with it? Port Windoze NT over, and then you can dispense with having to deal with MesSyDOS and the 640K barrier. There's some decent games around for the klownes that would probably be nice to run with the improved speed of the Jaguar. __________________ \hunderbird ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 165 Fri Feb 04, 1994 J.YEGERLEHNE at 21:35 EST I made an RGB cable from the pinout diagram. When I hook it to my NEC 3V, I get about 5 images all rolling over one another. Does the Jag not generate regular VGA? The resolution of what you can make out is great, though. Any suggestions? Jim Y. ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 166 Fri Feb 04, 1994 D.SMITH200 [Dave] at 21:48 EST Damian, That "resounding lack of success" might be countered by the stock, which went from 1/2 point to a high of 12+, now comfortable around 7. Power PC addition to the Jag 2 shows a commitment by Atari to a larger market. This chip will insure compatability with front ends written for much of the interactive market, now in it's infancy. Oddly enough, I'm feeling a bit optimistic... TBird -- If it's backwards compatible, It's a *very* nice sign. An approach Atari should (finally) adopt for the computer line... It's not enough to set standards, you need to BECOME the standard. ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 167 Fri Feb 04, 1994 PG.MUSIC [PG-Kevin] at 22:00 EST ThunderBird, I like the response of 2600 Asteroids better than MS Fright Sim 5.0 on my 486. --Kevin ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 168 Fri Feb 04, 1994 ICDINC [Tom] at 22:18 EST Jim Y., The Jag does not by default support VGA. The standard RGB H-Sync rate is 15.75 KHz. VGA is twice that. Most VGA monitors will not sync below 30 KHz including the NEC 3V. - TOM - ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 169 Sat Feb 05, 1994 D.VANTREASE [Shadow] at 11:35 EST I missed the RT with Bob Brodie on Friday 2/4. Can someone please post some of the latest news and highlights? Or upload a text buffer 'transcript' if available ASAP? Thanks!!! Shadow ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 170 Sat Feb 05, 1994 ST.LOU [Lou Rocha] at 12:25 EST Shadow, the official transcript should be released very shortly in Library 13. ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 171 Sat Feb 05, 1994 MYECK.WATERS [myeck] at 16:11 EST My Jaguar was making a hissing sound, but I discovered that I had put it on a magazine ad for 3DO. I removed the 3DO ad and replaced it with a Sega Genesis flyer and the hissing stopped. The Jaguar does, however, occasionally begin to giggle uncontrollably... ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 172 Sun Feb 06, 1994 B.DUNCAN12 at 08:42 EST HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!! That's a good one, Thought it was an actually problem with the Jag for a second!!!! ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 173 Sun Feb 06, 1994 ALEXANDRI at 09:15 EST ROTFL! Juan ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 174 Sun Feb 06, 1994 E.BAIZ at 12:29 EST Is the S-video cable out for the Jag?? ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 175 Sun Feb 06, 1994 B.DEWITT [Perfesser] at 13:38 EST Just thought you might like to know: mark me down as one more of the big cat owners. I picked mine up this weekend at the local Babbage's (Orem, Utah). In talking with the salesman, he indicated that they had sold nearly all 25-30 they had received. I got the penultimate one of the current batch. I reckon that those kind of figures seem pretty good given the fact that I haven't seen any Jag advertising of any kind in this neck of the woods. (I wonder what sales would be like if consumers weren't so darn disinterested in the Jag, as reported in several national magazines here..... ). One slightly disturbing thing I have so far noticed with my Cybermorph cartridge: random "sparkles" show up on the screens. Anyone else getting this? Th'Perfesser ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 176 Sun Feb 06, 1994 R.MARTIN22 [NETWORK 23] at 18:20 EST PERFESSER: I get those random sparkes on my version too. Live And Direct, Rod Martin NETWORK 23 ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 177 Sun Feb 06, 1994 L.SQUIRE [Lance] at 20:14 EST Yes Count Yet another Happy Jag owner! Got it at EB in Scarborough, Ontario (Canada!!!) Having read ALL posts in this area (and others) I MUST say your reports have been holy accurate and I am MOST satisfied with the product! Prof. I get those "sparkles" to, MOST anoying on my 45" TV! However messages here indicate thats an RF problem, and will COMPLEATLY dissapear with the purchace of a composite or S-video(When available) cable! Waiting for the S-video myself! Lance ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 178 Sun Feb 06, 1994 ARCHIVIST [Charlie] at 21:24 EST Lance, was this the EB in the Scarborough Town Center mall? How many did they have in, and do you think they'll have any left by the time I get there tomorrow? :-) I really can't afford this... I really can't afford this... I really can't afford this.... Charlie/sysop ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 179 Sun Feb 06, 1994 S.LEGRAND [Oppressor] at 22:45 EST I can verify that I see no sparkles when I use a composite video cable... Now if only I could cut out the interference from our laundry room I'd be a happier Atarian. ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 180 Sun Feb 06, 1994 G.GEORGE3 [Fruitman] at 23:21 EST I rather like the 2000 name. I think it sounds cheesy to just have a "II" or "III" after the name of an updated game. Refering back to Star Raiders...If y Atari wanted to put a number on the Jaguar version, it would probably have to be "III." How many of you know that there was a SR 2 on the 8-bit? (Probably a lot more than I think...) Fruitman.................. ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 181 Sun Feb 06, 1994 W.FAANES at 23:23 EST If anyone has a chance, they should check out the new magazine called "Game Developer" - "The magazine for electronic entertainment professionals," The premier issue just came out and it is very informative. It has a great piece on Id, and the history and development of Wolfenstein, Doom, etc. It gets into technical aspects of the games, developers and the machines that made these fantastic games... I read the article twice! (They also tell of Id's excitement over the Jaguar and the soon to be Jaguar version) They profile Maxis (SimCity, etc) and their unique programs.. They explain how the games were made... Other articles describe how to design on-line, multiplayer games, another compares the different gaming platforms and the 'risks - benefits' of programming for each one, etc... The magazine appears to be a quarterly one right now so it should be in the stands for awhile... I'm glad I stumbled across it.. :)! Bill ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 182 Sun Feb 06, 1994 S.LEGRAND [Oppressor] at 23:31 EST Fruitman: There's Star Raiders, Star Raiders II, and the Atari ST version... Got all three of 'em... Star Raiders II is actually The Last Starfighter and there are pirate editions floating around out there... It's an OK game, but very incomplete and I was never able to finish it because whenever I wiped out all those Zylon scum, it would just keep going with no enemies to kill... Scott ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 183 Mon Feb 07, 1994 T.MCCOMB [=Tom=] at 01:28 EST RE: Game Developer Mag How about subscription info... and what news stand did you find it at? -Tom McComb {11:51 pm} Sunday, February 6, 1994 ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 184 Mon Feb 07, 1994 K.BENDER1 at 03:30 EST I got my jag back. (Is it JAHG-WAHR or JAHG-YOO-AHR?) I don't think I fried the video making an rgb cable, as it sometimes gave the logo before turning red. Probably abad cart port. Anyway, my exchanged one works fine. I tried and tried and tried again with W.FAANES rgb diagram and quadruple checked it and fiddled with the vertical hold until my fingers fell off, but the picture wouldn't sync wiht my sc1124. It would stay still for a couple of minutes then roll again. Mine has the knobs on the right front side, like G.HONIS's. It is a goldstar, made jan 1987, ser # n1711041379. I tried reversing the vert, horiz sync to no avail. It won't work without both. ICDINC, what causes it to roll? can I make a active or passive electronic hack to fix it? I would really like to free up the family TV and use my sc1124. I mean, sc1224. ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 185 Mon Feb 07, 1994 ICDINC [Tom] at 07:17 EST K.Bender, If it is rolling then it is not getting a good signal on its vertical sync circuit. I will take a look at it if you want to send it in to ICD. - TOM - PS Reply via EMAIL. ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 186 Mon Feb 07, 1994 W.FAANES at 10:28 EST Tom, The company that publishes Game Developer is Miller Freeman Inc, 600 Harrison St, San Francisco, CA 94107. (800) 444-4881. I got my issue at one of the mega-electronic stores that are only found in the San Jose area. However, the company also publishes the Virtual Reality Special Report magazine so you will probably find it out east. Dr Dobb's Journal appears to be the distributer so it should be everywhere... Phew... Gotta hit the commute and get to work... Bill ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 187 Mon Feb 07, 1994 R.QUEZADA [Rob] at 19:47 EST My SC1224 did that too with the vertical hold. The picture kept on rolling a little after I fixed it. (It was the one with the knobs on the side, if that makes any difference.) Anyway, all I did was to hook up a 100k Ohm potentiometer in parallel with the vertical hold knob. When I turned on the Jaguar, all that had to be done was to adjust the potentiometer in order to fine tune the hold and it works GREAT! ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 188 Mon Feb 07, 1994 L.SQUIRE [Lance] at 20:44 EST Charlie: Yes, It was the Scarborough Town Center! However I placed myself on a list & waited 2 weeks!!! NONE were seen in the store when we picked it up, but you might get LUCKY! :-) OFCORSE you can afford this...sell something!!! ;-) Lance ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 189 Mon Feb 07, 1994 D.VANTREASE [Shadow] at 21:28 EST ATARI IS TAKING ORDERS FOR JAG S-VIDEO CABLES NOW !!! Well, actually they're taking names + numbers. I made my weekly call about the S-Video cables (last week they said they would be in this week), and today they said they expect them "any day this week". They are taking your name and phone #, and said they would call you back when they come in, to take your order. (They didn't give me a price.) Call 1-800-GO-ATARI Shadow 'Cause S-Video was worth the wait! ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 190 Mon Feb 07, 1994 E.HALLIWELL at 21:37 EST Oppressor-- Both Star Raiders II and The Last Starfighter were 100% complete. To end the onslaught of Zylons, you have to warp to their home system (in the upper-left corner) and bomb all their cities to rubble. (does Solaris count as Star Raiders III?) ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 191 Mon Feb 07, 1994 G.HONIS [GARY] at 21:45 EST Rob, Your fix of increasing the sensitivity of the vertical hold pot of the SC1224 was something I thought might work, but didn't try. Your message was unclear; however, does the display still roll a little after you fixed it? Gary ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 192 Mon Feb 07, 1994 J.ZENTZ1 [wintermane] at 21:47 EST Fruitman i had sr2 for my 8 bit:) Hope the jag version is a texture mapped one like in elite 2:) I realy like blowin up things:) ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 193 Mon Feb 07, 1994 R.QUEZADA [Rob] at 22:51 EST It does sometimes, but it rarely does. It happens mostly once I turn on the Jaguar. I don't know why. When I tested the vertical hold control that was there, a little movement on the knob made the resistance change by a great deal, but when you connect the potentiometer to it, increasing the resistance on the potentiometer lowers it so the screen will stay put. The adjustment when you first turn on the Jaguar to fix the screen is very slight. It mostly involves recentering the screen. ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 194 Tue Feb 08, 1994 R.MARTIN22 [NETWORK 23] at 00:59 EST Does anyone know if the Jaguar has the capability of increasing the resolution from the 720x576? Would one need special chips wired in to increase the rez? + ON-AIR [11:58 PM-07/Feb/94] + + LIVE AND DIRECT + ROD MARTIN, NETWORK 23 SOFTWARE ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 195 Tue Feb 08, 1994 HEAD.TRIP [Wayne] at 04:54 EST DMJ, My older brother, who always smirks at my Falcon, ST, Lynx, Portfolio... (you get the drift), sent me the Infoworld article. One thing - how could they have a 'resounding lack of success' if the thing isn't even officially out yet? Charlie, It was written by Robert X. Cringely Wayne - Thursday, February 03, 1994 - 10:14 p.m. PST ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 196 Tue Feb 08, 1994 STEVE-J [DrHfuhruhurr] at 05:05 EST R.MARTIN22 - John Mathieson, who worked on the Jag's blitter, has said that the resolution will normally go up to about 800x576, but through programming tricks could go up to around 1600x576. The Jaguar's video system can also accept an external clock rate (like the Falcon030) to boost the resolution even higher -- a Jaguar ScreenBlaster! ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 197 Tue Feb 08, 1994 ICDINC [Tom] at 05:20 EST The Jaguar is mainly designed to be a television add on. I don't really think that the higher resolutions will gain you anything as long as we have NTSC and PAL as standards. Sure there are monitors on the Jag (I use one) but that is not mainstream. - TOM - ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 198 Tue Feb 08, 1994 K.DRAKE [Sir Fransis] at 09:20 EST Tom, It may be designed _mainly_ as a television add on, but, now that videogames are entering the realm of desktop PC quality graphics, I think they will eventually make the transition (just like PC's did long ago) to specialized graphic output. If your average RGB monitor capable of displaying 800x576 ever drops to $150, it would make a decent (mass market affordable) addition to the perfect videogame set up. Hmmm, maybe there's some enterprising third party company out there now working on driving the cost down for the time when _every_ game system (including 3DO) outputs RGB. Still Sailing, Sir Fransis ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 199 Tue Feb 08, 1994 ARCHIVIST [Charlie] at 12:52 EST Lance, thanks. I dropped by the EB in Scarborough Town Center yesterday and there were no jag's around. Ran into the typical 'I'm saving up for 3D0' salesclerk too, so I didn't bother leaving my name and number. Charlie/sysop ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 200 Tue Feb 08, 1994 BOB-BRODIE [Atari Corp] at 13:48 EST Ok, I'm back...as promised. And boy, have I got a lot of catchin' up to do. Hey Shadow, thanks for the kind review of Dino Dudes! I have a 16 year old son who thinks it's a terrific game, too. He spent _hours_ last weekend playing Dino Dudes! I like Crescent Galaxy more, but hey...I'm a shooter fan, not a puzzle person. And I have _all_ the cheats, too. :-) DMJ, re the InfoWorld/Cringely article...I think I was asked about this in my last CO, but just in case (Man, this cold is killing my memory about this stuff) here we go again: If you look at the whole piece he says "....Here's another fantasy:..." and then goes into the part that you typed in here. Now, I don't profess to know everything about computers and electronics. I'm really just a people person, ya know? But I suspect that having an Oracle server run by a 17 button game controller might be pretty limited. :-) And I'll be darned if I know how we'll retain a price point of $249 if we were to include a Power PC chip in each Jaguar. Methinks Pammy must have some new perfume she's befuddling Bobby with. :) Isn't it almost Valentines Day? Note the final section of his column, it's labeled "BACK TO REALITY". I think that says it all. Myeck- Loved your story about the hissing sound! That must explain why I have yet to hear the hiss. Our Jaguar sits close by the Genesis at the house. Maybe I should be checking the Genesis for noises??? :-) All cable fanatics- Yes, we are taking pre-orders for the S-Video Cable now at Atari. The cost of the cable is $19.95, plus $4.95 shipping and handling. We have been told that we will have them this month. I called Redmond Cable (phone: 206-882-2009), and a very nice lady named Becky offered to sell me a Jaguar cable for $34.95, plus shipping and handling. If you have a monitor that you want to hook up to your Jaguar, she seems to think they can make you a cable for it. We're not going to make the RGB cables so keep that in mind. RGB is too wide a spec for us to hit all of the monitors that are out there. Rod Martin and Steve-J, Tom Harker is 100% correct! We designed the Jaguar to be primarily a accessory to be used with a television. While it's true that it can do a lot more than just TV quality output, we'd prefer not to be distracted by hardware hacks at this point in time. I think you'd prefer that, too. Let's concentrate on getting some high quality GAMES! Although getting the RGB cable up and running seems like a pretty neat project at this point in time. The in store kiosks that we're making will all have SC1224s in them. best regards to all, Bob Brodie ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 201 Tue Feb 08, 1994 JOHN.KING.T [JOHN KING T] at 21:19 EST Bob, Welcome BACK!!! JKT ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 202 Tue Feb 08, 1994 R.MARTIN22 [NETWORK 23] at 22:51 EST STEVE: > R.MARTIN22 - John Mathieson, who worked on the Jag's blitter, has > said that the resolution will normally go up to about 800x576, > but through programming tricks could go up to around 1600x576. > The Jaguar's video system can also accept an external clock rate > (like the Falcon030) to boost the resolution even higher -- a > Jaguar ScreenBlaster! Is John here online? According to some developer information Atari sent me, the resolution of the Jag (the only one they list) is 720x576. Programming tricks to get it up to 1600x576. That's promising. But there's no option available to boost the vertical resolution? Would the external clock allow for boosting the vertical resolution? TOM: You are correct. For normal television operation, 576 lines is plenty, but there are televisions with upwards of 700 lines (mine for instance). My development idea requires the use of RGB montiors,and I would need the higher resolutions. BOB! Welcome back! I hope you are feeling better. I left a voicemail message for you, but didn't call you back. Will I get a faster response E-mailing you here, or calling you at Atari. I need to ask a question. ------------------------------- + ON-AIR [09:34 PM-08/Feb/94] + ------------------------------- + LIVE AND DIRECT + ROD MARTIN, NETWORK 23 SOFTWARE ------------------------------- ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 203 Tue Feb 08, 1994 D.ENGEL [Thunderbird] at 22:56 EST Bob Brodie: Glad to see you back! Does this mean you're back in Sunnyvale? Could this mean that things are going really well for the Jaguar and that you're not scouring the country trying to drum up interest, because interest has been overwelming?? :-) I think it would be excellent if you could shore-up the Atari online presence with some of the new blood. I'd love to hear what you folks have to say! Welcome Back! _______________________ \hunderbird 'cause I wanted to do "Star Raiders MCMLXLIV"!!! ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 204 Tue Feb 08, 1994 S.LEGRAND [Oppressor] at 23:11 EST E. HALLIWELL: Yep, blasted their motherships, nuked their fighters, and reduced their cities to rubble but no satisfying ening, LAME-O.... So what's supposed to happen? Scott ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 205 Tue Feb 08, 1994 D.VANTREASE [Shadow] at 23:35 EST OK, I got another question regarding S-Video. I don't know all the specs on S-Video, just that it's better :-) ! I was telling a friend at work that I was waiting for the S-Video cable, and he asked if I had a high-definition TV. I told him no, but it does have an S-Video input jack. He said that a couple months ago, he was out shopping for a new VCR, and he asked the salesguy what the difference between a 'regular' VCR and an S-VHS (S-Video) VCR was, and the salesguy asked him if he had a high-definition TV. He said no, and the salesguy said that he wouldn't benefit any with the S-Video. I'm wondering if he was _really_ asking if he had an S-Video-compatable TV (which mine is), not an HD-TV (which mine isn't). But it made me think... What all will I benefit using an S-Video cable on my Jag, versus composite? My understanding is that some video signals are sent seperatly, giving you a sharper image. Will I also get a higher resolution? Will some games give me a higher resolution, while others won't? What about the ones that are currently out? Thanks again for any clarifications. -Shadow- ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 206 Wed Feb 09, 1994 P.BURNETTE [pablo] at 01:06 EST i gonna ask a stupid question; when you folks talk about using a composite cable on the jag, are you talking about a cable coming out of the jag and going into the tv via the video and l/r audio inputs? ~~paul`` ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 207 Wed Feb 09, 1994 ORA.TECH [OregonResrch] at 02:40 EST ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 208 Wed Feb 09, 1994 G.CHIU2 [Graham] at 03:19 EST Bob Brodie: A lot of countries no doubt now lack the distributor support that used to exist before. I myself am still having difficulty in getting any response out of Atari Australia, and I have grave doubts as to whether we will see any Jaguars in New Zealand this side of Xmas. Will Atari therefore consider supplying your US distributors with PAL products for those of us in that situation. I am of course talking about PAL/230V Jaguars! ( I already have 3 Jaguar controllers waiting to be plugged into something - the Falcon will have to do in the meantime ). ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 209 Wed Feb 09, 1994 E.HALLIWELL at 03:20 EST Oppressor-- To end Star Raiders II, you have to wipe out _all_ traces of the Zylons... cities, attack groups, and ones that have made it to any of your planets. Once you've done this, a message pops up congratulating you for defeating the Ko-Dan...oops-- Zylons. ------------ Category 26, Topic 2 Message 210 Wed Feb 09, 1994 STEVE-J [DrHfuhruhurr] at 05:22 EST D.VANTREASE - S-Video uses seperate chroma and luma signals (whereas RF/composite mix them together and then the TV does it's best to seperate them again), which means clearer signal quality (less artifacting/ghosting/etc.). There isn't a difference in resolution, just a difference in clarity. Another way in which people confuse S-Video and S-VHS is that S-VHS offers 400-450 horizontal lines, as opposed to around 250 for regular VHS, so some people also think that S-Video is higher resolution than composite NTSC -- it isn't. P.BURNETTE - Yes. G.CHIU2 - According to someone who HAS reached Atari Australia, they aren't expect the Jaguar now until at least January '95! ------------