The Amiga was an amazing system but we're talking about a computer who's majority of classic games are anywhere from 15-20 years old, and thus have aged quite a bit compared to most other computers/consoles released since. Because of this, and because software emulation works darn good for most of the classics, I'd say stay with the emulation solution. Keep in mind, like any advanced hardware, nothing beats the real thing as opposed to emulation. But like any system we emulate, there's always some compromise and imho the level of emulation on the Amiga really is high enough that compromising is kept to a minimum.
Right so. Usually older systems DO emulate well. I have Stella for my Atari 2600 games and everything is on my computer. Most of the games play spot on without any speed or sound issues, BUT there is the occasional game that causes a hiccup or two. But the Atari 2600 is also great from the hardware point of view. You could cobble together something using an old 2600 or something newer such as a Flashback 2 system. Heck I have even seen an entire Atari built into a classic 2600 joystick!
I'm in the midst of reconfiguring my arcade cab and you can betcha I'll have an Amiga section so I can give it the odd Amiga originals some good playtime; great games like: Apidya, Battle Squadron, Project X, Blood Money, Alien Breed 1 & 2, Speedball 2, Turrican 1 and 2, Stunt Car Racer, Nebulus, Rick Dangerous 1 and 2, Typhoon Thomson, Xenon 1 and 2, Prince of Persia, Killing Games Show, Shadow of the Beast 1 and 2 (probably with cheats, Xiaou2 is right 
), Zany Golf, Silkworm (there was an arcade version but I loved it to death on my Amiga ), SWIV, Lotus 2, Flood, Rocket Ranger, James Pond 1, 2 and 3 and yeah, Lemmings. Heck, I might even try and play Wings on it, I don't think it's too keyboard dependant.
That was another issue too. Since I never had an Amiga, did it have some kind of game controller or is it pretty much like a PC with a keyboard and/or mouse? I would assume it was more like the latter. However, the older Atari computers such as the 800, DID have regular 9pin game ports to use with their joysticks.
As for the original games for the Amiga, I wouldn't know.
Anyway, I think most of those are Amiga originals or if they were multiplatform, the Amiga release was one of the better versions. There might of course be some exceptions due to personal preference but these have aged pretty good (minus maybe a 3d game like Stunt Car Racer but any self-respecting Amiga fan will look past its dated look and just enjoy the gameplay ). Whatever the case, there were many, many more quality releases but either my memory fails me and I'm forgetting them (believable!) or they were too dependant on keyboard control or just don't fit into my own definition of what's playable on a cab, IE: an adventure game.
That is the one shortcoming when it comes to controlling computer games and that it is never consistent and you have to always map the controls. It isn't a biggie, but it can be tedious. Whereas a console system, once you have the right controller, that is it.
Enjoy the Amiga world, it's never too late to play great games.
Hmmm perhaps I will revisit it, but I am looking to create a small cabinet with something quick and easy to set up. I think I might be better off with a console, BUT the clincher with a console is how faithful it is to the original arcade version.
I know that a good console to set up in an arcade style cabinet would be the Sega Genesis. There were MANY games that were of arcade quality and the Genesis did have some good original games too. The downside was that it was a cartridge based system and that you could never pick a bunch of games from a list...you would be swapping cartridges.
The ST was "good with music" _because_ of the Midi port. The sound processor was inferior to the Amiga for sure. But you should read about the history of the Tramiel family and Atari, Commodore and Amiga at the time. There was a battle going on.
Yeah, I read about that in magazines that magazines. They always talk about it in Retro Gamer.
Atari beat Commodore by releasing the ST much earlier and especially much cheaper.
Also, I liked the way that it could also be used as a serious computer with the high-res monochrome screen. The Amiga lacked business credibility. The ST was often used as a cheaper Mac as a desktop publishing system (Talk about long-gone buzz-words).
Yes, I do remember that the ST did come into the picture several times, and I ALMOST did buy one. But it was a hard decision to go between the ST and the Amiga and I was bouncing around between the two often. While I had considered a PC, most games were still text based...but then a new thing came along called "Windows", and both the ST and Amiga fell very quickly out of contention.
I think the ST was the better "all round" machine of the two. The Amiga was great for games.
That is what I gathered. While the Midi ports on the ST were very much it's strong points, I could always get a cheap Mac if I want to concentrate on music and midi.
I think the given example of Space Harrier is not entirely honest. It was also about who programmed what for what machine. If a programmer was good with programming the ST's sound processor, he could do some great stuff with it. Sometimes programmers were just lazy or under a time-limit to release stuff. Look at what the Pokey could do when the Atari 8-bit machines were almost 10 years after it's initial release. I bet the hardware designers never dreamed stuff like that would be possible when they developed the system, but the programmers simply learned to use it to it's full potential.
I thought that the Atari computer had 'good' sound synthesis, but after seeing that comparison, the Amiga clearly is better. But then again the Sharp is better still!
As far as the Amiga Star Wars version beating the real arcade version: Only someone who never played the arcade version can write something crazy like that.
LOL! You are probably right. I for one know no computer will ever beat the arcade sit down version of Star Wars. BUT Mame does get pretty close, and if you can get a hold of that controller, then you have it made in the shade
.
Strange. My A500 Never crashed. It was my C64 that locked up all
the time due to poor floppy drive manufacturing / quality.
I never really had crashing problems with the C64/C128 system I had, BUT I did start with a tape drive system, and that was horrible. It was give and take if the program would even load up properly. I got the disk drive later on and that was much better and much faster, but it still did have issues. But once the game was loaded properly, it usually ran fine.
As for the Space Harrier comparison, I agree that programming has
some to do with it... However, you must remember, that the limits
of a machine drastically alter exactly what a programmer can do...and
thus there are REASONS why they couldnt make it look / sound better.
For example... They Could have made the ST version
sound much better... but then they probably would have had to
cut back on the games graphical details... Otherwise, they may not
have had the processing power/ram to make the game play fast enough.
Another example: The Amiga could do "1024" color mode... but, you couldnt use that in scrolling games. Only for art programs, and static snapshots basically.
As a programmer, you have to consider the onboard ram
(how many objects / sounds / and code the system can hold onto
at one time) , processing power (Too many objects, or things at once,
could slow the game to a crawl) , media limitations (How many floppies?
Load times? Ram limitations...)
Generally, you can see by example after example, that Amiga clearly
can outperform the ST. in overall processing power. The only case
where that may not be true is when someone does a poor job in
programming the Amiga. However, get the same programmer on
both machines... and he could make the Amiga version do much more
than the ST. hardware could handle.
That is what I gathered.
---
jukingeo, TFII = Thunderforce II. Probably one of the Best
Shooters (Shumps) of all time IMOP.
I never played it, but I have heard of it many times. Usually when it came to shmups, it was those in the arcade such as the 194x series (which I never really cared for), or the really cool R-Type. Usually when it comes to arcade games, I am usually found hanging around the classics
.
The game has Top and Side view levels (They alternate each level).
Many people didnt care for the Top view sections. Admittedly, they
are a little clunky. Still, I thought they were a nice change of pace,
and added some additional challenge.
The game really does shine however, on the Side view stages... which
are detailed, fast, furious, and fun as hell.
Unlike most shooters, the games balance is extremely good. IE: If you
get killed in a high level, your basic weaponry is still great in taking
out the enemies. And, as long as you have enough men behind you,
if you crash, you keep scrolling forwards. (No horrific mid-level restarts)
Yeah, that was a big turn off on side scrollers and platform games. You die and you start the level completely over. That is why I was shocked when I first played Sonic (one of the few side scrollers I still play) they DID have midpoint cues in which once you reached them you DON'T have to start the level over.
Sadly, I cant find any 'good' vids up. This one is blurry / low quality.
Oh...oh...Yeah, now I remember that game. I played it a couple of times, but it was too nerve racking for me.
I mostly like my Pac-Man, Space Invaders, Lunar Lander, Dig Dug, Star Wars, Tempest...well you get the idea, mostly 80's games.
I think I probably would be better off looking at some of the better consoles for some good ports. But I believe I will make a separate thread for that.
Thanx for the info guys.
Geo
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Topic: Amiga: To use actual hardware or Emulate (Read 4387 times)
