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Amiga: To use actual hardware or Emulate

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jukingeo:
Hello Silas:


--- Quote from: Silas (son of Silas) on December 14, 2009, 01:09:22 pm ---If you really like Amiga games then buy an Amiga whilst they're still common enough to be cheap.

I remember loving my A500 so I installed E-UAE emulator under linux. Then I realized that it wasn't quite as hot as I remembered. The games were OK but back in the day, I had an Amiga because I couldn't afford an entire arcade full of machines. Given the choice I would have traded my Amiga in a blink of an eye for a few real arcade machines.

With MAME you can have your 'entire arcade' all in one box.
--- End quote ---

As I said with my original post, I never had an Amiga but I was initially aware of it and was seriously contemplating on buying it as I knew that it was touted as "THE" gaming machine.  Considering it was a full computer, I also could run business applications on it.  But then I got wind of Commodore going out of business and feared the Amiga and it's peripherals would go with it.  I was also told that the future lied in Windows and that gaming would just get better and better for the PC.   Overall the latter was true.  But what I didn't know was that the Amiga went on outside of Commodore and that many games were made for it.  Later on I did find out that Amiga was still around, but by then I was involved with my PC.

So why the recent interest in Amiga?

Well, I read a U.K. publication called "Retro Gamer".  Having grown up in the "Atari" age, I do have fond memories of when video games got their start and I still feel that many of those old games are still very fun to play.   Retro Gamer constantly does highlights of old video games regardless of the platform it is on.  But generally when they do a highlight of an arcade game, they will do a brief review and comparison of the various platforms the game was released on...with everything being compared to the original arcade game.

Of all the machines, it is the Amiga that is always touted as 'the best' with the Atari ST being a close second.  So it did get me wondering what other wonders awaits on the Amiga.

However, we are far ahead in the future now and I am not sure an investment in the older hardware is necessary.   The Amiga isn't a small console like the Atari or NES was and even those games could be faithfully emulated on a PC.  But how WELL the emulation is done on the Amiga would remain to be seen.


--- Quote ---An example I specifically remember is spending my summer one year playing Double Dragon in the arcades in Chicago and Florida, then getting VERY excited about it being released on the Amiga. Compared to the real deal it was rubbish. See this review of the Amiga version 

--- End quote ---

That is with most games...including the lowly graphics capabilities of the Atari 2600.  There are some favorites that still hold up today such as Space Invaders & the unique Adventure game.   Then again, like with any system the 2600 had its bombs such as Pac-man and the infamous E.T. (Which arguably killed the company).

However, it is usually accepted that most (remember I did say most) console ported games usually don't compare to their arcade counterparts.   The Amiga on the other hand DID get very close.   One reviewer even exclaimed that the famous Atari Star Wars Arcade game is actually superior on the Amiga.   This was the second time I heard such a claim and I was beginning to think there is something in the Amiga after all these years.

Now in terms of building a console gaming system around an Amiga...well that remains to be seen.   As of now I am not really sure it is even worth it.  That is why I made the comment that maybe I am just better off sticking with Mame since I know it very well.   And it sure did take me a while to find a good version of Mame TO run games like Star Wars (for some reason the newer Mame versions are horrible with vector games).

Since it is mostly arcade games I am after and I am not very familiar with the games that are unique to the Amiga, perhaps it is just best I stick with Mame.   But I posted this because I did want to hear the opinions of those that actually owned an Amiga.

Overall I do like Mame and it isn't too difficult to set up.  But it does get involved if you want front ends and other embellishments.  So I was wondering how things would be done with an Amiga emulator...or if it would be better to just get hardware?  I don't know...hence the reason I am here.

Thanx for the info.

Geo

Xiaou2:
The Amiga will be much more of a pain to set up as an arcadish setup than mame,
or any other emulator for that matter.

 PC emulation is complex, especially when it comes to Amiga... as there are
several versions of the Amiga emulated, and some games will or will not
work with certain versions... or certain options.

 Amiga does have a 'Few' good games.  One of my favorites is "Battle Squadron"..
a very good 2 player vertical shooter.  (Better than Raiden IMOP) 
Shadow of the Beast had great graphics.. but was just too unforgiving / difficult 
for my tastes.   I didnt have many games.. and from what Ive seen of the emulated
games... I really didnt miss too much actually.

 I later found the x68000 emulator, and was blown away at how much more
superior that computer was to the Amiga.  Its Arcade ports are nearly indistinguishable
from the originals.  They blow the Amiga out of the water.

 Actually, I found out that the x68000 has the Original "ThunderForce II" by Technosoft.
It was later ported to the Sega Genesis.  However, the x68000 version has higher
resolution, more graphics layers, better music quality, better sfx, and even more stages.

 Anyways... As stated, Amiga is not really something that I personally would
configure for Arcade play.  Bad ports, and configuration issues.

Xiaou2:
Amiga



Atari St



X68000



jukingeo:
Hello All,

Wow!  I got quite the responses going here.  Anyway here goes...



--- Quote from: Dizzle on December 14, 2009, 04:43:45 pm ---Even though it never saw anywhere near the same amount of action as my Commodore 64, I really did enjoy my Amiga 500.  I will agree with the previous post though – I wouldn’t bother running arcade ports on the Amiga (Double Dragon was so bad I remember wanting to cry).  That is of course, unless you really have a soft spot for some particular port.  That being said, I still think there are quite a few Amiga games that make it worth while to check out.  Some of them were ported to systems like the Sega Genesis also, but they weren’t as good in my opinion.
--- End quote ---

Well, I had the Sega Genesis and that was a pretty darn good console.  I did like the games for it.   My Commodore 128 didn't have much on it at all.  I was waiting for stuff to come out in the 128k mode, but there was very little.  The C64 games I had also took a long time to load.  (Remember these old machines didn't have a hard drive).   So the Commodore 128 went down the road of the Colecovision.   I DID like the Colecovision, but the trouble was that it didn't have many cartridges and I really didn't care for the controllers too much.   So out of them all the Atari 2600 remained a favorite for a LONG time.   But the Sega Genesis changed my attitude on consoles and I really liked that unit.   But after I got a PC, even the Genesis gathered dust and I sold it off.  From that point on I vowed not to buy into another console.   BUT that is until the Playstation and Playstation 2 came out.  (I have and still own both).  I still play Genesis games via emulation to this day.   I have many Sega Genesis games on a CD-Rom that I play on my Playstation-2 as well.   Thusfar I think the Playstation 2 is one console I probably will never tire of.  Since it plays Playstation 1 games and DVD's...well, nuff said and it's time to get back on topic.


--- Quote --- 
Winuae is pretty much the emulator to get for the Amiga.  It emulates various Amiga models/chipsets including the Amiga 1200 and CDTV.  Because of it’s complex architecture, the Amiga can be a pain to emulate – so it might be a little much for your 1.0 GHz set up.  But it’s worth a try.  I found it pretty easy to set up, which basically means that anyone can do it.   I haven’t updated it in a while, so I’m running a fairly old version, but from what I remember, the GUI isn’t the slickest interface in the world.
--- End quote ---

Doesn't sound too promising.


--- Quote from: CrazyKongFan on December 14, 2009, 04:53:40 pm ---I had the Vic 20, C-64 then the Amiga 500...Lots of good games on the latter 2. One of my favorite games on the Amiga was Lemmings. If you have 2 mice, that game plays completely different with 2 players...one can send off one lemming to screw up the other guy big time (my roommate in college was good at doing that ;D )

--- End quote ---

Yes, I have heard of the Lemmings game often, but never played it.  I am sure there is a PC port for it though.


--- Quote from: Xiaou2 on December 14, 2009, 07:13:56 pm ---The Amiga will be much more of a pain to set up as an arcadish setup than mame,
or any other emulator for that matter.

 PC emulation is complex, especially when it comes to Amiga... as there are
several versions of the Amiga emulated, and some games will or will not
work with certain versions... or certain options.

 Amiga does have a 'Few' good games.  One of my favorites is "Battle Squadron"..
a very good 2 player vertical shooter.  (Better than Raiden IMOP) 
Shadow of the Beast had great graphics.. but was just too unforgiving / difficult 
for my tastes.   I didnt have many games.. and from what Ive seen of the emulated
games... I really didnt miss too much actually.
--- End quote ---

Hmmmm, I think I am beginning to slowly get my answer towards Amiga emulation, and it seems that I might stick with Mame.


--- Quote --- I later found the x68000 emulator, and was blown away at how much more
superior that computer was to the Amiga.  Its Arcade ports are nearly indistinguishable
from the originals.  They blow the Amiga out of the water.
--- End quote ---

I saw that from your You Tube posts comparing Space Harrier.   I am amazed that the Atari ST has such horrible sound.  This machine was touted for its music capabilities and it even has built in midi ports.   So I figured it would have good sound for games.   But if the sound is like that across the board, then that is pretty bad.   I don't think that sound is any better than the original NEC.  The sound is MUCH better on the Amiga, but I noticed that there is a lot of 'sharing' of sound channels.  When the gun is fired (for example) part of the music mutes.  Uhhhggh!

BUT when I got to the X68000....wow!  That is spot on with the music and everything.   What kind of machine is this?

I found this on YouTube as well:



I am AMAZED by this.  It looks like they took the vector arcade version to the next level here.

Maybe I would be better off looking into this X68k rather than the Amiga.


--- Quote --- Actually, I found out that the x68000 has the Original "ThunderForce II" by Technosoft.
It was later ported to the Sega Genesis.  However, the x68000 version has higher
resolution, more graphics layers, better music quality, better sfx, and even more stages.

 Anyways... As stated, Amiga is not really something that I personally would
configure for Arcade play.  Bad ports, and configuration issues.


--- End quote ---

Well, I can say for sure from the video clips I have seen tonight...I would rather look into the X68000 more than the Amiga.

Well, guys I do appreciate the info.  But I guess it does look like in comparison to Mame v.s. Amiga, I will stick with Mame.   But I will say that this X68000 IS worth a closer look.

Now I just have to find out who made the thing and what other games were made for it.

Geo

Xiaou2:

 A few more comments:

 
 I never cared that much for Fantasy Zone...  UNTIL,  one day I went to this
arcade in Florida.  They had one in a Simulator chair!   I remember the monitor was
not the standard 19".  It was at least 25, if not larger.   The unit moved in all directions.
 
 Because of the sheer size of the monitor, and the awesome simulator chair, I felt
like I was actually flying!   ;D  I was giggling like a little girl!   :laugh2:    I put in
every last quarter I had, and I was loving it.   I really wish I had taken a picture of
that machine.  I dont think Ive ever seen anything like that ever again.

 Makes me want to build a motion chair...

 
 As for the X68000...  Most games are simply arcade ports.   But, since Mame already
does arcade directly... theres little reason to use the x68000 versions.  Especially
because they are more of a hassle to get going, have load times...etc.

 Still, its interesting to see the differences.   Most especially the Music.  The sounds
and music on the x68000 ports are different, but they are also very interesting / good
too.

 Of course, there are the few games like TFII which are just pure Awesome.
To be honest, it Should have been in the Arcades.  Its that good.

 A lot of games for it were either direct arcade ports, or RPG'ish / strategy
games which are not in english.  Im sure there are a few original action Gems which
Ive not yet discovered / played however.


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