Amstrad CPC, much better than I thought it would be! - Page 6

lordofchaos · 27 February 2016, 11:50

@dlfrsilver. I think you're being over critical when talking about the C64, the gfx and colours may seem like crap to you, but not necessarily others. And your story about the CPC and C64 in France is the complete inverse for the UK.

I really liked the CPC, I especially liked the colours, and the over chunky pixels. However the C64 had it's own unique colours, some may say more naturalistic palette, and it was a very capable machine with gfx, games and demos in the right hands.

"I have tried quite a number of game on my own C64, and god oh god,
most of the time, only the music saves the games."

Then you really must update your list, and choose better games, it's not like the machine lacks them.

S0ulA55a551n · 27 February 2016, 12:03

I had a cpc and loads of software and expansion etc. I always thought the cpc was more capable for things other than just games though this might have been just didn't know about for the c64. Had a mouse and a rombox amongst other things. Produced loads of school work on a dtp. The Manuals and books that Amstrad provided or for sale were really top rate. Whilst crap speccy ports killed it's Game image. Games done right really showed what it was capable of. So whilst the c64 was probably better games machine I think as an all round computer the Amstrad had the edge

lordofchaos · 27 February 2016, 12:20

@S0ulA55a551n. Interesting. In my school the CPC was mostly owned by middle class families, no doubt believing it would be a more suitable machine for productivity and education. Perception vs reality? I don't think the C64 even tried to come across as anything other than a games machine, in marketing terms anyway.

S0ulA55a551n · 27 February 2016, 12:31

The cpc has some great paint programs word processors and assemblers. Always felt it enabled a do it your self attitude. It's what I first learnt basic on and then assembler . To we always felt like what the Amiga scene was like but for 8bits. Knew more people with spectrums than c64s. And yes I guess my family are middle class though don't really care about class

Retro-Nerd · 27 February 2016, 12:36

Well, Denis is a pure CPC fanboy. So, nothing new here to read. But i like his passion for weak CPC pro arguments and his "graphics are the most important aspect" nonsense.

lordofchaos · 27 February 2016, 14:54

Quote:

Originally Posted by Retro-Nerd

Well, Denis is a pure CPC fanboy. So, nothing new here to read. But i like his passion for weak CPC pro arguments and his "graphics are the most important aspect" nonsense.

Hehe

I was a c64 fanboy back in my youth, although after my close friends got the CPC, I did too, well I kept my c64.. Now after all these years it's easier to view these machines in a less bias and subjective fashion. Unless the fanboy monster from within comes out to play

Edit:

Just remembered a CPC game that made me jealous, switchblade. I played it first on my friends Amstrad, I was dead impressed! I was very disappointed when I played the c64 version.. It was a much sharper, polished experience on the cpc, well to my eyes.

S0ulA55a551n · 27 February 2016, 15:21

I had the cartridge of switchblade , still got it, just bought a nos gx4000 lol. Want a 6128 plus but when they come up hey go for silly money. Loved switchblade. Music was awesome. Or I thought so at the time

SquawkBox · 27 February 2016, 16:03

You can't go wrong with Antiriad or Thanatos on the CPC.
Both inspiring, mesmerizing games!
Some games are better even way better on the C64 admittedly,
but if you can overcome the blocky graphics, you're in for a treat with a color CPC and no other 8-bit machine at hand.
Also, for me it could be considered an honor for the CPC owners
to be granted with the huge load of Spectrum conversions; not the contrary. Beach-Head, D.T.'s Decathlon, oh the memories!

idrougge · 27 February 2016, 16:06

Xyphoes Fantasy is also a great (looking) game.

Mrs Beanbag · 27 February 2016, 16:06

it was the only good thing Amstrad ever made

S0ulA55a551n · 27 February 2016, 16:12

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mrs Beanbag

it was the only good thing Amstrad ever made

Oh come on the emailer phone was genius lol

lordofchaos · 27 February 2016, 16:24

The CPC's best games were almost half as decent as a good C64 game! Now there's a controversial statement. Now I must run away!!!... Sorry the fanboy monster came out

Xyphoes Fantasy does look pretty good, shame I didn't know about it back then.

SkulleateR · 27 February 2016, 16:35

Certainly the C64 has a lot MORE games and so also some more in high quality but anyway there are really good games for CPC out there and they look, feel and sound (!) way better that their C64 counterparts ....

Yes, the Soundchip in CPC is crap, yes, the hardware restricts good scrolling games (mostly) but a good coder can use the CPC fully and make good games

S0ulA55a551n · 27 February 2016, 16:56

Quote:

Originally Posted by lordofchaos

The CPC's best games were almost half as decent as a good C64 game! Now there's a controversial statement. Now I must run away!!!... Sorry the fanboy monster came out

Xyphoes Fantasy does look pretty good, shame I didn't know about it back then.

Operation wolf cough cough

lordofchaos · 27 February 2016, 17:01

Quote:

Originally Posted by S0ulA55a551n

Operation wolf cough cough

Touche.

hansel75 · 27 February 2016, 17:24

Quote:

Originally Posted by SkulleateR

there are really good games for CPC out there and they look, feel and sound (!) way better that their C64 counterparts ....

And which game would that be?

Quote:

Originally Posted by lordofchaos

The CPC's best games were almost half as decent as a good C64 game!

So true!

I also did not like the garish colours on the CPC, and virtually all scrolling games were jerky!
Even this Xyphoes Fantasy that people are praising, while looking good it has jerky sprites and scrolling and looks sluggish compared to most C64 games.
Also the way the main character moves, he looks like a retard!.

Compare this- [ Show youtube player ] on CPC, With this- [ Show youtube player ] or [ Show youtube player ] on C64.
The C64 is as smooth as butter while still looking great, the CPC is not smooth at all in this game!

teppic · 27 February 2016, 17:36

The way I see it was the CPC came too late for the 8bit market, and so few programmers knew all the tricks to get the very most out of the machine. The high colour low res mode was too much of a strain over the slow 8bit bus and CPU, lacking any special hardware to help it.

It looked great in screenshots, as the low res mode easily beat the Spectrum and C64 in terms of colour. But lacking any of the hardware scrolling and sprites of the C64, and the simpler but very fast graphics of the Spectrum, it usually had dreadful scrolling and slow graphics.

lordofchaos · 27 February 2016, 17:46

Quote:

Originally Posted by hansel75

Compare this- [ Show youtube player ] on CPC, With this- [ Show youtube player ] or [ Show youtube player ] on C64.
The C64 is as smooth as butter while still looking great, the CPC is not smooth at all in this game!

Hawkeye! That's the first game that came to mind when watching the CPC one... Yup. Smoothness definitely has a large impact with certain game types, especially fast action.

Quote:

Originally Posted by teppic

It looked great in screenshots, as the low res mode easily beat the Spectrum and C64 in terms of colour. But lacking any of the hardware scrolling and sprites of the C64, and the simpler but very fast graphics of the Spectrum, it usually had dreadful scrolling and slow graphics.

Yeah the colour was great, there were some fantastic loading screens too, plenty of good artists making use of that palette. Don't want to slam the CPC to hard... B.A.T. is a good example of playing to the CPC's strengths.

Retro-Nerd · 27 February 2016, 18:02

Quote:

Even this Xyphoes Fantasy that people are praising, while looking good it has jerky sprites and scrolling and looks sluggish compared to most C64 games.

Just played it. Jesus, what a piece of shit. Typical Silmarils crap. Nice looking graphics but 0 gameplay. Jerky scrolling, way too slow jump mechanics, dull enemy formations and annoying CPC bleebs and blobs as music.

lordofchaos · 27 February 2016, 18:08

Quote:

Originally Posted by Retro-Nerd

Just played it. Jesus, what a piece of shit. Typical Silmarils crap. Nice looking graphics but 0 gameplay. Jerky scrolling, way too slow jump mechanics, dull enemy formations and annoying CPC bleebs and blobs as music.

Nostalgia Vs Reality. It's a dangerous game

27 February 2016, 12:03	#102
S0ulA55a551n Registered User Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: South Wales Age: 46 Posts: 934	Amstrad CPC, much better than I thought it would be! I had a cpc and loads of software and expansion etc. I always thought the cpc was more capable for things other than just games though this might have been just didn't know about for the c64. Had a mouse and a rombox amongst other things. Produced loads of school work on a dtp. The Manuals and books that Amstrad provided or for sale were really top rate. Whilst crap speccy ports killed it's Game image. Games done right really showed what it was capable of. So whilst the c64 was probably better games machine I think as an all round computer the Amstrad had the edge

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27 February 2016, 11:50	#101
lordofchaos TinkerTailorContentMaker Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Bedfordshire Age: 45 Posts: 1,205	@dlfrsilver. I think you're being over critical when talking about the C64, the gfx and colours may seem like crap to you, but not necessarily others. And your story about the CPC and C64 in France is the complete inverse for the UK. I really liked the CPC, I especially liked the colours, and the over chunky pixels. However the C64 had it's own unique colours, some may say more naturalistic palette, and it was a very capable machine with gfx, games and demos in the right hands. "I have tried quite a number of game on my own C64, and god oh god, most of the time, only the music saves the games." Then you really must update your list, and choose better games, it's not like the machine lacks them.

27 February 2016, 12:20	#103
lordofchaos TinkerTailorContentMaker Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Bedfordshire Age: 45 Posts: 1,205	@S0ulA55a551n. Interesting. In my school the CPC was mostly owned by middle class families, no doubt believing it would be a more suitable machine for productivity and education. Perception vs reality? I don't think the C64 even tried to come across as anything other than a games machine, in marketing terms anyway.

27 February 2016, 12:31	#104
S0ulA55a551n Registered User Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: South Wales Age: 46 Posts: 934	The cpc has some great paint programs word processors and assemblers. Always felt it enabled a do it your self attitude. It's what I first learnt basic on and then assembler . To we always felt like what the Amiga scene was like but for 8bits. Knew more people with spectrums than c64s. And yes I guess my family are middle class though don't really care about class

27 February 2016, 12:36	#105
Retro-Nerd Missile Command Champion Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Germany Age: 52 Posts: 12,435	Well, Denis is a pure CPC fanboy. So, nothing new here to read. But i like his passion for weak CPC pro arguments and his "graphics are the most important aspect" nonsense.

27 February 2016, 15:21	#107
S0ulA55a551n Registered User Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: South Wales Age: 46 Posts: 934	I had the cartridge of switchblade , still got it, just bought a nos gx4000 lol. Want a 6128 plus but when they come up hey go for silly money. Loved switchblade. Music was awesome. Or I thought so at the time

27 February 2016, 16:03	#108
SquawkBox Speedbump gimme goosebump Join Date: Feb 2016 Location: France Age: 50 Posts: 773	You can't go wrong with Antiriad or Thanatos on the CPC. Both inspiring, mesmerizing games! Some games are better even way better on the C64 admittedly, but if you can overcome the blocky graphics, you're in for a treat with a color CPC and no other 8-bit machine at hand. Also, for me it could be considered an honor for the CPC owners to be granted with the huge load of Spectrum conversions; not the contrary. Beach-Head, D.T.'s Decathlon, oh the memories!

27 February 2016, 16:06	#109
idrougge Registered User Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Stockholm Posts: 4,332	Xyphoes Fantasy is also a great (looking) game.

27 February 2016, 16:06	#110
Mrs Beanbag Glastonbridge Software Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: Edinburgh/Scotland Posts: 2,243	it was the only good thing Amstrad ever made

27 February 2016, 16:24	#112
lordofchaos TinkerTailorContentMaker Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Bedfordshire Age: 45 Posts: 1,205	The CPC's best games were almost half as decent as a good C64 game! Now there's a controversial statement. Now I must run away!!!... Sorry the fanboy monster came out Xyphoes Fantasy does look pretty good, shame I didn't know about it back then.

27 February 2016, 16:35	#113
SkulleateR Registered User Join Date: Jan 2016 Location: Germany Posts: 325	Certainly the C64 has a lot MORE games and so also some more in high quality but anyway there are really good games for CPC out there and they look, feel and sound (!) way better that their C64 counterparts .... Yes, the Soundchip in CPC is crap, yes, the hardware restricts good scrolling games (mostly) but a good coder can use the CPC fully and make good games

27 February 2016, 17:36	#117
teppic Registered User Join Date: Aug 2015 Location: UK Posts: 58	The way I see it was the CPC came too late for the 8bit market, and so few programmers knew all the tricks to get the very most out of the machine. The high colour low res mode was too much of a strain over the slow 8bit bus and CPU, lacking any special hardware to help it. It looked great in screenshots, as the low res mode easily beat the Spectrum and C64 in terms of colour. But lacking any of the hardware scrolling and sprites of the C64, and the simpler but very fast graphics of the Spectrum, it usually had dreadful scrolling and slow graphics.

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