Games that actually used the Amiga hardware - Page 2

mikele · 10 January 2010, 21:54

Universe anyone?
as far as I remember it was regarded as one of the kind, as its programmers managed to squeeze 256 colors out of OCS/ECS machines. Never had opportunity to give it a try, but still remember this one, because Amiga magazines ranted so much about that feature at the time.

Retro1234 · 11 January 2010, 01:05

LionHeart,KidChaos....

mk1 · 11 January 2010, 16:44

Quote:

Originally Posted by mikele

Universe anyone?
as far as I remember it was regarded as one of the kind, as its programmers managed to squeeze 256 colors out of OCS/ECS machines. Never had opportunity to give it a try, but still remember this one, because Amiga magazines ranted so much about that feature at the time.

I always wondered if this was the truth or just a marketing gimmick. When you look at the graphics they don't look they'd have 256 colours, although they are on the better side of ECS graphics in general. I mean, compare those to Simon The Sorcerer AGA for example.

Is there any way to check whether they really have 256 colours and what technique they used?

As for other games, (Super) Stardust, Capital Punishment, Wing Commander and Liberation maybe...?

Jgames · 11 January 2010, 17:04

Mr Nutz

Gordon · 11 January 2010, 17:06

Settlers

It was clever enough to know what to load on spec. When i got it on my 1mb A600, i had no sound effects. And small Maps. I got a ram upgrade, and i get maps, and all the great sound. The sound of the pigs on the farm added so much more realism to a brilllint game.

kamelito · 11 January 2010, 17:23

Jim power

Cammy · 11 January 2010, 22:02

Stardust and Super Stardust didn't do anything special at all! Still screens with BOBs moving over it? A low-frame looping animation that moves around the screen with more BOBs on top of it? That's all it is. They did it on the Atari ST and PC too, so it's definitely not doing anything special.

I don't consider a game that fills the full 1MB or 2MB RAM as "hitting the hardware" or anything like that. Making use of expanded RAM is nice, but it's not some special technique.

As for Universe, I'd like to know for sure how they achieved the amount of colours they used in that game. It's possible to change the entire palette several times on the screen, so perhaps they did this? Cut each background image into wide chunks, remapped them to 32 colours (allowing some of the colours for Boris and the other objects) and did this several times for each image, then combined them (creating an odd looking picture at first) then the palette changing trick is applied and the whole screen is using more colours then. This might not be THE way they did it in Universe, but it's totally possible in OCS so anyone CAN do it if they want more colours in their games.

And now, since it seems the cool/redundant thing to do, I'll mention some games other people already mentioned earlier in the thread.

AB3D
Risky Woods
Lionheart
Agony
Mr. Nutz
Brian the Lion
Universe
Lionheart

hitchhikr · 12 January 2010, 02:03

Quote:

As for Universe, I'd like to know for sure how they achieved the amount of colours they used in that game. It's possible to change the entire palette several times on the screen, so perhaps they did this? Cut each background image into wide chunks, remapped them to 32 colours (allowing some of the colours for Boris and the other objects) and did this several times for each image, then combined them (creating an odd looking picture at first) then the palette changing trick is applied and the whole screen is using more colours then. This might not be THE way they did it in Universe, but it's totally possible in OCS so anyone CAN do it if they want more colours in their games.

They probably made a tool which downgraded 256 colors pictures to 16 colors / line ones and generated the adequate optimized copperlists (i assume that this tool was also keeping an history of the palette modifications / line while redistributing the palette so changing all 16 colors wasn't necessary for every line).
It probably also dithered the pictures to cut the number of colors by half prior to this.

Extra object were drawn on 5 planes thus allowing exclusive use of the 16 higher colors of the palette for them.

mk1 · 12 January 2010, 09:08

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cammy

Stardust and Super Stardust didn't do anything special at all! Still screens with BOBs moving over it? A low-frame looping animation that moves around the screen with more BOBs on top of it? That's all it is. They did it on the Atari ST and PC too, so it's definitely not doing anything special.

I don't consider a game that fills the full 1MB or 2MB RAM as "hitting the hardware" or anything like that. Making use of expanded RAM is nice, but it's not some special technique.

Well, all I can say is the back of the box lists the following:
- The first game ever to make full use of ray-tracing on Amiga
- The fastest 3D sections EVER on the Amiga

So, genereally I would consider that as a game that pushed the Amiga forward technically even if the techniques used weren't the most advanced.

Bamiga2002 · 12 January 2010, 12:55

Elfmania! How's that for sprite size?

lpopman · 12 January 2010, 14:04

Fantastic Dizzy uses sprite backgrounds, and some copper tricks on its backgrounds.

As for other stuff with tricks, try some Core Design and some Codies stuff. If Del wrote it, you know there is going to be a trick or two under the hood somewhere

As for Universe...I actually had the source tree on a "recycled" GVP harddrive, but in a stupid flash of honesty, I nuked it

Dan Locke · 12 January 2010, 21:13

Lionheart has the best copper effects and parallax on the Amiga (not to mention beautiful graphic detail), but it slows down a lot.

Jim Power also gets a lot out of the copper chip, and without slowing down - but it looks disgusting.

Mr. Nutz has lots of crazy effects (the "3D" bonus level, the Warp Zone, etc.), but it also has a very restricted color palette in the foreground due to its use of dual playfields. There's also a fair amount of sprite flickering.

Brian the Lion has some pretty amazing rotation and warping effects.

Apano Sin has a lot of copper effects, not to mention loads of sprites.

Universe uses the copper to generate high-color digitized background images.

Kid Chaos doesn't do much with the copper chip, but the scrolling and sprites are incredible.

Shadow of the Beast has LOTS of fake and real parallax, not to mention generous use of the copper on the plain and sky. That's also the case with Shadow of the Beast 3, but a bit less so.

Ork uses three independent parallax layers, which is something that I haven't seen in any other Amiga game.

Agony generally looks hideous with its dull colors and excessive dithering, but it deserves credit for its impressive parallax scrolling.

Bob's Bad Day has great rotation and transparency effects.

No Second Prize has ridiculously smooth 3D graphics.

Of the above, I'd say that Lionheart and No Second Prize play the best.

Retro1234 · 16 January 2010, 00:00

Atomic Robo-Kid - not saying used to the fullest but seems to have a few tricks also seems a bit smoother in NTSC.

Lorfarius · 21 January 2010, 12:44

Was Universe the one that had a bug which prevented it from being completed?

alpyre · 21 January 2010, 23:47

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gordon

Settlers

It was clever enough to know what to load on spec. When i got it on my 1mb A600, i had no sound effects. And small Maps. I got a ram upgrade, and i get maps, and all the great sound. The sound of the pigs on the farm added so much more realism to a brilllint game.

I aggree %100... It was (and still is) a game Amiga has to be proud of...

Predseda · 22 January 2010, 08:15

Nobody mentioned Formula One Grand Prix, Wroom, Zeewolf bros. Also most games from Graftgold.

Superfrog with his supersmooth and superfast scrolling. Bob's bad day, SWIV...

23 February 2010, 16:16

Unreal from art and magic guys, unreal !!!!!!!! Simply incredible !!!

mombasajoe · 23 February 2010, 16:30

I am not really sure what this thread is about:

A) Games like Red Baron (only fun on 060). Reason: not optimized code
B) Games like Fighting Spirit (really amazing for an A500)
C) Both?

DDNI · 23 February 2010, 17:56

Quote:

Originally Posted by mombasajoe

I am not really sure what this thread is about:

A) Games like Red Baron (only fun on 060). Reason: not optimized code
B) Games like Fighting Spirit (really amazing for an A500)
C) Both?

Hey Red Baron! I just tried it for the first time. It is a nice game... on my 060...

Djay · 24 February 2010, 01:04

Frontier - elite 2, one of a small list of games written in assembler using procedural programming techniques

i am a massive fan of Frontier, although they sold 500,000 copies in the UK people dont have fond memories of it

if your a fan check out...

FFE D3D (Frontier first encounters) remade for modern PCs

http://www.spacesimcentral.com/ffed3...kage-t568.html

youtube clip

[ Show youtube player ]

--

i have playing this alot and it all works great (although combat is harder than i remember)

12 January 2010, 21:13	#32
Dan Locke Registered User Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: USA Posts: 111	Lionheart has the best copper effects and parallax on the Amiga (not to mention beautiful graphic detail), but it slows down a lot. Jim Power also gets a lot out of the copper chip, and without slowing down - but it looks disgusting. Mr. Nutz has lots of crazy effects (the "3D" bonus level, the Warp Zone, etc.), but it also has a very restricted color palette in the foreground due to its use of dual playfields. There's also a fair amount of sprite flickering. Brian the Lion has some pretty amazing rotation and warping effects. Apano Sin has a lot of copper effects, not to mention loads of sprites. Universe uses the copper to generate high-color digitized background images. Kid Chaos doesn't do much with the copper chip, but the scrolling and sprites are incredible. Shadow of the Beast has LOTS of fake and real parallax, not to mention generous use of the copper on the plain and sky. That's also the case with Shadow of the Beast 3, but a bit less so. Ork uses three independent parallax layers, which is something that I haven't seen in any other Amiga game. Agony generally looks hideous with its dull colors and excessive dithering, but it deserves credit for its impressive parallax scrolling. Bob's Bad Day has great rotation and transparency effects. No Second Prize has ridiculously smooth 3D graphics. Of the above, I'd say that Lionheart and No Second Prize play the best. Last edited by Dan Locke; 26 February 2010 at 16:08.

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10 January 2010, 21:54	#21
mikele Registered User Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: poland Posts: 307	Universe anyone? as far as I remember it was regarded as one of the kind, as its programmers managed to squeeze 256 colors out of OCS/ECS machines. Never had opportunity to give it a try, but still remember this one, because Amiga magazines ranted so much about that feature at the time.

11 January 2010, 01:05	#22
Retro1234 Phone Homer Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: 5150 Posts: 5,773	LionHeart,KidChaos....

11 January 2010, 17:04	#24
Jgames Registered User Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: UK Posts: 457	Mr Nutz

11 January 2010, 17:06	#25
Gordon Settler Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Serf City Posts: 1,760	Settlers It was clever enough to know what to load on spec. When i got it on my 1mb A600, i had no sound effects. And small Maps. I got a ram upgrade, and i get maps, and all the great sound. The sound of the pigs on the farm added so much more realism to a brilllint game.

11 January 2010, 17:23	#26
kamelito Zone Friend Join Date: May 2006 Location: France Posts: 1,801	Jim power

11 January 2010, 22:02	#27
Cammy Registered User Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Tasmania, Australia Age: 39 Posts: 1,189	Stardust and Super Stardust didn't do anything special at all! Still screens with BOBs moving over it? A low-frame looping animation that moves around the screen with more BOBs on top of it? That's all it is. They did it on the Atari ST and PC too, so it's definitely not doing anything special. I don't consider a game that fills the full 1MB or 2MB RAM as "hitting the hardware" or anything like that. Making use of expanded RAM is nice, but it's not some special technique. As for Universe, I'd like to know for sure how they achieved the amount of colours they used in that game. It's possible to change the entire palette several times on the screen, so perhaps they did this? Cut each background image into wide chunks, remapped them to 32 colours (allowing some of the colours for Boris and the other objects) and did this several times for each image, then combined them (creating an odd looking picture at first) then the palette changing trick is applied and the whole screen is using more colours then. This might not be THE way they did it in Universe, but it's totally possible in OCS so anyone CAN do it if they want more colours in their games. And now, since it seems the cool/redundant thing to do, I'll mention some games other people already mentioned earlier in the thread. AB3D Risky Woods Lionheart Agony Mr. Nutz Brian the Lion Universe Lionheart

12 January 2010, 12:55	#30
Bamiga2002 BlizzardPPC'less Join Date: May 2004 Location: Finland Age: 46 Posts: 3,210	Elfmania! How's that for sprite size?

12 January 2010, 14:04	#31
lpopman Registered User Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Coventry / England Age: 53 Posts: 37	Fantastic Dizzy uses sprite backgrounds, and some copper tricks on its backgrounds. As for other stuff with tricks, try some Core Design and some Codies stuff. If Del wrote it, you know there is going to be a trick or two under the hood somewhere As for Universe...I actually had the source tree on a "recycled" GVP harddrive, but in a stupid flash of honesty, I nuked it

16 January 2010, 00:00	#33
Retro1234 Phone Homer Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: 5150 Posts: 5,773	Atomic Robo-Kid - not saying used to the fullest but seems to have a few tricks also seems a bit smoother in NTSC.

21 January 2010, 12:44	#34
Lorfarius Registered User Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Glossop/UK Posts: 532	Was Universe the one that had a bug which prevented it from being completed?

22 January 2010, 08:15	#36
Predseda Puttymoon inhabitant Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Tromaville Age: 46 Posts: 7,539	Nobody mentioned Formula One Grand Prix, Wroom, Zeewolf bros. Also most games from Graftgold. Superfrog with his supersmooth and superfast scrolling. Bob's bad day, SWIV...

23 February 2010, 16:16	#37
Vollldo Posts: n/a	Unreal from art and magic guys, unreal !!!!!!!! Simply incredible !!!

23 February 2010, 16:30	#38
mombasajoe Registered User Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: D Age: 49 Posts: 528	I am not really sure what this thread is about: A) Games like Red Baron (only fun on 060). Reason: not optimized code B) Games like Fighting Spirit (really amazing for an A500) C) Both?

24 February 2010, 01:04	#40
Djay 95th User Join Date: May 2001 Location: Brighton/UK Age: 48 Posts: 3,120	Frontier - elite 2, one of a small list of games written in assembler using procedural programming techniques i am a massive fan of Frontier, although they sold 500,000 copies in the UK people dont have fond memories of it if your a fan check out... FFE D3D (Frontier first encounters) remade for modern PCs http://www.spacesimcentral.com/ffed3...kage-t568.html youtube clip [ Show youtube player ] -- i have playing this alot and it all works great (although combat is harder than i remember)

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