AmigaONE and Games

I have to vote stupidity to the Amiga scene, just so you know before my little question.

Will the AmigaONE be compatable with current games, or software in general for Amiga (Im sorry about this, Im just clearing it up..)

Also, about Hyperion Entertainment, are they still active? They havent posted any news for a long time. Also, did they ever release the full version of Freespace, once I decide on my Amgia path, I would love to get that game....

About Internet and Word Processing, what kind of options are in this department of software? Is there any Instant Messaging apps?

Also since I am a new Amiga user, would it be wise just to get the low-end AmigaONE G3 -SE? Or should I save up for a higer range one...

[Korodny]

@Fedorenko:

Will the AmigaONE be compatable with current games, or software in general for Amiga (Im sorry about this, Im just clearing it up..)

The AmigaOne only runs software that does not require the custom chips. In other words: 99,9% of the games released in 1997 or earlier won't run (and most of the game released since then will work). Most of the applications released since 1995 will work, and most (at least many) older ones will work too (notable exceptions: DPaint, (True)Brilliance and Scala - these won't work).

Also, about Hyperion Entertainment, are they still active? They havent posted any news for a long time.

You should visit some Amiga related news sites from time to time. I suggest Amiga-News.de and Amiga.org.

About two weeks ago, Hyperion announced that Scitech's SNAP technology will be included with AmigaOS4 (this means that AmigaOS4 will support about 180 different graphics chipsets). Here's the announcement.

About one week ago, Ben Hermans (Hyperion manager, project manager of OS4) was interviewed by Amiga-News.de.

Additionally, Ben Hermans (nick: "HyperionMP") and the two most important OS4 developers Hans-Jörg Frieden ("Rogue") and Thomas Frieden ("EnthilZa") regularly take part in Amiga.org discussions.

Also, did they ever release the full version of Freespace, once I decide on my Amgia path, I would love to get that game....

Yes, Descent Freespace was released about 14 months ago, it can be ordered from any Amiga dealer. Descent Freespace runs fine on a 68060 btw., no PPC required. Hyperion already released another game (Quake 2) in the meantime.

About Internet and Word Processing, what kind of options are in this department of software?

I assume that "internet software" means "web browser", right? IBrowse 2.3 was released a few weeks ago, which is quite a step forward. Currently IBrowse 3.0 is in development, which will feature an official Flash plugin, CSS support and more cool stuff.

The word processor Papyrus will be released for OS4. OpenOffice will be ported, but that will take a while (i.e. don't expect a release this year).

Is there any Instant Messaging apps?

AmigaAIM (AIM client), StrICQ (ICQ client) and Jabberwocky (which supports most of the other protocols).

Also since I am a new Amiga user, would it be wise just to get the low-end AmigaONE G3 -SE? Or should I save up for a higer range one...

The first batch of AmigaOne-G3 motherboards is already sold out. I'm not sure if there will be another production run anytime soon. After the AmigaOne-XE was announced most people were no longer interested in the AmigaOne-G3. The XE is the better machine anyway (newer chipset revision, audio onboard, dual-CPU modules are already in production).

[Amiga1992]

Korodny my nextgen Amiga man ;D
Where have you been?

Thanks Korodny, you have helped me ALOT .

Other than whats listed, can anyone sugest any other sftware that is appropriate for a AmigaONE machine?

[Pyromania]

Originally posted by Fedorenko
Thanks Korodny, you have helped me ALOT .

Other than whats listed, can anyone sugest any other sftware that is appropriate for a AmigaONE machine?

Pagestream 4.1.5, Mediapoint RTG, BurnIT Pro (For burning DVD's), Many of the applications from DiscreetFX.

http://www.discreetfx.com/Products.html

Some of them require the Amiga Video Toaster but many of them include a version on the same CD that works without the VT.

Sorry about this but lets take the following senario. Lets say that my only requirement for the Amiga is running Freespace, what Amiga would you sugest?

I will require some light wordprocessing software too, also the internet.

Also, any links where I could pick up this hardware would be apreciated.

About Amiga, what is the situation wiht putitng Amiga files onto a disk and then using this disk in a PC, could I access the files?

[Korodny]

@Akira:

I'm a busy man these days ;-)

@Fedorenko:

You have to options:

1. Buy a "classic" Amiga (an A1200 would be the best option)

On such a computer, you'll be able to run all software (both very old titles and OS4.0, including all the new PPC applications). But you'll need to get a lot of add-ons (a faster processor, a graphics card, a HD controller more RAM etc.), and the computer will always feel "slow" compared to modern PCs, as soon as you want to do something that needs some more CPU power (3D raytracing, watching DVDs, encoding MPEG etc.). You'll need to do a bit of research first (what kind of add-ons do I need, how much should I pay for them), buy all the parts from different sources and then assemble the computer. The price/performance ratio of such a setup will be pretty poor.

I would not recommend this option, unless you really want to run old games and applications.

2. Buy an AmigaOne

This will be more expensive than a classic Amiga, but it has a lot more power and is easily expandable with standard PC parts. It won't run old software and games, you'll have to use UAE for that purpose (there's an Amiga port of UAE available). Any Amiga dealer should be able to sell you bare motherboards or complete systems.

Other than whats listed, can anyone sugest any other sftware that is appropriate for a AmigaONE machine?

Pretty much everything released in the last 10 years (with the exceptions listed above). Tell us what you need and we can tell you what is available.

Sorry about this but lets take the following senario. Lets say that my only requirement for the Amiga is running Freespace, what Amiga would you sugest?

If you don't have an Amiga yet: Use an emulator on a fast PC or buy an AmigaOne. If you already have an Amiga, it should be equipped with either a 68060 accellerator and a 3D graphics card or with a PPC accellerator and (optionally) a 3D graphics card. 64 MB of RAm are required IIRC.

I will require some light wordprocessing software too, also the internet.

"light" word processing software? WordWorth 7, FinalWriter97 and AmigaWriter are available right now. They are good enough for private use, but they can't read/write MS Word documents. If you need to read/write that format, you'll have to wait for Papyrus (which is the best option anyway, but the most expensive one too) or OpenOffice.

Internet: Check the demo version of IBrowse. No CSS yet, no Flash plugin. But apart from that, it works pretty good with the vast majority of web sites. There's also Voyager and AWeb (the latter one is open-source now).

Also, any links where I could pick up this hardware would be apreciated.

The best source for Classic Amiga computers, add-ons and old software is eBay. Additionally, Amiga dealers might be able to give some assistance and may have some hardware add-ons still available. There's an Amiga dealer directory at http://os.amiga.com, the only Amiga dealer down under I can remember right now is AnythingAmiga.

About Amiga, what is the situation wiht putitng Amiga files onto a disk and then using this disk in a PC, could I access the files?

Any Amiga is able to read and write PC floppy disks.

[LaundroMat]

Alternatively, buy both.
The AmigaOne for the "heavy" stuff, the A1200 for the classic gaming. A plain A1200 shouldn't cut a large hole in your budget anyway.