English Amiga Board - View Single Post - Games intended for NTSC played on PAL machines

Mister Octopus · 23 May 2016, 03:39

Hi all!

I've been having a discussion in the comments of a recent video on our YouTube channel about games designed for display on NTSC Amigas, and how the majority of screenshots, video footage and emulator defaults seem to always be in PAL format. The discussion has been around how playing games designed for NTSC on a PAL machine will distort the resolution (squished vertically) and slow down the sound/game, and how online media generally dispays these games "incorrectly".

I'm no expert on the matter-- growing up in New Zealand, I've only ever had PAL machines, so the way the games were displayed for me is the only way I've ever known. I've always noticed the big black bar at the bottom of a lot of games, but I always figured there was some nebulous reason for this (memory limitations, accommodating future ports to Atari, something).

The guy who brought it to my attention was the creator of [ Show youtube player ], and as far as I can tell his argument makes a lot of sense. He also mentioned a recent interview with Jim Sachs, the lead American artist from Defender Of The Crown, who basically choked up when he explained that everyone is displaying his work in the wrong format.

Does anyone have any particular insight to this issue? I'm keen to hear from anyone who has any direct knowledge about whether American / Japanese / NTSC Amiga game designers created their games with NTSC in mind, or whether they knew that the PAL format would distort their work (and designed their games accordingly). Is there a reason why emulators such as WinUAE seem to default to PAL? I'm also keen to hear anyone's opinions on this issue in general.

Did I fall in love with a slow version of The Faery Tale soundtrack? Was Shufflepuck Cafe always meant to be in 4:3? It'd be interesting to know if my memories are of "incorrect" versions of these games, and I'd love to be able to present these games in the correct format on our channel, so I'm interested to know what the general consensus is.

Thanks!

23 May 2016, 03:39	#1
Mister Octopus Registered User Join Date: Aug 2014 Location: New Zealand Posts: 51	Games intended for NTSC played on PAL machines Hi all! I've been having a discussion in the comments of a recent video on our YouTube channel about games designed for display on NTSC Amigas, and how the majority of screenshots, video footage and emulator defaults seem to always be in PAL format. The discussion has been around how playing games designed for NTSC on a PAL machine will distort the resolution (squished vertically) and slow down the sound/game, and how online media generally dispays these games "incorrectly". I'm no expert on the matter-- growing up in New Zealand, I've only ever had PAL machines, so the way the games were displayed for me is the only way I've ever known. I've always noticed the big black bar at the bottom of a lot of games, but I always figured there was some nebulous reason for this (memory limitations, accommodating future ports to Atari, something). The guy who brought it to my attention was the creator of [ Show youtube player ], and as far as I can tell his argument makes a lot of sense. He also mentioned a recent interview with Jim Sachs, the lead American artist from Defender Of The Crown, who basically choked up when he explained that everyone is displaying his work in the wrong format. Does anyone have any particular insight to this issue? I'm keen to hear from anyone who has any direct knowledge about whether American / Japanese / NTSC Amiga game designers created their games with NTSC in mind, or whether they knew that the PAL format would distort their work (and designed their games accordingly). Is there a reason why emulators such as WinUAE seem to default to PAL? I'm also keen to hear anyone's opinions on this issue in general. Did I fall in love with a slow version of The Faery Tale soundtrack? Was Shufflepuck Cafe always meant to be in 4:3? It'd be interesting to know if my memories are of "incorrect" versions of these games, and I'd love to be able to present these games in the correct format on our channel, so I'm interested to know what the general consensus is. Thanks!