English Amiga Board - View Single Post

turrican9 · 15 July 2020, 18:19

So I have been looking into this game lately and found a few things I wanna mention.

Been trying the ECS and AGA whdload and ADF versions of this game on the following systems: Amiga 1200 with ACA 1233 40MHz and 128MB fastmem, Amiga 500 Plus with ACA 500 + ACA 1221 overclocked to 28MHz with all 63MB fastmem unlocked and a Turbo Chameleon 64 V2 with minimig core.

First of all the ADFs I tried was the ECS version. I wanted to try this game on a low end Amiga. So I configured minimig with as low specs as possible. What I found was that my ADF version needed 1.5MB to run. at minimum 1MB had to be configured as chip mem. The other mem could be fast or slow RAM as long as I had at least 1.5MB the game would load up. CPU was set as a standard 68000.

The game was real slow when I configured with no fastmem. As soon as I configured some of the mem as fastmem (2MB is the minimum I can select) the game became much more smooth. So with a regular 68000 (A500 speed) the game benefits greatly from fastmem. If I tried slow mem + 1MB chip the game was really slow. I didn't even bother to try the AGA version on this setup.

Then I went to my A500 Plus, ACA 500 + ACA 1221 setup mentioned above. I would say the game was as smooth as on the TC64 V2 configured with fastmem. So I'm not sure this game benefits much from the CPU but fastmem looks to be the key.

Lastly I tried the AGA version on my above mentioned A1200 + ACA 1233 setup. The AGA version seems to be less smooth than the two above mentioned setups that ran the ECS version. In fact, the above mentioned setups with the ECS version ran quite a bit smoother. Much more playable. Especially in track 4 of the first level where it rains the AGA version was really sluggish. I can only imagine how slow it would be If I had no fastmem.

I then tried the SNES version using an emulator. I would say the Amiga ECS version is almost as smooth as the SNES version as long as one have fast RAM. SNES has both music and sound effects (Yes I know the CD32 version has both music and sound effects. But it's audio tracks running from the CD) at the same time. Sound effects on the SNES is better VS the Amiga version. But I think Amiga has better sounding music.

Also, I switched to NTSC and the ECS version became much faster and music more similar to the SNES version. NTSC seems to be the best way to play this game.

So AGA version VS ECS. Well, from what I've seen the only difference is that the AGA version has more colours in the sky and has a fuel bar. ECS version has the typical gradient sky and no fuel meter. You still get a notice on the screen when you are low on fuel. In my opinion the AGA version does not add anything that changes the experience or gameplay for me.

ECS Version:

AGA Version:

Conclusion: Top Gear 2 on Amiga is in my opinion one of the better driving games on Amiga as long as you fulfill the above mentioned things. Fast RAM, run the ECS version, use NTSC instead of PAL and use in-game music instead of sound effects. One cool thing is that the engine sound will change as you upgrade to better engines.

Lotus games are great but they don't have as many features as Top Gear 2. In lotus you simply drive with a time limit (At least in Lotus II and III). Not much else. In Top Gear 2 you can upgrade your car and go through a championship with 64 tracks. As long as you make it amongst the 10 best you qualify to the next track. The better position you get the more money to buy upgrades. The game is not very hard and the controls are good. And the nitro is cool.

I just wanted to share my experience and how I came to really like this game.

Edit: After some extensive SNES emulator play yesterday then switched to the Amiga I have concluded that the ECS version of Top Gear 2, ran in NTSC is at least as fast and smooth as the SNES version as long as you have some fast RAM. Maybe even smoother. I also tried to run with sound effects. Sound effects are not that bad. Basically Top Gear 2 is considered a great game on the SNES. The Amiga version is basically identical when you have the same smothness and speed.

15 July 2020, 18:19	#1
turrican9 Registered User Join Date: Apr 2015 Location: Norway Age: 47 Posts: 893	Few words about Top Gear 2 So I have been looking into this game lately and found a few things I wanna mention. Been trying the ECS and AGA whdload and ADF versions of this game on the following systems: Amiga 1200 with ACA 1233 40MHz and 128MB fastmem, Amiga 500 Plus with ACA 500 + ACA 1221 overclocked to 28MHz with all 63MB fastmem unlocked and a Turbo Chameleon 64 V2 with minimig core. First of all the ADFs I tried was the ECS version. I wanted to try this game on a low end Amiga. So I configured minimig with as low specs as possible. What I found was that my ADF version needed 1.5MB to run. at minimum 1MB had to be configured as chip mem. The other mem could be fast or slow RAM as long as I had at least 1.5MB the game would load up. CPU was set as a standard 68000. The game was real slow when I configured with no fastmem. As soon as I configured some of the mem as fastmem (2MB is the minimum I can select) the game became much more smooth. So with a regular 68000 (A500 speed) the game benefits greatly from fastmem. If I tried slow mem + 1MB chip the game was really slow. I didn't even bother to try the AGA version on this setup. Then I went to my A500 Plus, ACA 500 + ACA 1221 setup mentioned above. I would say the game was as smooth as on the TC64 V2 configured with fastmem. So I'm not sure this game benefits much from the CPU but fastmem looks to be the key. Lastly I tried the AGA version on my above mentioned A1200 + ACA 1233 setup. The AGA version seems to be less smooth than the two above mentioned setups that ran the ECS version. In fact, the above mentioned setups with the ECS version ran quite a bit smoother. Much more playable. Especially in track 4 of the first level where it rains the AGA version was really sluggish. I can only imagine how slow it would be If I had no fastmem. I then tried the SNES version using an emulator. I would say the Amiga ECS version is almost as smooth as the SNES version as long as one have fast RAM. SNES has both music and sound effects (Yes I know the CD32 version has both music and sound effects. But it's audio tracks running from the CD) at the same time. Sound effects on the SNES is better VS the Amiga version. But I think Amiga has better sounding music. Also, I switched to NTSC and the ECS version became much faster and music more similar to the SNES version. NTSC seems to be the best way to play this game. So AGA version VS ECS. Well, from what I've seen the only difference is that the AGA version has more colours in the sky and has a fuel bar. ECS version has the typical gradient sky and no fuel meter. You still get a notice on the screen when you are low on fuel. In my opinion the AGA version does not add anything that changes the experience or gameplay for me. ECS Version: AGA Version: Conclusion: Top Gear 2 on Amiga is in my opinion one of the better driving games on Amiga as long as you fulfill the above mentioned things. Fast RAM, run the ECS version, use NTSC instead of PAL and use in-game music instead of sound effects. One cool thing is that the engine sound will change as you upgrade to better engines. Lotus games are great but they don't have as many features as Top Gear 2. In lotus you simply drive with a time limit (At least in Lotus II and III). Not much else. In Top Gear 2 you can upgrade your car and go through a championship with 64 tracks. As long as you make it amongst the 10 best you qualify to the next track. The better position you get the more money to buy upgrades. The game is not very hard and the controls are good. And the nitro is cool. I just wanted to share my experience and how I came to really like this game. Edit: After some extensive SNES emulator play yesterday then switched to the Amiga I have concluded that the ECS version of Top Gear 2, ran in NTSC is at least as fast and smooth as the SNES version as long as you have some fast RAM. Maybe even smoother. I also tried to run with sound effects. Sound effects are not that bad. Basically Top Gear 2 is considered a great game on the SNES. The Amiga version is basically identical when you have the same smothness and speed. Attached Thumbnails Last edited by turrican9; 16 July 2020 at 10:37.