PC games that made the Amiga look like Shit

[gimbal]

In 1985 I did not know what computers were, but around 1989 when I became aware of them... I'd want anything I could get my hands on that went beep boop. Addiction makes you not picky.

[Lilura]

Originally Posted by Megalomaniac

What are we defining as 'Amiga genres'? For action games...

I was referring to 1991 IBM PC action genre examples, yes; that is, games that rely on player-reflexes, have collision detection, shift around sprites, scroll, and suchlike.

And since you brought up ST vs. EGA in that genre, it is also possible to cite examples of 1989 IBM PC EGA action games that 1.) the ST/Amiga would have struggled with 2.) ST/Amiga owners would have been jealous of

But these would just be examples (as I clearly stated in my previous post), albeit important early examples, that suggest that the IBM PC platform could dethrone the Amiga in its strong-suit within the next few years if coders properly tapped its now-consolidated and -cost-reduced VGA chipset.

The reason some people may struggle to find specific examples is because the resources they tend to use as crutches do not in and of themselves convey real knowledge, only data.

So when you get into the specifics of comparative computer-game history moby games and wikipedia are all but useless outside of basic facts.

Thus, one needs to dig and think. Or better yet, actually play through the games catalogues themselves.

Would you prefer CGA and beeper or a C64 for arcade-style games in 1985 though?

For arcade-action genre of the early-to-late 80s, I would greatly prefer the C64 over IBM PC CGA/EGA. And for arcade-action genre I would prefer the Atari 8 bits over IBM PC CGA in the early 80s.

[Megalomaniac]

Originally Posted by Lilura

I was referring to 1991 IBM PC action genre examples, yes; that is, games that rely on player-reflexes, have collision detection, shift around sprites, scroll, and suchlike.

And since you brought up ST vs. EGA in that genre, it is also possible to cite examples of 1989 IBM PC EGA action games that 1.) the ST/Amiga would have struggled with 2.) ST/Amiga owners would have been jealous of

But these would just be examples (as I clearly stated in my previous post), albeit important early examples, that suggest that the IBM PC platform could dethrone the Amiga in its strong-suit within the next few years if coders properly tapped its now-consolidated and -cost-reduced VGA chipset.

The reason some people may struggle to find specific examples is because the resources they tend to use as crutches do not in and of themselves convey real knowledge, only data.

So when you get into the specifics of comparative computer-game history moby games and wikipedia are all but useless outside of basic facts.

Thus, one needs to dig and think. Or better yet, actually play through the games catalogues themselves.

This thread was active for well over a year before it was revived yesterday, over 67 pages from dozens of experts, many of whom have probably played much of the games catalogues themselves, through which we've all dug and thought. And yet, I'm struggling to find suggestions of action games from 1991 or earlier (the range for the thread) that match the best similar games on far cheaper contemporary home computers on an audiovisual side. Once you mention scrolling and sprites you're implicitly limiting it to 2D, which makes the claim even more doubtful. There's an article linked in the first page with 50 of that guy's favourite DOS games from the 80s, and action-wise nothing's making me envy those who went CGA-EGA-VGA in that era, rather than Spectrum or C64 to Amiga. Which examples were you thinking of?

Of course, that doesn't mean they can't still be fun to play, but this thread is primarily about graphics (hence 'look like s**t' rather than 'play like s**t', I guess).

Sound isn't even close BTW - PC speaker is inferior to 48K Spectrum sound, Ad-Lib (1987, but not routinely supported until later) basically the same as what's in the ST / CPC / 128K Spectrum, and Soundblaster (1989, and not routinely supported until later) no match for the Amiga. Maybe the PCJr / Tandy sound of 1984 (available in specific ranges of home-focused PCs) is more competitive?

Then again, that "important early examples.... could dethrone the Amiga...if coders properly tapped....VGA' makes me think you mean "not as far behind as before", as if you're comparing Manchester City's first teams to qualify for the Champions League with Manchester United's league-title-winning teams of the same time - an evolutionary step in closing the gap.

[Lilura]

Originally Posted by Megalomaniac

Once you mention scrolling and sprites you're implicitly limiting it to 2D, which makes the claim even more doubtful.

I honestly don't care how much you doubt my claim. If you can't think of a single 2D action game on IBM PC VGA in 1991 that looked better than and was technically superior to the Amiga equivalent in 1991, I don't know what to say.

There's an article linked in the first page with 50 of that guy's favourite DOS games from the 80s, and action-wise nothing's making me envy those who went CGA-EGA-VGA in that era, rather than Spectrum or C64 to Amiga.

Wow. One article. Must be an authority...

I have written:

A History of Shoot 'em ups (20k words)
A History of Turn-based Strategy Games (200k words)
A History of Real-time Strategy Games (100k words)
A History of Computer Role-playing Games (1 mil words)
A History of Computer Games from 1976-2024 (2 mil words)

I have also written separate articles on CGA, EGA and VGA.

What makes you think I care about some fool's fave 50? I care more about EAB member comments than spam-links.

Sound isn't even close BTW

1991 example I alluded to supports AdLib, Roland and SB.

Then again, that "important early examples.... could dethrone the Amiga...if coders properly tapped....VGA' makes me think you mean "not as far behind as before", ...

I'm saying that if more coders were that good at tapping VGA (as the 1991 example coders were) and were also willing to do so, VGA could have dethroned the Amiga earlier than it in fact eventually did. And I do not think that claim is at all outlandish, given the existence of such examples and the fact that even high-point EGA suggested an ability to contend.

[donnie]

Pc back then could not scroll worth a damn. Every fucking game had issues with framerate, judder, stutter and what not.

Still to this day there are issues. Thank god for vrr.

[Bruce Abbott]

Originally Posted by Lilura

I shouldn't need to name the games.

In this thread you should.

I refer you to the OP:-

Originally Posted by Bruce Abbott

So my question to you is, which PC games do you remember that made the Amiga look like shit? Specifically, games with much better graphics (you can mention other features as well but it won't affect the score) and what about that graphics made it so much better than anything on the Amiga.

For the purposes of this discussion we will limit the period to games released between 1985 and 1991, as this is when Commodore did nothing to improve the Amiga. Screenshots and links are welcome.