![]() |
![]() |
#81 | |
Registered User
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: Stockholm
Posts: 4,338
|
Quote:
|
|
![]() |
![]() |
#82 | |
Registered User
Join Date: Mar 2018
Location: Hastings, New Zealand
Posts: 2,584
|
Quote:
![]() One thing I like about the C64 and Amiga versions is how they show the background being rendered as you enter a room, particularly on the C64 where it lays down the colors first and then puts the details in. It's like you're in a virtual world that is being generated as you walk through it - which you are! ![]() I also like the clean graphics with well-drawn details making every pixel count. The commentary in the video below suggests that the Amiga version might be a bit over the top in color and detail, and I agree. Better hardware doesn't always translate to a better game! The C64 version looks better because the artist had to work within its limitations, creating a unique style that other systems either couldn't match (Spectrum, Amstrad, PC CGA), or was 'beneath' the platform's capabilities (Amiga, Atari ST, Archimedes). Last Ninja 2 - Comparing The ZX Spectrum, C64, Amstrad, NES And Amiga Versions [ Show youtube player ] The Last Ninja Versions Comparison [ Show youtube player ] The Last Ninja isn't really an example of the C64's superior 2d graphics hardware. Instead it represents how good a game can be when tuned to limited hardware. The Amiga easily beat the C64 in practically every way, yet in this game that superiority was its undoing. The Archimedes version was even worse, being a tarted up port of the pathetic BBC micro / Electron version. |
|
![]() |
![]() |
#83 |
Registered User
Join Date: Sep 2022
Location: Eastbourne
Posts: 1,016
|
Could the Amstrad have matched C64 Last Ninja 2, or did it simply fail to because it was a straight Spectrum port? Certainly, when comparing C64 and Amstrad, it's clear that more commercial games went closer to the C64's technical potential. So many Amstrad games outside France were built from Spectrum codebases, often with very lazy graphical conversion, and designed purely around cassettes with no use of the extra space and random access of disks. Amstrad owners suffered more from Lame Spectrum Ports than Amiga owners did from Lame ST ports, actually. It's telling that such a high proportion of the highest rated games on CPC Game Reviews are recent homebrew titles (though obviously the C64 has Sam's Journey and the Eye of the Beholder conversion for a start).
Anyway, this is off-topic. The C64 clearly did lead to innovative games, with a few like Wizball and Maniac Mansion only really possible to be created on the C64 out of the 8-bits (Spectrum Wizball is better than you'd imagine it could be, but you can't claim that it gets close to the C64 version - the same goes for C64 Head Over Heels or Elite). And not all big C64 hits had graphics or sound that were close to the machine's potential - Head Over Heels is one, Wizards of Wor, M.U.L.E., Wasteland (even compared to other RPGs, rarely the prettiest games anyway). I'd still say that it's debatable whether there were enough innovative genre-creating C64 games, considering its global reach. If you name an innovative C64 game and I name an innovative one from another 8-bit computer system, I suspect that you'll run out first. Also, the top C64 developers seemed to achieve less in future than other 8-bit programmers of the same age. I'm not even sure that people who owned a C64 in the 8-bit era, but started developing games on later systems, did as well as those who started with, say, Apple II or Spectrum. There are C64 developers who did great work on the Amiga or elsewhere - Sensible, Shaun Southern, Andy Braybrook - but what other true post-C64 classics were made primarily by ex-C64 guys? |
![]() |
![]() |
#84 | |
Registered User
Join Date: May 2023
Location: Norwich
Posts: 380
|
Quote:
The difficulty at the time would've been justifying spending money on an artist to redo the graphics as a proper 16 colour effort. Even when the machine didn't get direct Speccy ports it often suffered from the graphics instead being lifted from the more colour limited C64, since that had the same resolution. Barbarian being an example that springs to mind. |
|
![]() |
![]() |
#85 |
Registered User
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: Stockholm
Posts: 4,338
|
|
![]() |
![]() |
#86 | |
CaptainM68K-SPS France
|
Quote:
Regarding the CPC version, as explained above, the game on CPC only has the battle screens in CPC format. All the sprites are stored in the CPC version in C64 sprite format, converted real time in 2 passes : first in mode 1 4 colors, then in mode 0 16 colors. That's why the game is anormaly slow on CPC. |
|
![]() |
![]() |
#87 | ||||||
CaptainM68K-SPS France
|
Quote:
Any CPC coder could confirm that to you (those with extended knowledge). Absolutely nothing can justify the abominations that Last Ninja 2 & Remix are on the Amstrad CPC, nothing. Quote:
Quote:
Quote:
Quote:
Quote:
|
||||||
![]() |
![]() |
#88 |
CaptainM68K-SPS France
|
Look at the Amiga games, no graphists out of the C64 lovers used and made games with the dreaded C64 color palette.
|
![]() |
![]() |
#89 |
Zone Friend
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Kent
Age: 51
Posts: 1,061
|
but it certainly suited most 64 games just fine I think a lot would say. I love the Amstrad's palette but I'm also glad that wasn't what I was staring at the whole time. C64 colours being rather washed out looked more natural and for something like Last Ninja and obviously so many games, it works really well. Something like Sorcery on Amstrad though looks dazzling compared to the drab C64 version and so many other games but still some people just didn't like the Amstrad colours being they were so intense
|
![]() |
![]() |
#90 |
HOL/FTP busy bee
![]() Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: Germany
Age: 46
Posts: 31,608
|
Like you said it really depends on the game. For me that is the interesting part about the quite limited graphic capabilities of the 8-bit machines. Can you make it work for your game? And which machine does deliver the best experience. Yesterday I had a look at Barbarian on the CPC for the first time (thanks to this thread) and it does look pretty good. Both the C64 and the CPC versions have colors that are 'off', but the CPC version does look better in my opinion.
|
![]() |
![]() |
#91 | |
Zone Friend
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Kent
Age: 51
Posts: 1,061
|
Quote:
A good comparison maybe is Tau Ceti which runs very respectively on C64 and has that realistic natural tone that is just part of being a C64 game of course but then the Amstrad version with it's four colour mode has the most gorgeous looking version of Tau Ceti ever. Same with Elite and while the Amstrad versions are a little slower I guess from the higher resolution, the trade off is very much worth it. But for some games I really wouldn't want them dolled up any as the C64 has it's very own feel very much thanks to it's diluted colours |
|
![]() |
![]() |
#92 |
Registered User
Join Date: Dec 2020
Location: Italy
Posts: 1,901
|
yes it really depends of each single game
the fact that the CPC was released two years later than the C64 should be considered too check the classics, one by one, there are different surprises in different ports Exolon, Stormlord, Cybernoid 1 & 2, Uridium etc Nebulus ie the C64 IS the version to play, i think just the later released NES version came closer Last edited by kremiso; 21 April 2024 at 11:12. |
![]() |
![]() |
#93 |
HOL/FTP busy bee
![]() Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: Germany
Age: 46
Posts: 31,608
|
|
![]() |
![]() |
#94 | |
Registered User
Join Date: May 2023
Location: Norwich
Posts: 380
|
Quote:
I've lost count of how many platforms I've completed Impossible Mission on, but I'd always be up for trying another one. ![]() |
|
![]() |
![]() |
#95 | |
Zone Friend
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Kent
Age: 51
Posts: 1,061
|
Quote:
some of these very pretty on Amstrad but yeah Uridium plays to the C64's strength and Nebulous certainly turned out great on it |
|
![]() |
![]() |
#96 |
Also known as GarethQ
Join Date: May 2019
Location: Twickenham / U.K.
Posts: 718
|
Talking C64 colour palettes, I seem to remember a YT video going over this.
There is a difference in how the colours looked on NTSC and PAL machines. The machine was designed around NTSC and there was more saturation when compared to PAL output. Apparently they never bothered tweaking the values/timings for the PAL market. |
![]() |
![]() |
#97 |
Total Chaos forever!
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Waterville, MN, USA
Age: 49
Posts: 2,187
|
NTSC=never twice same color. Just because one person had weird results doesn't mean they were consistent across the board.
|
![]() |
![]() |
#98 |
Registered User
Join Date: May 2023
Location: essex
Posts: 457
|
VIC-II,SID, 6502 all existed in 1981, the C64 is nothing more than a repackaging of the abandoned Commodore arcade motherboard project. The C64 was 100% finished in Jan 82 as shown at the CES show, rest of the time was for building up stock for 5 months for launch and packaging design/manuals/game dev.
There were only 2 options for 60fps computer games AFAIK, Atari or C64. Nothing else had hardware scrolling. |
![]() |
![]() |
#99 | |
Registered User
Join Date: May 2018
Location: Ireland
Posts: 674
|
Quote:
|
|
![]() |
![]() |
#100 | |
Registered User
Join Date: May 2023
Location: Norwich
Posts: 380
|
Quote:
|
|
![]() |
Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 2 (1 members and 1 guests) | |
TCD |
Thread Tools | |
![]() |
||||
Thread | Thread Starter | Forum | Replies | Last Post |
Bad/Meh Amiga ports of good computer/console/arcade games that might need a Remake | saimon69 | Retrogaming General Discussion | 62 | 13 August 2021 01:01 |
Good WHDload games, bad written slaves? | rkauer | support.Games | 10 | 06 May 2008 20:49 |
The Bad-games-with-good-covers tread. | MazinKaesar | Retrogaming General Discussion | 8 | 14 March 2008 17:48 |
can anyone recommend some good C64 games? | Matfink | Retrogaming General Discussion | 20 | 15 November 2003 20:29 |
Good games, bad games, good music, bad music, ETC! | Shatterhand | Retrogaming General Discussion | 20 | 27 August 2002 21:31 |
|
|