Introducing Amigos: A New Amiga Podcast

[boatofcar]

Originally Posted by dreamkatcha

Well researched and entertaining as always, thanks.

From what I gather, Cloanto have been granted permission from the copyright holders to include all the games they bundle with their Amiga Forever package. They use the cracked versions purely for practical reasons; the originals are copyright protected and hence can't be deciphered by the emulator. Rather than attempting to remove it officially this late in the day when the skills required to do so may be difficult to source, they pick the low hanging fruit and make use of what's already readily available.

The value edition of Amiga Forever will run most games designed to work with Workbench 1.3, but spits the dummy if you throw anything more obscure at it. Dragon's Lair is a bit more exotic in its execution than most games in that it loads 256kB of data into the writable control store area of RAM originally intended to incorporate the Kickstart ROM in early Amiga hardware. It's the old 'gateway drug' model of marketing; give people a sample for minimal outlay and if they like the taste they'll come back for a bigger, more expensive slice of the pie. Mmmm, drug pie. *drool* :|

Thanks for the counterpoint! We mentioned it on the latest show. I still think it's a little odd that even the "value" edition of software doesn't give you what free (WinUAE) software will give you as is. Still though, kudos to Cloanto for serving the Amiga community!

This week is a very special episode of Amigos. After discussing our game of the week (James Pond 2) we have several listener-submitted stories of Amiga at Christmastime! Give it a listen

http://amigospodcast.blogspot.com/20...nd-amigos.html

We're also going to be taking advantage of holiday time off to catch up on some video streaming!

[dreamkatcha]

Agreed, it's a contentious piece of software in general. Really if Coanto are going to take an existing, incredible piece of free software and then charge for it, they should be adding value, not guaging it out. I voted with my wallet.

I didn't know anyone with a Kickstart 1.2 fuelled A500 either. They were only available for the first year of production beginning in '87 so you'd have to be an early adopter to get your hands on one. I was still playing Midnight Resistance and Rainbow Islands on my Speccy at the time.

I fell in love with Robocod (the artist formerly known as 'Guppie') from the moment I played the coverdisk cake level demo; sickeningly cutesy yet still somehow edgy and cool. I pestered Santa to bring me the full game for Christmas and have completed it several times over the years without cake-hammer-earth-apple-tap-ing one ioto.

By the way you can find my paper craft version of the game box on my blog. Pathetic excuse for a hobby I know, though it just goes to show the extent to which this game still resonates with me after all these years, and especially at Christmas time. Robocod is the Christmas game for the Miggy.

It defined the era where a couple of guys had free reign to inject all manner of wackiness into a game without putting it to a shareholder's vote, or applying to the EU for permission. The extendo-torso was an innovative, inspired play mechanic which breathed new life into an already weary genre. The sum of its parts, rather than a single revolutionary, killer feature made it one of the all-time greats; catchy, hummable music, tongue-in-cheek humour, massive end of level bosses, beautiful, colourful graphics, ridiculous (though not merely gimmicky) vehicles to help navigate the vast levels, endless hidden pathways and bonuses, a varied mix of gameplay styles from shoot-em-up to forced scroll platforming action, silky-smooth 50 fps parallax scrolling. Plus all the other things I'll kick myself for not mentioning after I hit the post button.

Did anyone get the demo on one of PC Format's cover disks and unlock the complete game with the cheat code? Spectacular own goal!

[dreamkatcha]

A bit late, sorry, but a Christmas memory just climbed out of the deep, dark recesses of my brain that I had to share; Click Video Magazine, the 90s computer game 'mag' delivered in VHS video format.

Kids would scoff at how ridiculous the idea is today, but this was way before anyone had even dreamt YouTube would ever become a reality. I was on the way to my uncle's mansion in the country with my brother and parents for the annual Christmas visit when we stopped off at the motorway service station. I was grumpy because I knew it was going to be a tedious affair and I'd be gameless all night because the trusty Amiga 500 wouldn't fit in my pocket. I spotted this new gaming fix on the newsagent shelves and it saved the day. I even got to watch it on the big telly in the living room - something which would never have happened at home.

Looking back now it's truely awful viewing, but my expectations were rock bottom in those primitive, pre-internet days and this featured moving Amiga games in a magazine, well, of sorts, with no computer in sight. My tiny mind short circuited.

[boatofcar]

Originally Posted by dreamkatcha

Agreed, it's a contentious piece of software in general. Really if Coanto are going to take an existing, incredible piece of free software and then charge for it, they should be adding value, not guaging it out. I voted with my wallet.

I didn't know anyone with a Kickstart 1.2 fuelled A500 either. They were only available for the first year of production beginning in '87 so you'd have to be an early adopter to get your hands on one. I was still playing Midnight Resistance and Rainbow Islands on my Speccy at the time.

I fell in love with Robocod (the artist formerly known as 'Guppie') from the moment I played the coverdisk cake level demo; sickeningly cutesy yet still somehow edgy and cool. I pestered Santa to bring me the full game for Christmas and have completed it several times over the years without cake-hammer-earth-apple-tap-ing one ioto.

By the way you can find my paper craft version of the game box on my blog. Pathetic excuse for a hobby I know, though it just goes to show the extent to which this game still resonates with me after all these years, and especially at Christmas time. Robocod is the Christmas game for the Miggy.

It defined the era where a couple of guys had free reign to inject all manner of wackiness into a game without putting it to a shareholder's vote, or applying to the EU for permission. The extendo-torso was an innovative, inspired play mechanic which breathed new life into an already weary genre. The sum of its parts, rather than a single revolutionary, killer feature made it one of the all-time greats; catchy, hummable music, tongue-in-cheek humour, massive end of level bosses, beautiful, colourful graphics, ridiculous (though not merely gimmicky) vehicles to help navigate the vast levels, endless hidden pathways and bonuses, a varied mix of gameplay styles from shoot-em-up to forced scroll platforming action, silky-smooth 50 fps parallax scrolling. Plus all the other things I'll kick myself for not mentioning after I hit the post button.

Did anyone get the demo on one of PC Format's cover disks and unlock the complete game with the cheat code? Spectacular own goal!

Thanks for the review! I agree, James Pond 2 was quite innovative in many respects, especially the torso functionality. If only you could have activated it mid-jump, it would have been super-cool. Thanks to the link to the papercraft model box! Mind if I share it on our Facebook page?

[boatofcar]

Originally Posted by dreamkatcha

A bit late, sorry, but a Christmas memory just climbed out of the deep, dark recesses of my brain that I had to share; Click Video Magazine, the 90s computer game 'mag' delivered in VHS video format.

Kids would scoff at how ridiculous the idea is today, but this was way before anyone had even dreamt YouTube would ever become a reality. I was on the way to my uncle's mansion in the country with my brother and parents for the annual Christmas visit when we stopped off at the motorway service station. I was grumpy because I knew it was going to be a tedious affair and I'd be gameless all night because the trusty Amiga 500 wouldn't fit in my pocket. I spotted this new gaming fix on the newsagent shelves and it saved the day. I even got to watch it on the big telly in the living room - something which would never have happened at home.

Looking back now it's truely awful viewing, but my expectations were rock bottom in those primitive, pre-internet days and this featured moving Amiga games in a magazine, well, of sorts, with no computer in sight. My tiny mind short circuited.

It's never too late! I'll read it on the next episode

[dreamkatcha]

Originally Posted by boatofcar

Thanks for the review! I agree, James Pond 2 was quite innovative in many respects, especially the torso functionality. If only you could have activated it mid-jump, it would have been super-cool. Thanks to the link to the papercraft model box! Mind if I share it on our Facebook page?

Yeah sure, feel free. I'd love to see it end up being used as a pencil holder in Timbuktu a few years down the line.

A mid-jump failsafe like that would certainly have prevented you from falling what seemed like thousands of feet right back to square one. Now that was frustrating!

The sequel - Operation Starfish - expanded on the Robocod concept, taking it in a more Sonicy direction, though it was largely met with a lukewarm reception. There was also going to be a fourth outing known as 'The Curse of Count Piracula' before the world moved on and lost interest in this kind of game. Shame the Kickstarter revival campaign fell flat on its face.

[boatofcar]

Any insight into the "He's Green" part of the tagline on the box? Were they so desperate for a rhyming jingle that they had to deliberately falsify the protagonist's hue?

[dreamkatcha]

Well if you squint a bit, and in the right light...

Actually it's green as in eco-friendly; it's a reference to the first game - Underwater Agent - where the nefarious Dr Maybe has been dumping toxic waste into the ocean and Pond's mission is to clean up the mess and duff him up.

[boatofcar]

Makes sense--I didn't even think about the eco green definition.

This week we play Cannon Fodder!

Listen and subscribe here!
http://amigospodcast.blogspot.com/

Watch us play it here!
[ Show youtube player ]

Oh, and dreamkatcha, your story made it in

[dreamkatcha]

Cool, thanks! This is better than having my name read out by Phillip Schofield on the Saturday morning TV show, Going Live ...and that's high praise indeed. He was on first name terms with Gordon the Gopher you know.

There is a 2006 mobile version of Cannon Fodder for J2ME/Symbian phones, but it doesn't appear to have made the transition to Android/iOS. It was developed by Jon Hare's new company, Tower Studios, for Codemasters, so while he no longer owns the rights, that shouldn't hold back development.

There's also a novelty plug and play TV version made by Radica which is based on the Sega Megadrive port. It's part of the 'Arcade Legends' bundle which also includes Sensi Soccer and Mega-Lo-Mania.

I think I enjoyed the theme tune and mythos surrounding this game more than the game itself... probably because I'm useless at it. Jon still performs the full version of 'War Has Never Been So Much Fun' at retro revival events because fans never get tired of requesting (read demanding!) it. Savvy bunch Amigans.

Edit: thought you might find this attachment interesting.

[boatofcar]

How do the controls on the ports work? Do you move the cursor with the d-pad or stick, or is there another scheme?

That clipping is interesting...is it satire? Sorry, I'm not British enough to tell

One thing I did notice while living in the UK during grad school was how politicized the wearing of the poppy has become, not unlike the flag lapel pin here in the US.

[dreamkatcha]

You can use the official rodent peripheral for the SNES version, or the joypad as you would with the MD port. The d-pad simulates the mouse in moving your cursor around and then you press a button to instruct your troops to walk to that position. I've read it works well if you grew up using joypads.

The mobile version on the other hand sounds painful. You rotate a cursor through a 360 degree plane until it's pointing in the direction you want to walk, and then press another button to move forwards. You can only fire in the direction you're facing. Try defending yourself from a surprise onslaught with a control mechanism like that! Maybe this is the real reason there's no iOS or Android version. I wonder if you can get a Bluetooth mouse for smartphones. Joypads are available so why not?

No, it's a genuine article from the Daily Star written just before the release of Cannon Fodder in '93. It's one of the trashy 'red tops', barely a comic book really, but sadly read by millions of people, and plenty of those are overseas if you can believe that. They'll jump on any sensationalist bandwagon if it means stirring up controversy and shifting more copies.

The paper would have had to tread very carefully given that world war vets are practically a protected species in this country (and rightly so in my opinion). It would be suicide to even hint at siding with Sensible Software, or digging beneath the surface hyperbole.

Even now people tend to wear poppies for fear of appearing disrespectful towards vets whether they believe in the sentiment or not. If someone in the limelight e.g. a TV presenter forgets to wear one, they're lambasted in the papers.

We now have black and purple poppies as well as the more traditional white and red ones in case people feel the need to narrow down their public political stance or focus on who deserves commemoration.

[boatofcar]

Originally Posted by dreamkatcha

You can use the official rodent peripheral for the SNES version, or the joypad as you would with the MD port. The d-pad simulates the mouse in moving your cursor around and then you press a button to instruct your troops to walk to that position. I've read it works well if you grew up using joypads.

The mobile version on the other hand sounds painful. You rotate a cursor through a 360 degree plane until it's pointing in the direction you want to walk, and then press another button to move forwards. You can only fire in the direction you're facing. Try defending yourself from a surprise onslaught with a control mechanism like that! Maybe this is the real reason there's no iOS or Android version. I wonder if you can get a Bluetooth mouse for smartphones. Joypads are available so why not?

Interesting--glad to see that the SNES mouse could be used for something besides Mario Paint! If there's no Android or iOS version, what mobile platform did Cannon Fodder appear on?

Thanks for the info on the poppies. I'd never heard of the purple and black before. Checked it out on Wikipedia to help us not get too off-topic

[dreamkatcha]

Definitely - it's a shame SNES developers didn't exploit the mouse more to bring gamers a wider array of titles.

The mobile version of Cannon Fodder runs on old school, pre-touchscreen 'dumb' phones. If you ever come across an unmissable J2ME/Symbian game that's not available on any other platform, there are emulators available. When I had my old Nokia, all I tried were Tetris and Arkanoid clones. These worked pretty well because the controls were so basic.

[boatofcar]

This game has some cool-looking box art...that has absolutely nothing to do with the game inside. Episode 25 of the Amigos is Blood Money!

Listen here!
http://www.amigospodcast.com/2016/01...ood-money.html

Watch us play it here!
[ Show youtube player ]

Dreamkatcha, we finally had a chance to stream James Pond 2
[ Show youtube player ]

[dreamkatcha]

Nice one! I could watch Robocod play-throughs all day. It's one of those games where you see the exit and think, "that's too easy, I'll keep exploring". Nine times out of ten if you skip past the low-hanging fruit you'll find something much more interesting; push against a structure that looks solid and you'll go through into a hidden area where you're rewarded with power-ups, or enter a goofy bonus stage. Speaking of goofy, there's a section made entirely of jelly and blancmange which allows you to jump a squillion miles into the air (and pray you land on something soft when you return to the ground!). There's another bit you play upside down where up's down and down's up.

Oh yeah, the "nine seconds to comply" continue screen is a parody of the ED-209 lines from Robocop...

[for demonstration, Mr. Kinney points a pistol at ED-209]
ED-209: [menacingly] Please put down your weapon. You have twenty seconds to comply.
Dick Jones: I think you'd better do what he says, Mr. Kinney.
[Mr. Kinney drops the pistol on the floor. ED-209 advances, growling]
ED-209: You now have fifteen seconds to comply.
[Mr. Kinney turns to Dick Jones, who looks nervous]
ED-209: You are in direct violation of Penal Code 1.13, Section 9.
[entire room of people in full panic trying to stay out of the line of fire, especially Mr. Kinney]
ED-209: You have five seconds to comply.
Kinney: Help...! Help me!
ED-209: Four... three... two... one... I am now authorized to use physical force!
[ED-209 opens fire and shreds Mr. Kinney]

I desperately wanted to like Blood Money because it puts a different spin on more traditional shmups, though like you was turned off by the ridiculous difficulty curve. It's not frantic like some of the bullet-hell games in this genre, which should really have given me a fighting chance; somehow I'm equally incompetent at it. I think this is partly a result of the game being so claustrophobic - once you factor in all the obstacles, the play area is tiny so you're required to react quickly and precisely if you're to avoid incineration.

Are you familiar with Irem's Mr Heli? David Jones admits this is what 'inspired' his second game for DMA, but is that really the right word? Blood Money is essentially Mr Heli without legs.

If you're looking for an easy, LCD display solution for your real Miggy, you might want to check out the Benq BL702a. It can be connected via the RGB port with a readily available adapter and supports both 50hz and 15khz screen modes without the need for a scan-doubler.

[boatofcar]

Originally Posted by dreamkatcha

Nice one! I could watch Robocod play-throughs all day. It's one of those games where you see the exit and think, "that's too easy, I'll keep exploring". Nine times out of ten if you skip past the low-hanging fruit you'll find something much more interesting; push against a structure that looks solid and you'll go through into a hidden area where you're rewarded with power-ups, or enter a goofy bonus stage. Speaking of goofy, there's a section made entirely of jelly and blancmange which allows you to jump a squillion miles into the air (and pray you land on something soft when you return to the ground!). There's another bit you play upside down where up's down and down's up.

Robocod playthroughs all day, eh? I'm sure we could make than a Patreon reward It is a vast game; I was amazed how different Aaron's play-through was to mine, even in the first level!

I desperately wanted to like Blood Money because it puts a different spin on more traditional shmups, though like you was turned off by the ridiculous difficulty curve. It's not frantic like some of the bullet-hell games in this genre, which should really have given me a fighting chance; somehow I'm equally incompetent at it. I think this is partly a result of the game being so claustrophobic - once you factor in all the obstacles, the play area is tiny so you're required to react quickly and precisely if you're to avoid incineration.

Are you familiar with Irem's Mr Heli? David Jones admits this is what 'inspired' his second game for DMA, but is that really the right word? Blood Money is essentially Mr Heli without legs.

I think you hit the nail on the head. It's not the baddies that give you the most trouble in Blood Money, it's the constrictive environments and unpredictable auto-scroll directions. I've read about Mr. Heli, but I haven't played it yet. I may give it a go on an Amigos Plays video.

If you're looking for an easy, LCD display solution for your real Miggy, you might want to check out the Benq BL702a. It can be connected via the RGB port with a readily available adapter and supports both 50hz and 15khz screen modes without the need for a scan-doubler.

I could go that route, but the whole purpose of hooking up a real Amiga to me rather than just emulating is the CRT. The scanlines, the blurriness, the 4:3 ratio...that's what I'm going for. Hooking up a retro system to an LCD, while functional, kills the aesthetic for me. Different strokes though

[boatofcar]

Lots of great new Amiga content tonight! Why not kick things off with a listen to Episode 26 - Stunt Car Racer!
http://www.amigospodcast.com/2016/01...car-racer.html

We've got a livestream playthrough up too!
https://www.youtube.com/edit?video_id=JAbjHwQrcqQ

And as a special bonus, a hardware review on the Dataflyer Express.
[ Show youtube player ]

[boatofcar]

The heart of a lion, and the wings of a ba...er, I mean dragon. BECAUSE IT'S MIDNITE! Amigos Episode 29 is Lionheart! http://www.amigospodcast.com/2016/02...lionheart.html
Watch us play it here! https://www.youtube.com/edit?video_i...referrer=watch

[dreamkatcha]

Excellent review of an underwhelming game; I really enjoyed this one, thanks.

As you mention in the podcast, Thalion emerged from the demo scene, and unfortunately this release demonstrates the strengths and weaknesses you might expect given their origins. While the artwork and special effects are enchanting - spectacular even - the game-play falls flat.

Lionheart desperately wants to be Rastan, only with a He-Man/Lion-O amalgam as the protagonist. Its Achilles heel, however, is Valdyn, in that he's totally ineffectual as a warrior we could believe capable of vanquishing the dastardly Norka who is intent on enslaving the Cat People.

Half the critters he faces attack at ankle-biting level so naturally your instinct is to use Valdyn's leg sweep manoeuvre to dispatch them. Sadly it's more of a fairy love tickle than the fierce, jabbing strike you'd expect; it's so unresponsive you can lose several hit points in between launching it and landing a blow. Being thwarted by inch-tall bugs is so demoralising.

The same goes for the sword; it's pathetically minuscule so you have to be nose to nose with an enemy before you can take a shot, making you unnecessarily vulnerable to attack.

Actually the whole control mechanism is clumsy and frustrating. The 'hold the fire button down and point in a direction' technique simply doesn't translate well to a rapid-fire platformer, given that it seriously restricts your ability to react quickly enough to take evasive action, or launch surprise attacks. In the same vein, some of the platforms are so puny, precision jumping is required to make any progress, only you end up over or under-shooting them because Valdyn is such a blundering oaf.

I can't help ruminating that if Rastan had been ported to the Amiga, this game wouldn't exist. What I'd love to see is a mash-up of the two; take Rastan's weaponry and control system, throw them in a bubbling cauldron, stir in Lionheart's mesmerising graphics and atmosphere, leave to simmer, then serve piping hot with a side serving of Thundercats folklore.