Could you do a game like Mini Car Racing on A1200?

[ImmortalA1000]

Specs are quite high (P200, 32mb RAM), but then the minimum specs for the PC version of Super Stardust (also later renamed to Stardust 96) are P133 too and the PC needs more oomph to do 60fps scrolling, something the Amiga has no problem doing when coded right I would imagine, even so 30/25fps screen update would be fine as long as controller input is 60/50fps to keep it as a 256 colour game, otherwise no point doing it.

Tracks may be too large for 2mb machine, not sure as it's been decades since I played this. Always reminded me of Super Cars gameplay and Skidmarks handling/graphics wise.

The only issue is that IIRC this PC game is 640x480 but maybe a 320x256 mode is more doable on an A1200. Shame you only have 4 16 colour sprites as you could have used hi-res sprites for the cars at least.

Ignore floppy issues, assume it's run from a HDD same as PC.

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[sokolovic]

Skidmarks can be played in 640*480 on an Amiga1200 too.

[gimbal]

Huh. Didn't know that game. Looks like fun. Birds eye view Destruction Derby / Super Cars kind of action.

The graphics hold up surprisingly well for such an early 3D game.

[vulture]

Hmmmm.... the mini map beginning at 2:07 is quite naughty!

[Retro1234]

Made me think, Remembering Destruction Derby

[Cris1997XX]

Hmm...this would require a 68040 at the very least, just to have the same speed. Not sure about the RAM

[sokolovic]

Originally Posted by Cris1997XX

Hmm...this would require a 68040 at the very least, just to have the same speed. Not sure about the RAM

There would be maybe a way to port it with some compromise without going straight away to the heavy expansion way. No real time shadows on the car, less colors etc...
Skidmarks, as I said above runs quite well in hi res on a stock A1200 for example. And it doesn't seems so far away technically. This games seems to be in 2D using rendered 3D scenery and 3D cars (like Skidmarks).

[saimon69]

I see feasible a game on the style of Power Drift in the 1200, with decent code and adequate circuits - if this is what an Atari STe base well coded can do a 1200 can do better - my only advice is keep the cars small!
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[gimbal]

Don't know where those specs for Super Stardust come from by the way; Moby games states it needed a 386.

https://www.mobygames.com/game/6761/...tardust/specs/

which seems reasonable for what it is.

[d4rk3lf]

Originally Posted by gimbal

The graphics hold up surprisingly well for such an early 3D game.

Not really a 3D game.
It's 2D game using prerendered 3D graphics, similar like Diablo 1 and 2, and many other games from that period.

[TCD]

Originally Posted by d4rk3lf

It's 2D game using prerendered 3D graphics, similar like Diablo 1 and 2, and many other games from that period.

Those cars don't look pre-rendered to me.

[gimbal]

Originally Posted by TCD

Those cars don't look pre-rendered to me.

neither do the shadows. As I said - early 3D. That tended to imply a whole lot of pre-rendering to make it work on S3 Virge level of videocards The quality of the map itself is really good in this game though, it is not the usual blur of pixels. You could be fooled to think it is all dynamic 3D. Until you look at the water.

[ImmortalA1000]

I think the PC game is more than 256 colours but I can only find JPEG screenshots not PNG. Rendered some of those lossy JPEGs down to 256 colours and they look more or less the same.

If you can squeeze in the pre-rendered bobs and tiles for the race track into the 2mb RAM you don't need to do 3D in realtime, at which point you are looking at tile/bob blits and scroll register manipulation, which is bread and butter 2D coding. The smoke trails for 8 cars you could do with super hi-res 64 pixel wide 3 colour AGA hardware sprites in light/medium/dark grey, close enough.

It might need a 200mhz Pentium on PC but I think 2mb RAM and 4 DACs that weren't multiplexed would probably be the biggest challenge. Don't know how fast 8 bitplane 640x512 blitting would be so it might need to come down to low res non interlaced for full speed.

Certainly needs to be a creative adaptation not a straight port. The non scrolling Asteroid levels of Super Stardust get by with 120mhz and 32bit less CPU power on A1200 vs minimum 50fps capable PC spec, scrolling is a massive drain on PC Windows game engines too, it's nothing to an Amiga.

I can see 2mb RAM being limiting though for a 256 colour game in 640x512 with large maps and so many frames of animation for the cars in various angles in the Y and X plane to match the non-level track layout with rises and drops in elevation. Dropping to 320x256 will save you 75% of memory required. On a CRT TV it will look similar when playing the game IMO.

The Reap is another game, by Bloodhouse of Stardust fame, that would be interesting to try downconverting. It's sort of like Viewpoint but much more impressive graphically. I think that was a 1996 Windows CD-ROM game, again with 640x480 hi-colour graphics.

[lionagony]

Originally Posted by ImmortalA1000

The Reap is another game, by Bloodhouse of Stardust fame, that would be interesting to try downconverting. It's sort of like Viewpoint but much more impressive graphically. I think that was a 1996 Windows CD-ROM game, again with 640x480 hi-colour graphics.

Yeah, I'd love to see an Amiga conversion of that, never been able to get the PC version to run.

[gimbal]

I find that 200mhz suspect to be honest, this seems like at most a P133 kind of game. This isn't exactly Need for Speed. Might it be that this is somewhat inflated because the game supports 4 player split screen?

[Megalomaniac]

Didn't come across Mini Car Racing at the time, looks like good old-fashioned fun even for 2000. Certainly the kind of thing where an Amiga would outperform a PC of a similar clock speed. Aside from the higher resolution, power-ups and multiple routes it doesn't look much more advanced than Super Skidmarks. At 320x240 (using PAL mode with some blank space at the bottom) it might be workable on a stock A1200, maybe with fastRAM. Perhaps an 040 for 640x480?

[sokolovic]

Originally Posted by Megalomaniac

Didn't come across Mini Car Racing at the time, looks like good old-fashioned fun even for 2000. Certainly the kind of thing where an Amiga would outperform a PC of a similar clock speed. Aside from the higher resolution, power-ups and multiple routes it doesn't look much more advanced than Super Skidmarks. At 320x240 (using PAL mode with some blank space at the bottom) it might be workable on a stock A1200, maybe with fastRAM. Perhaps an 040 for 640x480?

I'm repeating myself but Super Skidmarks does have a 640*480 mode in AGA on stock A1200