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Suzy B Software 2
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Suzy B Software CD-ROM 2 (1994).iso
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1995-04-27
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0660103030566
9[....................................................]
Ç
à Editorial Rantings for issue 14..Ç
äBy CIH..Ç
Hooray, issue 14 at last, only a little bit äearly??Ç Did someone
put go-faster pills in my morning feed? Anyway, on with the show..
Another notable issue, as Maggie celebrates it's fourth birthday,
was it really all those years ago that a bunch of very Lost Boys
tried to find their way home in words and pictures.. In the olden,
golden days of 1990, a Jaguar was a zoo cat, Falcon was a flight-
sim, computer shows had something worth showing, and the ST had a
future..
Now??
The Amiga is still the butt of everyones jokes, so at least some
things do stay the same.. Apart from that, so many of the famous
'names' on the ST scene have long since gone, the tale has been
one of slow decline, but with some material improvements and hope
for the future.. Now, previously unobtainable computing luxuries
such as full-blooded 16-bit multi-channel sound, and visually eye-
burning truecolour graphics are available where you had to make do
without before.. But is it really any better??
Well yes of course, what fool would suggest we return to the 1990
Maggie menu, for example, not me!!
Some have been around for even longer, 'ST-News' will celebrate
it's ätenthÇ birthday in 1995, which makes the mind boggle at
horrifying speed on the age of the ST.. We will be content to make
our fifth anniversary and see where we go from there..
Now for some stuff that bothered my brain this time round..
ü...........The (non)Unified Games players standard................Ç
You may recall last time around that I floated the idea of a
unified 'standard' for high performance games machines and
computers.. I even suggested a 'forum' article with a whole load
of different viewpoints.. Apart from those views given by the
members of Cynix in their interviews, which hang around a
Console/PC duopoly for the future, I have been overwhelmed by a
deafening silence.. The idea is still open for anyone who would
like to contribute for a future issue..
Anyway, the idea of a 'unified' single games standard seems to be
slipping somewhat with Sega's attempts to confuse everybody, and
the fact that much of the Japanese competition to the Atari
Jaguar, 3DO, Commodore CD32 etc, is still some way off.. No
monopoly dictations to the market place by Sony äthisÇ year then..
Atari may try a novel approach to the PC market with a Jaguar
Gamecard, a Jaguar on a standard PC card that slots into a common
or garden DOS-box in the same way as a high-quality graphic or
soundcard, only this one offers äeverythingÇ and only takes up one
expansion slot in a PC.. If the Jaguar Gamecard catches on to any
extent, the first attempt at defining a high-performance games
standard may well be started there.. Always assuming that it will
actually see the light of day, and hopefully a standalone Jaguar
computer will be a part of this deal..
So for the real meat in this months editorial piece..
ü..................Atari developers, the New Wave...................Ç
Going back over articles written for this issue, I am pleasantly
surprised by the use of the term 'Previously Unknown' in so many
reviews or previews of new software.. As old companies, large
'fair-weather friend' commercial concerns, duck out of the Atari
market as soon as easy money is spotted elsewhere, new ones rise
up to take their place..
This trend is especially apparent for the Falcon scene.. Although
many long established 'serious' companies for the ST have carried
on and developed for the Falcon, gaps left by them, and the
conservative corporate-accountant dominated games companies are
starting to be filled by new and keen smaller outfits just
starting out, and determined groups and individuals pushing their
product on a shareware basis..
This changing enviroment is also starting to benefit ST owners as
well, as at least two or three new games in the pipeline for that
machine are from new first-time developers.. (And yes, I emphasise
the leisure end of things, as it is here, that the cutting edge of
a machines worth is still considered by most people..)
The mental picture of a typical Atari leisure software outfit is
changing.. Until about eighteen months ago, it would be any one of
the big games companies, with their lavish offices, large
decorated stands at the big computer shows and glossy catalogues
and release schedules for future games.. A high proportion of
these would be UK-based, and a lot of their output would be based
on film/TV/other licences and could be anything from poor to
lukewarm average with the very occasional good one creeping in..
Then, as now, original and desirable games would be comparatively
rare and treasured items.. It is one of the more pleasant aspects
of more recent Maggies that there has been a dropping-off of the
sad dross churned out simply to make up the numbers.. The last
licenceware review of the old sort was done in issue 12, the Ocean
game äOne Step BeyondÇ, which was very much the last of its line,
being a 'lazy-mans' licence of rehashed game code with no
technical merit to it whatsoever.. These sort of games did major
harm to the cause of the ST, especially when they were ported over
in a sloppy and uncaring fashion in the later days.. The Amiga is
starting to suffer in a similar way with many softco's preferring
to work on either the PC or the consoles as their first choice
formats..
Now, a typical entertainment producer for Atari computers is
likely to be made up of ex or current demo coders, based overseas,
(the response in the UK is still to be gauged as there are
promises of new and exciting things, but little visible result as
yet) they are often doing variations of existing games, but they
are doing these in their own way, without a bland and uniform 'in-
house style' of the sort enforced by a large company who
automatically 'know better'.. Best of all, in this sort of
enviroment, the chances of new and original games being written
gets better, again, because the restricting attitude of the big
boys has been taken out of the equation..
To take another minority machine, the Acorn Archimedes, which has
been in the same position for years, and has experienced that
which we are just coming to know for some time.. For them, more
original games are the rule rather than the exception, a specific
example being a äDugeonmaster/WolfensteinÇ derivative called
äSmallÇ.. Run around the 256-colour passages killing what look like
rendered sprites of spiders and other nasties.. Now would this
have been published by an established software house, maybe, but
maybe not.. The Archie also seems to do well with fast 3-D stuff,
and there are even one or two scrolling shoot-em-ups that are
reputedly pretty good.. A lot more variation in the market, from
genuinely keen small publishers who actually care about, and enjoy
what they are doing has got to be far better than the 'bottom-
line' mentality promoted by the money-grabbing big companies that
went before.. These people are not missed now..
ü.................Where has all the Fun gone?......................Ç
In the mainstream ST press these days, there is a tendency for the
serious side of computing to predominate as the games are simply
not there to review anymore.. There is also a tendency for many
people of the sort who are motivated to write letters at the
slightest provocation, to complain about any erosion of the 'pure
ST' serious user ideal with coverage of the Falcon, and more
lately, the Jaguar console.. Well the magazines try to do their
best and succeed on some levels.. For example, if I see another
review of a Falcon-specific image -retouching program or GIF
displayer in äST ReviewÇ, I'll eat my copy!! If anything, the
serious side seems to have taken over a little too much, and much
of the 'frivolous' or 'fun' side of Atari computing is sitting
neglected and covered in dust in a faraway corner..
Many promising new developments on the Falcon only get late and
limited coverage, if they are covered at all.. Are we too fast??
Are our contacts just that bit better than the rest?? What is
going on??
Things that the mainstream are missing out on so far include a
very nice-looking demo scene growing up in France and especially
Germany, with some initial signs of life in Sweden as well..
Various Falcon-specific shareware games that are starting to
arrive,and whole areas of PD not intimately bound up with
displaying static pictures, especially multi-track modfile music
programs..
To be fair, no mainstream magazine has ever had a proper grip on
the demo scene, ST-Format's stumbling attempts to do this in
recent years illustrates the problem ü(*)Ç.. Also, äsomeÇ attempts
have been made to keep up with the new and previously unknown side
of developments for new games by certain magazines.. However, I
and probably a lot of other people initially chose Atari for its
broad appeal are finding that we are being forced into a narrowing
range of niche interests, when this is totally unnecessary.. If
you know where to look, at least some state of the art
entertainment is still being made on Atari machines of different
kinds.. If you want to know more, it is up to the diskzines to
provide the coverage now, as the mainstream press is unable or
disinclined to do so whilst its love affair with the 100%
'serious' user continues..
ü(*) Why can't ST-Format manage any systematic coverage of the demo
scene? Amiga Format does, which either suggests a limited
understanding of the ST/Falcon scene, or a stranglehold by the
'serious' user contingent on their page contents..
Ç
(That last paragraph is the nearest thing to a "Mission Statement"
you will get for Maggie.. It is also the nearest thing to an
unashamed plug for new readers we have written yet.. Apologies! )
Until next time..
(C) CIH March '94..
