Re: Renegade game ?
- Original Message - From: Edwin Blink [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: sam-users@nvg.ntnu.no Sent: Thursday, June 29, 2000 12:44 PM Subject: Re: Renegade game ? It _was_ going to end up on my website as 'what might have been', but if anyone is interested, I might get active on it again. I'm Interested and I think many others will also be interested ..., and maybe I will get back to work on the stalled project SAMtipede or Monster Racers again. (maybe I'll also put some of that unfished game/demo stuff online) OOO! Centipede!!! Yay!!! And Missile Command, please What's Monster Racers? If you are genuinely interested in getting Deadly Addiction resurrected, I should warn you I'm going to be bloody slow. If you know of any other artists who could do backgrounds, for example, that'd be a bonus. Steve Pick's background for the demo was awesome, though very derivitive of Target: Renegade. Very few of my attempts lived up to that (I'm happy with most of my Level One, and a couple of screens from a later level). Deefinitely :) I remember Malcolm Mackenzie talking about it on the phone a number of times - I think he even said his son was playing around with it or was that the other fighting game that was being done at that time? Yes I remember it. Wish I got that demo ... I got _a_ demo. Not much to it. Sprites sucked (sorry, Steve), and it was mainly a showcase of the fact that the player sprites moved, and could interact, though the collision detection only worked within a limited area (compared to Streets of Rage, Final Fight, etc). Lots of potential, but a very, very early demo generally will show lots of potential. I heard some things about SAMFighter, even bookmarked the website, hoping to see progress, but it disappeared. I was vaguely interested in it, to the extent that I toyed with the idea of suggesting a secret 'one-on-one grudge match' option in Deadly Addiction. That, and 'Penguin Mode'. Gord.
Re: Renegade game ?
- Original Message - From: David L [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: sam-users@nvg.ntnu.no Sent: Wednesday, June 28, 2000 8:03 PM Subject: Re: Renegade game ? What ever happend with the almost finished renegade style game ? If anyone can contact David Serafim - author of Bowen Count Dracula - he may be able to help you... Loads of graphics done by Gordon if anyone will finish Deadly Addiction - plus a fantastic CD :) Yeah... Version #2 of which will be thrown together without due care and attention as soon as I get my effing SCSI card working ;-) On the graphics side, I have got quite a bit done. Nothing really 'complete' except for a few sets of backgrounds, and I'm still (occasionally) working through revision 3 of the player sprites. As for the baddies, I was planning on going back to the drawing board on a load of 'em. Most just weren't _right_... It _was_ going to end up on my website as 'what might have been', but if anyone is interested, I might get active on it again. Gord.
Re: Web Sites
- Original Message - From: Andrew Collier [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: sam-users@nvg.ntnu.no Sent: Saturday, June 24, 2000 2:33 PM Subject: Re: Web Sites At 2:27 pm +0100 24/6/00, Gordon Wallis wrote: the evil Simpletext on Macintosh. YAATAICMFP. HAND. Oh, shit. Not acronyms, please... Gord.
Re: Web Sites
- Original Message - From: Ian Collier [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: sam-users@nvg.ntnu.no Sent: Thursday, June 22, 2000 10:41 PM Subject: Re: Web Sites On Thu, Jun 22, 2000 at 01:21:46PM +0100, Martin Fitzpatrick wrote: Gordon Wallis wrote: Notepad. Ya can't beat it. Except for NoteTab Light Actually, quite a few things beat Notepad for text editing. [snipped other bits] OK, Mr. Pedantic ;-) I have to admit that, for preference, I'd go for BRIEF over Notepad, but I ain't got that. Only ever used it in my old job, and then for editing PostScript, rather than HTML. There are lots of things that beat Notepad (writing by hand being one of them), but I was kind of suggesting an 'entry-level', easily accessible text editor, along the lines of the evil Simpletext on Macintosh. Must everyone take me so literally? Then again, the URL might come in handy, if I go looking for a decent text editor at some point, so thanks for that! Gord.
Re: Web Sites
- Original Message - From: Stoned Design [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: sam-users@nvg.ntnu.no Sent: Wednesday, June 14, 2000 7:43 AM Subject: Web Sites While we are talking about web sites etc. I'm thinking of buying a program to do web sites. What do people use on this list? Notepad. Ya can't beat it. Being honest, though, I started off using Corel Web.Designer (yes, it really does have that cheesy, pointless full stop in it's name) for the simple stuff and Notepad for anything complicated. These days, I'm experimenting with the evil FrontPage. It's a lot more useful than Corel, but I still use Notepad lots. On the Mac, I once used Adobe PageMill. Didn't like it, but I don't like a lot of Mac stuff... I just work with the damned things. Gord.
Re: Any news?
- Original Message - From: Gavin Smith [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: sam-users@nvg.ntnu.no Sent: Sunday, April 23, 2000 1:45 AM Subject: Any news? Finally, for the lazy sods on this list who say they are interested in the SAM, yet can't be arsed to stick a fiver in an envelope, would secure online paying with a credit card encourage you to sub up? I'm thinking of Kagi or something similar. Just a thought. Would be most beneficial to the international guys I expect, as they wouldn't need to worry about currencies etc. Let me know if you're interested, if not, I won't bother. Yeah, this sounds perfect for me. Much less hassle than all that writing and envelope stuffing ;-) I've been meaning to subscribe for ages, but I...er... keep forgetting? Gord. -- The HEXdidn't... Homepage, featuring The U.K. Policenauts Homepage http://www.hexdidnt.clara.net AOL Instant Messenger: 'hexdidnt'
Re: Fw: Can anyone help this chap out from CSS???
Andrew Collier wrote: And who owns the most unusal piece of hardware... Anyone else got their Sam hooked up to a greenscreen monitor? Not anymore, thank God. Mind you, my RGB monitor (with it's groovy, psychadelic throwback lines) can switch into Greenscreen at the touch of a button, so I know what it's like and I feel for you, brother. Gord. (in a silly, springtime mood) -- The HEXdidn't... Homepage: -- Featuring The U.K. Policenauts Homepage -- http://www.hexdidnt.clara.net \-- AOL Instant Messenger: 'hexdidnt' --/
Re: SAM Wonderings
Justin Skists wrote: WHERE IS EVERYONE? Trying and lying defying denying crying and dying Gord. (who has an odd habit of quoting song lyrics every now and then) -- The HEXdidn't... Homepage: -- Featuring The U.K. Policenauts Homepage -- http://www.hexdidnt.clara.net \-- AOL Instant Messenger: 'hexdidnt' --/
Re: your mail
Martin Fitzpatrick wrote: David L wrote: Dont be pedantic A Z380 or Z280 machine would, I would imagine, be remotely of interest to some people on the list. [snip] well, it interested me... perhaps people here should eat more winegums? ;) Well, I second _that_! -- The HEXdidn't... Homepage: -- Featuring The U.K. Policenauts Homepage -- http://www.hexdidnt.clara.net \-- AOL Instant Messenger: 'hexdidnt' --/
Re: New site.... coming soo.... i mean eventually!
[EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
www.davidledbury.co.uk will be up and running in about 1 week (very
exact time scale!) together with a copy of the revamped Persona site
that was created by the brilliantly talented Gordon Wallis... Well...
it may be pointless, but I would like people to see how well he
did
Heh... At least noone's gonna threaten you with legal action over that
one ;-)
Gord. ('brilliantly talented'? Aw, shucks)
--
The HEXdidn't... Homepage:
-- Featuring The U.K. Policenauts Homepage --
http://www.hexdidnt.clara.net
\-- AOL Instant Messenger: 'hexdidnt' --/
Re: Stupid suggestion
Mr Samsboss wrote: Maturity? That's for suits, man! And for good cheese :) Bwah-HA! _Now_ you show your true colours, evil one!!! ;-) -- The HEXdidn't... Homepage: -- Featuring The U.K. Policenauts Homepage -- http://www.hexdidnt.clara.net \-- AOL Instant Messenger: 'hexdidnt' --/
Stupid suggestion
OK, so here's my stupid idea for the day: Step 1: Everyone still on this mailing list should set up a new web-mail account, using the service of their choice. Step 2: Email addresses should be set as some variation on the 'Format' Sam(s)Boss@(webmail provider).com Step 3: Set up a new mailing list: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Step 4: argue ad infinitum/nauseum (delete as applicable) about the true identities of Sam(s)Boss, 'cos they're spread out all over the country, with the slightest bias towards the north... Maturity? That's for suits, man! Gord. -- The HEXdidn't... Homepage: -- Featuring The U.K. Policenauts Homepage -- http://www.hexdidnt.clara.net \-- AOL Instant Messenger: 'hexdidnt' --/
Re: What The Hell Is Going On?
Mr Samsboss wrote: .. And my name is not Dolly :) I'd hazard a guess that many here think you might be on 'personal' terms with her, though ;-) Not Welsh, not at uni anymore, so not into sheep. Oooh. Harsh generalisations in a pointless riposte. At least we know you are _a_ Samsboss, even if we can't be sure which one. Gord. (the teensiest fraction Welsh. (The manic-depressive bit)) -- The HEXdidn't... Homepage: -- Featuring The U.K. Policenauts Homepage -- http://www.hexdidnt.clara.net \-- AOL Instant Messenger: 'hexdidnt' --/
Re: What The Hell Is Going On?
Mr Samsboss wrote: At 12:15 pm +0100 10/10/99, Mr Samsboss wrote: My inbox gives me 48 messages from the SAM mailing list since Tuesday. That looks about normal. What did everyone else get? 138 - now sod off again, clone. Got out the wrong side of the bed again? It's nothing that should worry you. No doubt you've killfiled all the relevant people... And my name is not Dolly :) I'd hazard a guess that many here think you might be on 'personal' terms with her, though ;-) Gordon - One Of Three Currently Known Clones (or so I'm told) Accept Any Of 'Em, I Don't Give A Damn. -- The HEXdidn't... Homepage: -- Featuring The U.K. Policenauts Homepage -- http://www.hexdidnt.clara.net \-- AOL Instant Messenger: 'hexdidnt' --/
Re: South park
Maria Rookyard wrote: So it's not just me that disagrees with all the 7 year olds at school who insist it's a kids programme just because it's a cartoon? You're 7 years old?!? Seriously: Not by a long chalk. For my money, loads of cartoons are wasted on kids. Considering how effed up the Warner Bros. Batman franchise is, the cartoons are a godsend, and should never have been watered down after the first series... (mumble grumble). Then there's the Japanese cartoons: sex (including tentacle rape), drugs, violence... Ok, there's a few cute ones, and the irritating moralistic ones (not to mention the twee American dubs of the cute ones), but on the whole, the cartoons are's for children. The parents of these seven-year-olds should be clubbed to death. (ooh, reactionary!) Gord. -- The HEXdidn't... Homepage: -- Featuring The U.K. Policenauts Homepage -- http://www.hexdidnt.clara.net \-- AOL Instant Messenger: 'hexdidnt' --/
Re: Sams worst game ever
Justin Skists wrote: Sounds like you've seen the southpark movie... Whatever gave you that idea? Been talking to that uncle-fucker Saddam Hussein? ;-) Nope.. The Mothers Against Canada! :) Oh, yes... _they_ know who to blame! I quite like Bullfrog's stuff, compared to Westwood's... but my eye is firmly on Lionhead now, as Molyneux is more actively involved in his projects again, an coming up with some interesting angles on strategy. Ummm... (as I admit I'm not as expertised in gaming as you)... Who? Assuming you're asking who Molyneux? rather than who Bullfrog/Westwood?, Peter Molyneux was the brains (and code-typing fingers) behind many a Bullfrog hit. Unfortunately, when Bullfrog became a very well known codeshop, most often associated with Electronic Arts, he was reduced to a purely managerial role. This bored him eventually, and he set up Lionhead so that he could actually _write_ games again. Trivial Molyneux Fact #1: He's dyslexic. This is getting _way_ off topic now... Gord. -- The HEXdidn't... Homepage: -- Featuring The U.K. Policenauts Homepage -- http://www.hexdidnt.clara.net \-- AOL Instant Messenger: 'hexdidnt' --/
Re: Sams worst game ever
Maria Rookyard asked: What's the absolute youngest age that you guys reckon Southpark (the series) is aimed at? Gordon Wallis opined: Mid-twenties? Personally, I loathe the series - it just seems so pointless. Granted, I seem to have missed all the 'classic' episodes... I don't believe that most teenagers, let alone younger kids, can fully appreciate what's going on. On the other hand, the movie was so blatantly Disney-backlash that it's likely to be appreciated by anyone brought up during Disney's steady decline into recycled schmaltz (ie, the last 30 years). Martin Fitzpatrick responded: That old?? I'm only 19 :)... Hmm... are you telling me that I've been missing something all this time? And where do babies come from again? ;) Aw, shush. I confess, I talk in _incredibly_ general terms. South Park is the kind of thing that all kinds of ages will laugh at, if only because everyone else does. Besides, you're only a few years from being in your mid-twenties, so consider yourself above average, by all means. Gord. Ps. Babies are found under gooseberry bushes. I thought everyone knew _that_. -- The HEXdidn't... Homepage: -- Featuring The U.K. Policenauts Homepage -- http://www.hexdidnt.clara.net \-- AOL Instant Messenger: 'hexdidnt' --/
Re: Sams worst game ever
Maria Rookyard wrote: Gordon Wallis expressed the hope that: ... they be consigned to the most pestilent pits of Hell, there to be forever Satan's sexual plaything. Which, to Justin, ... Sounds like you've seen the southpark movie... Which in turn got Maria thinking off on a tangent and asking... What's the absolute youngest age that you guys reckon Southpark (the series) is aimed at? Mid-twenties? Personally, I loathe the series - it just seems so pointless. Granted, I seem to have missed all the 'classic' episodes... I don't believe that most teenagers, let alone younger kids, can fully appreciate what's going on. On the other hand, the movie was so blatantly Disney-backlash that it's likely to be appreciated by anyone brought up during Disney's steady decline into recycled schmaltz (ie, the last 30 years). Gord. (debating whether or not to buy the SP:BLU soundtrack album) -- The HEXdidn't... Homepage: -- Featuring The U.K. Policenauts Homepage -- http://www.hexdidnt.clara.net \-- AOL Instant Messenger: 'hexdidnt' --/
Re: Sams worst game ever
Justin Skists wrote: From: Gordon Wallis [SMTP:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sorry for the harsh tone of that! I took exception to the phrase It was always going to. I have trouble believing it's predestined, even with Sony's best advertising execs on the case. Heh.. No worries... You got something against Sony or summink! :) Oh, only in that they've introduced entirely the wrong sort of people to gaming. Actually, I blame them (rightly or wrongly) for the state of much of the 'civilised' world. I don't blame games for making people violent, but when violent people discover games... Also, the utter ignorance of much of the youth of today can be pinned firmly on little kiddies spending more time on their PlayStation than self-improvement. Most of 'em don't understand the concept of 'self-improvement', except insofar as beating their own high scores. (I sound like such an old fuddy-duddy!..) May they be consigned to the most pestilent pits of Hell, there to be forever Satan's sexual plaything. Sounds like you've seen the southpark movie... Whatever gave you that idea? Been talking to that uncle-fucker Saddam Hussein? ;-) People have been trying to do Elite for ages now... Privateer2, HardWar, that sort of thing. It's a difficult trick to pull off (even Braben messed it up the last time!). Problem is, with the PS market being how it is, it just wouldn't sell. The average user doesn't have the attention span. Agreed! People these days want instant kicks and adrenaline rushes. A need fuelled by Sony's advertising strategy. All quick bursts, no substance. And I find that 'Mental Wealth' ad slightly disturbing... Actually, I have no idea why I never got into other strategy games like C'n'C, etc... Maybe because it's multi-level, set goals, limited room to maneuver. Not exactly realistic. I prefer the free-flowing, no set goals type of game to an extent, but they can get infuriating if you get stuck in a rut for too long (trading between Lave and Zaonce in Elite, for example). I quite like Bullfrog's stuff, compared to Westwood's... but my eye is firmly on Lionhead now, as Molyneux is more actively involved in his projects again, an coming up with some interesting angles on strategy. Those were real games... i still play speccy games once in a while. On an emulator, or the real thing? (Nothing beats the feel of rubber under one's fingers. I'm talking keyboards, naturally!) Gord. -- The HEXdidn't... Homepage: -- Featuring The U.K. Policenauts Homepage -- http://www.hexdidnt.clara.net \-- AOL Instant Messenger: 'hexdidnt' --/
Re: Sams worst game ever
Justin Skists wrote: From: Gordon Wallis [SMTP:[EMAIL PROTECTED] _If_ PS2 crushes the opposition, it'll be because people didn't learn from the original that the games are flash, unplayable crap (apart from a few gems). _If_ PS2 crushes Dreamcast it'll be because Sega didn't learn that obscure ads for a console don't sell games, therefore don't sell consoles. I said that PS2 will crush the competition. Where in my emails did I say PS2 /should/ crush the competition? Sorry for the harsh tone of that! I took exception to the phrase It was always going to. I have trouble believing it's predestined, even with Sony's best advertising execs on the case. It annoys me that Irimajiri said that Sega had leart from it's past mistakes, only to have Sega Europe waste it's not-inconsiderable advertising budget on a pair of obscure adverts that don't even show screenshots, let alone game sequences. a) DVD compatibility will probably push the price back to the highs of the original PS release, and by then Dreamcast will probably have had it's price cut by about £50. £150 vs. £300..? Probably. (continued below) Is this more of what you call 'subtle humour'? ;-) b) Backwards compatibility? Why bother? Have you seen the prices of a new or second hand PS these days? Anyone who's already got a PS would be stupid to throw it out to make room for the new one unless it's got that common PS CD-skipping problem. Let's face it, with Sony making PS2, it it going to be much better in that department? And why did you buy your SAM? Not for the Spectrum compatibility, I can tell you! I still have three fully functional Speccies, and found the emulators far to fernickity. What can I say? I'm an optimist. I truly _believed_ that US Gold would do Sam Strider with a mixture of Atari ST graphics, Spectrum code an a little Sam work to glue it all together. I honestly thought the Sam might encourage a new breed of 'tinkerers'. Sadly, consoles started to take over the world with their Nu-PC-style built-in obsolescence. Sadly, the majority of people only pay attention to flash graphics. My only other excuse for buying a Sam would be 'for the disk drive'. There's nothing worse than spending hours on some graphics only to have them destroyed by a tape loading error. I've only ever lost two or three screens to disk errors on Sam. c) You like the reconditioned CD-i look? Why should that mean it'll be a success? Ever heard of subtle humour? [Sitting behind large oak desk, wearing tweeds and smoking a pipe. The overall effect is... Sepia-toned] Of course, I understand the _concept_... and _in theory_, I can recognise it from context... but I much prefer to jump to erroneous conclusions ;-) Actually, I thought the casing on the PS1 was rather crap - especially the pop-up disk drive. Currently, I have my printer on top of it and it's bloody annoying juggling everything to put in a CD. Yes... Does look rather cheap, doesn't it. Especially compared to, for example, the Sony Discman. Believe it or not, I was in a branch of GAME a week or so ago, where they were demo-ing Dreamcast right at the front of the shop, under the large '@DREAMCAST' banner. Some kid walked in and shouted Look, Mum! They've got PlayStation2!. Ouch. The fact is, most people that bought PS1 were not serious gamers, they just added it to their list of in-home entertainment (Sony HiFi, Sony TV and video, Sony PlayStation). I'm glad I'm not most people... (Panasonic portable stereo, Goldstar TV, Alba video) To me, the few gems make it all worth it. I only buy a game once in a blue moon. Actually, 'Metal Gear Solid' was actually the only game I can think of that I bought after playing the demo. Amen to that! What really p!$$es me off about these people is that they played FF7 (for example) for a week, traded it in for some crappy license with a soundtrack by an allegedly famous DJ, and act as if they're an authority on contemporary videogames. Most of 'em never owned a computer (but, like, they use one for, like, email at, like, work), and many of 'em refer to their PS games as 'computer games'. May they be consigned to the most pestilent pits of Hell, there to be forever Satan's sexual plaything. I'll probably buy the PS2 a little while after the UK release (after the Christmas rush). I don't have a PC at home and, currently, I have no intention of buying one, so the inbuilt DVD player would be nice. I might buy the PS2 sooner if it has a decent Elite-style game. Are we talking Christmas 2000? They reckon to be releasing in May 2000... They'll likely have dropped the price by £50-100 by Christmas. Unless I'm getting confused with the Japanese release... From what you've said, it sounds like PS2 will be a good choice for ya. Just don't expect another Metal Gear Solid. I've been told that 99% of games released in Japan these days are unplayable shit, and it seems very much as if the more technology pushes forward
Re: Sams worst game ever
Justin Skists wrote: -Original Message- From: Nick Humphries [SMTP:[EMAIL PROTECTED] ISTR various reports for the ECTS this year saying that the PS2 will crush the opposition just on the basis of a few technical demos they saw, which is stupid. I think the PS2 will crush thee opposition anyway. It was always going to. Because: a) It will let you watch DVD stuff. b) It's backward compatible with the original PlayStation. c) I like the look of the casing. _If_ PS2 crushes the opposition, it'll be because people didn't learn from the original that the games are flash, unplayable crap (apart from a few gems). _If_ PS2 crushes Dreamcast it'll be because Sega didn't learn that obscure ads for a console don't sell games, therefore don't sell consoles. a) DVD compatibility will probably push the price back to the highs of the original PS release, and by then Dreamcast will probably have had it's price cut by about £50. £150 vs. £300..? b) Backwards compatibility? Why bother? Have you seen the prices of a new or second hand PS these days? Anyone who's already got a PS would be stupid to throw it out to make room for the new one unless it's got that common PS CD-skipping problem. Let's face it, with Sony making PS2, it it going to be much better in that department? c) You like the reconditioned CD-i look? Why should that mean it'll be a success? Certainly, PS2 will be a success. Sony's reputation will see to that. The fact is, most people that bought PS1 were not serious gamers, they just added it to their list of in-home entertainment (Sony HiFi, Sony TV and video, Sony PlayStation). They will buy the new one purely because it's new, and it's an upgraded model. Sure, they might buy a lot of games, but since they've never really gone in deep with games, they're not disappointed by the shallow trash they're always buying. On in-house arcade conversions alone, Sega have always trounced Sony. The closest Sony ever got to in-house arcade games was Namco's conversions. Look who's developing for Dreamcast... Also, what can PS owners expect from PS2? Endless streams of sequels to PS1 originals. On the advertising front, Sega have always been useless, and the DC ads are no exception. Unless I see game footage in the ads, I'm sure DC will fail pretty soon after it's release, in much the same way as the Saturn. Sony's adverts have always been flash, attention grabbing, and _relevant_. They _always_ show some of the game, even if they have to speed it up and show it very briefly. I doubt there's anyone out there who, having seen an ad for PlayStaion, or one of it's games, did not know what was being advertised. Whether it will cope with the future developments of Nintendo and Sega - Who knows? Nintendo are pretty much out of the game, don't you think? Gord. (Mr Opinionated) -- The HEXdidn't... Homepage: -- Featuring The U.K. Policenauts Homepage -- http://www.hexdidnt.clara.net \-- AOL Instant Messenger: 'hexdidnt' --/
Sam versions of Speccy games?
Did someone on this list mention at some point in the distant past that there were Sam versions of Pang and Rock Star Ate My Hamster? I'm not sure where I got the idea if not from this mailing list... I only ask 'cos I'ev been playing both on a PC Spectrum emulator, and kept thinking This could be done quite well on the Sam... Probably just more wishful thinking on my part, eh? Gord. -- The HEXdidn't... Homepage: -- Featuring The U.K. Policenauts Homepage -- http://www.hexdidnt.clara.net \-- AOL Instant Messenger: 'hexdidnt' --/
Re: SAMDSK - a testimony
Thomas Harte wrote: thus enabling me to experience the sheer joy (irony) of Flash once It isn't that bad if you use the mouse version, I always thought - it certainly speeds things up! Yuck. I always found the movement to be jerky, imprecise and inconsistent. Sure, it speeds things up, but it also has a habit of skipping pixels just when you don't want it to. And what use is a spraycan function that is really just a spraycan pattern in a normal brush? I only ever use a mouse for graphic work on the PC and Amiga. Or when I'm using SamPaint (now _that's_ a spraycan), but then only _very_ rarely. Gord. (Keyboard graphics maestro/masochist) -- The HEXdidn't... Homepage: -- Featuring The U.K. Policenauts Homepage -- http://www.hexdidnt.clara.net \-- AOL Instant Messenger: 'hexdidnt' --/
Re: SAMDSK - a testimony
Dave Hooper wrote: It's been a while since I wrote that so, to be honest, I really can't answer any questions about error messages, bugs, or features! I only wrote it because (a) loads of people couldn't get Mat's Samdisk program to work on their PC and (b) nor could I. I suppose it doesn't really matter. The important thing is that SAMDSK does work, and I for one am very grateful to you, you star chappie! Thanks, Gord. -- The HEXdidn't... Homepage: -- Featuring The U.K. Policenauts Homepage -- http://www.hexdidnt.clara.net \-- AOL Instant Messenger: 'hexdidnt' --/
Re: Atom Interface
Andrew Gale wrote: How much interest is there to build the Atom dard disk interface. I'm planning to make a nice and clear gif shematic and put it online. If there is enough interest. Lots, I should think! I definitely would like to, so yes please! Seconded! (not that I'm likely to build one...) Gord. -- The HEXdidn't... Homepage: -- Featuring The U.K. Policenauts Homepage -- http://www.hexdidnt.clara.net \-- AOL Instant Messenger: 'hexdidnt' --/
SAMDSK - a testimony
Is the author of SAMDSK.EXE on the mailing list? I only ask 'cos the little program saved my life (well, not quite) the other day. I had a 2-drive Sam for ages - one 1Mb, one 2Mb - and the two drives were never completely compatible. When I got my ATOM and hard disk (are these still available? Edwin? David L?), I removed the 2Mb drive and consigned it to my 'spares' shelf. Recently I found that my only SamDOS disk (the one with demos and Flash on it) was written in my 2Mb drive, and so wouldn't work in the 1Mb drive. No problem, though. SAMDSK made an image of the disk, then wrote it back to a new disk. This new disk works perfectly in my 1Mb drive, thus enabling me to experience the sheer joy (irony) of Flash once again. SAMDSK: I love it, and I thank the author. Gord. Ps. Why does it report an error every time it writes a disk, even when the disk works perfectly? Is it just my machine being oversensitive? -- The HEXdidn't... Homepage: -- Featuring The U.K. Policenauts Homepage -- http://www.hexdidnt.clara.net \-- AOL Instant Messenger: 'hexdidnt' --/
Re: New hardware for SAM
I'd have to go for: 5. Interlacer - 0/3 7. 28MHz CPU- 0/0 But, then, I don't really understand techy stuff like DMA and ISA. SIMM compatibility would be nice, as would HDFDDs. Although a more direct 128K emulator sounds good, I'd prefer some _new_ games ;-) Gord. -- The HEXdidn't... Homepage: -- Featuring The U.K. Policenauts Homepage -- http://www.hexdidnt.clara.net \-- AOL Instant Messenger: 'hexdidnt' --/
Re: New hardware for SAM
David L wrote: You Gordon where discussing MSX hardware not so long ago there is an MSX graphics board (Gordon will know the name!) which adds a lot of nice extra facilities could it be adapted to work? Damn. I _should_ know the name, as I remember looking it up. Can't remember where I found out about it, unless it was the smae place that had the SCSI card details... I'll dig around. Gord. (Mr. Forgetful-When-It-Suits-Me) -- The HEXdidn't... Homepage: -- Featuring The U.K. Policenauts Homepage -- http://www.hexdidnt.clara.net \-- AOL Instant Messenger: 'hexdidnt' --/
Re: Hardware
Jarek Adamski wrote: The only problem is that so few people want to make the effort to use the existing hardware, Sorry, I do my best. Wasn't a dig at you... you're actually doing stuff! All your ideas sound very good, but the market's so small now. so working on upgrading it would end up being a wasted effort :-( I design hardware and write operating systems because I like to do it. I do it for myself. And think that someone else can find them useful. Besides, I can't image myself breeding red fishes. My feelings exactly. This probably explains why I fiddle about on my Sam designing games that'll never see the light of day... or maybe I'm just stupid... Either way, if only more people thought like that! Gord. (If only the Sam was the MSX...) Don't you think so? The biggest problem is the VDP. Some screen modes could be emulated. But sprites... I could think about it. BTW do you have one? I wish I did! All I know about MSX is stuff I've read on the web. I've played a few emulated games (anyone care to tell me why the Sam couldn't do something like Metal Gear?), and a lot appear to be in a mode not too unlike Mode 2. Which is why I occasionally harp on about games in Mode 2. Just goes to show, you don't need an OS by Microsoft to run a good machine. Oh... Hang on... MSX _did_ have a Microsoft OS... Damn. Gord. -- The HEXdidn't... Homepage: -- Featuring The U.K. Policenauts Homepage -- http://www.hexdidnt.clara.net \-- AOL Instant Messenger: 'hexdidnt' --/
Re: Hardware
David wrote: [snipped list of hardware things] All as external. Software support guarateed. Anyone interested? Very interested in all - how much? when? and would anyone other than me even be interested? I would. I'd probably even buy some of it. The only problem is that so few people want to make the effort to use the existing hardware, so working on upgrading it would end up being a wasted effort :-( Gord. (If only the Sam was the MSX...) -- The HEXdidn't... Homepage: -- Featuring The U.K. Policenauts Homepage -- http://www.hexdidnt.clara.net \-- AOL Instant Messenger: 'hexdidnt' --/
Sam Paint
Damnfuckingstupidpiece'o'crapbloodyshittyexcuseforafuckingartpackage! Sorry for that. Just lost an hour's work in Sam Paint after I tried to '1/2 turn' a grabbed block. Yes, I know I should have saved, but I only expect that sort of eff-up on my poxy-effing-pee-see. Anyone else out there using Sam Paint still? Anyone else keep having problems where a grabbed block becomes serious screwed up after rotating, flipping, or that kind of thing? Anyone else have the program crash, reporting Off screen? All of this seems to be regardless of the size of the grabbed block and the area from which it was grabbed. Just an occasional thing that happens in odd Sam Paint sessions, not every time... I suppose it's too much to ask that there's an effing patch available to sort the damned thing out. Think I'll give up and stick with Flash for the complicated stuff. Gord. (seriously P!$$3D off at the moment, but apologetic for my language) -- The HEXdidn't... Homepage: -- Featuring The U.K. Policenauts Homepage -- http://www.hexdidnt.clara.net \-- AOL Instant Messenger: 'hexdidnt' --/
Re: Sam's worst ever game? (was Re: Who Wants To Be A... )
Graham Goring wrote: In message [EMAIL PROTECTED], Dan Dooré [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes I'd have given it to the game's predecessor, whose name escapes me at the moment. Now THAT was a shit game. No Way Back? Nope. I was give to understanding that Parallax was the sequel to that vertically scrolling abomination with mode 2 levels and mode 4 bosses, wunnit? Was there ever a _better_ shooter, though? -- The HEXdidn't... Homepage: -- Featuring The U.K. Policenauts Homepage -- http://www.hexdidnt.clara.net \-- AOL Instant Messenger: 'hexdidnt' --/
Re: Sam's worst ever game? (was Re: Who Wants To Be A... )
Johnna Teare wrote: On 29 Aug 99, at 16:14, Gordon Wallis wrote: Was there ever a _better_ shooter, though? Space Invaders. On a later issue of Fred. By me ;-) Really? Which one? (I might actually have it) Arcade perfect, is it? Does it have the coloured strips? Eh? Eh?! (and before anyone asks why I didn't think of Chris Pile's excellent Defender conversion... I can't play it, it's too frustrating, but I love it anyway. Just like the arcade game :-) ) Gord. (amazed that an off-topic discussion suddenly became so very on-topic) -- The HEXdidn't... Homepage: -- Featuring The U.K. Policenauts Homepage -- http://www.hexdidnt.clara.net \-- AOL Instant Messenger: 'hexdidnt' --/
Re: Sam's worst ever game? (was Re: Who Wants To Be A... )
Graham Goring wrote: Was there ever a _better_ shooter, though? Space Invaders. On a later issue of Fred. By me ;-) Pah! James Curry's Dark Vortex was far better... And Diggory Gray produced a fair few fine shooters. Wow. Guess I missed 'em all... Which was Dark Vortex? Gord. (perking up all of a sudden, with the mention of decent shoot-'em-ups) -- The HEXdidn't... Homepage: -- Featuring The U.K. Policenauts Homepage -- http://www.hexdidnt.clara.net \-- AOL Instant Messenger: 'hexdidnt' --/
Re: Graphic Modes Stuff
Andrew Collier wrote: At 10:58 pm +0100 27/8/99, Thomas Harte wrote: First : are there any speed differences between the graphics modes? I Mode 1 is a special slow case, but modes 2 to 4 should all have the same effect on memory accesses. understand that Mode 1 is slowed down deliberately to loosely approximate a ZX Spectrum... Blimey, I learn something new about the Sam every day (almost). I always assumed Mode 1 was full Sam speed, but that the emulating software was rigged to slow things down. Not that it seemed to work, with all the flickery sprites that turn up in most of the games I've tried... Gord. -- The HEXdidn't... Homepage: -- Featuring The U.K. Policenauts Homepage -- http://www.hexdidnt.clara.net \-- AOL Instant Messenger: 'hexdidnt' --/
Re: Persona dead?
Simon Cooke wrote: From: Thomas Harte [EMAIL PROTECTED] I noticed David L selling a SAM on comp.sys.sinclair, but was under the impression he was currently in charge of Persona. So I went to http://www.persona.clara.net/ to see if it was being closed or anything only to get everybodys favourite error : error 404. So which important bit of information am I missing? David asked Gordon to take the site down a while back... I don't think Persona's dead yet though. This is true, but after someone posted a message suggesting that the site was back up and running, I popped over and found it _was_ back, slightly changed. Now, though, I get The server does not have a DNS entry! I'm a bit in the dark, but if David hasn't had any response from the Mackenzies, it could be that Persona's finished so far as _he's_ concerned. I know how busy David is at the moment, and if the family who were meant to be running Persona aren't, he certainly can't on his own. He's never been _in charge_ of Persona, merely handling _some_ of the orders. If the orders aren't being fulfilled, I get the impression he can't do much about it. If the Mackenzies aren't answering mail (and to a certain extent, we can all understand why they might not want to, right?) things aren't looking too bright. I'm going to stick my neck out and assume that Persona is finished (for the moment?). I hope I'm wrong, 'cos I want to get a couple of Sam games finished and published... (Gosh, what a selfish thought!) Gord. (Mr. Negative) -- The HEXdidn't... Homepage: -- Featuring The U.K. Policenauts Homepage -- http://www.hexdidnt.clara.net \-- AOL Instant Messenger: 'hexdidnt' --/
Re: My take on the SAM Scene
Martin Wilson wrote: I must admit I do like my games but hate spending money. I can pick up game for my Saturn and 3DO for just a few pounds (£3.99 for example) Two questions: Where?! and Got 'Policenauts' yet? Gord. (the Policenauts fanatic) -- The HEXdidn't... Homepage: -- Featuring The U.K. Policenauts Homepage -- http://www.hexdidnt.clara.net \-- AOL Instant Messenger: 'hexdidnt' --/
Re: My take on the SAM Scene
Martin Wilson wrote: [snip] Well special reserve still have 3do software at £3.99 Hm. Just think, if I'd actually got a 3DO, I'd be able to buy _that_ version of Policenauts, too! Quite a good version, too, being the 'original' (apart from the PC9821 version which came out the year before) Saturn stuff is being cleared out in the high st by some Game and EB stores. I've seen it as low as 99p for an early football game. Better bundles have been stuff like Quake/duke nukem £15 for the pair. I think I've got all the UK software I'm after, though I often turn up interesting curiosities in Computer Exchange... Most of the stuff that's still on the shelves in Game or EB is stuff I can easily live without. If you've got a Saturn I've got Alien Trilogy,Alone in the dark and blast chamber up for swop. After hexen and starfighter amongst others. You might try http://www.next-gen.co.uk - I'm fairly sure I saw at least one of those two in their stock, possibly both. They also buy 2nd hand, I think. I don't know what policenauts is? Briefly, it's an interactive anime (with shooting bits) by Hideo Kojima (Metal Gear series), set on a huge space colony in the year 2040. It's often called the prequel to Snatcher, but they're not connected, strictly speaking. Unfortunately, the PS/SS English translations were canned when about 90% complete. Not sure if the 3DO got an English version, but it's unlikely. Gord. -- The HEXdidn't... Homepage: -- Featuring The U.K. Policenauts Homepage -- http://www.hexdidnt.clara.net \-- AOL Instant Messenger: 'hexdidnt' --/
Re: Screenshots wanted
Justin Skists wrote: Isn't JPEG with 0 compression also known as TIFF? No! Joint Photographic Experts Group = Tagged Image File Format? TIFF is pretty much the standard bitmap graphic format for most types of repro work - scanned images for magazines, etc. TIFFs can be compressed using LZW (Lempel Ziv Welch) compression, never JPEG compression. Also they can be saved as either RGB (screen) or CMYK (print) separated. Personally, I prefer DCS EPS as they're a lot faster to print (and can be JPEG compressed, if necessary), but that seems to place me in a minority of one, and DCS doesn't work too well in most PC apps anyway. JPEG on the other hand is a rather nasty format on the whole (IMO). Sure, it makes tiny files which don't look too bad on screen, but when printed, all the blocks of colour (are they called 'artifacts' or something strange like that?) become _really_ obvious, even with minimal compression. They're RGB only, and they take a huge length of time to decompress when printing via even the newer RIPs... In fact, most times they'd be converted into TIFFs before printing. But now I'm getting all Pre-Press Bureau Nerd-y. Gordon The Pre-Press Bureau Guy With The Acronym Fetish. -- The HEXdidn't... Homepage: -- Featuring The U.K. Policenauts Homepage -- http://www.hexdidnt.clara.net \-- AOL Instant Messenger: 'hexdidnt' --/
Persona
I had a call from David Ledbury earlier today asking me to remove his section from the Persona site, then a little while later to remove the whole lot. I gather - but don't quote me on this - that it had something to do with something happening at his office today. Basically, the Persona site is down for the moment. I guess either David or I will be replacing it soon(?)... Watch this space. Gord. -- The HEXdidn't... Homepage: -- Featuring The U.K. Policenauts Homepage -- http://www.hexdidnt.clara.net \-- AOL Instant Messenger: 'hexdidnt' --/
Re: Searching for screen converter
Stuart Brady wrote: Paul Walker writes a palette (also storing line interrupt info). A BMP is a horizontally mirrored 1, 2, or 4-bit bitmap, with a palette. It shouldn't be too much Vertically, last time I looked. That is, it's stored upside down. Never did work out why. I always get horizontally mirrored and vertically mirrored the wrong way round... Horizontally mirrored should mean that the image gets mirrored along the horizontal (y=0), shouldn't it? Shouldn't really, no... 'Horizontally mirrored' means flipped left-to-right, 'vertically mirrored' means flipped top-to-bottom. Think of it as a description of the movement, rather than a reference to the axis. Not that this is particularly useful... :) -- The HEXdidn't... Homepage: -- Featuring The U.K. Policenauts Homepage -- http://www.hexdidnt.clara.net \-- AOL Instant Messenger: 'hexdidnt' --/
Re: Off-topic and 'asking for a favour'
Dave Hooper wrote: On Fri, 7 May 1999, Martin Fitzpatrick wrote: Dave Hooper wrote: so ... it's a little thing, but they might have a right, and they might be right. i guess if you put that obvious banner on ALL pages, then they wouldn't mind. dave Best way I can think is just to stick a frame across the top/bottom of the page saying *this is not real* blah blah blah. That wont take any effort at all on your part (except creating the frame html file thing, which is a piece of easyness). Then there can't be *any* complaint. Umm... except for the fact that the site is designed for both frames and non-frames browsers ... ;) dave Damn. Still a good idea, though. I could make the NOFRAMES tag force them back to my index... -- The HEXdidn't... Homepage: -- Featuring The U.K. Policenauts Homepage -- http://www.hexdidnt.clara.net \-- AOL Instant Messenger: 'hexdidnt' --/
My website - the outcome! :-(
First of all, many thanks to everyone who looked into my site and made suggestions. One of my friends from ALD just contacted me regarding this, and actaully explained the whole lot to me - prompting me to wonder why the stupid MD didn't do just that in the first place, rather than just tell me it's causing some confusion. Anyway, to quote parts of the explanation:- You are right in that it was prompted by just 1 customer A client (or rather potential client), typed our name into Yahoo, and got your site as a match as well as ours. Now, I'm not sure exactly what they typed in, but you know how it is with search engines and indexing. We are improving our registration on the various engines, but we will never be guaranteed to always appear before you in a search result. We will be shortly be replacing the existing ALD web site with a completely new one. The new site will include our new logo and company image. Have you seen the new logo? It looks nothing like the old one (or the one on your web site). It still incorporates the arrow, but everything else - font, colours, design etc. is very different. Furthermore, the services that we offer are slowly changing, and we may choose to advertise some and not others. In fact, since employing a marketing consultant a few months ago our approach to our image and advertising strategies has also changed. So you see, what the company saw on you web site a few months ago was ignored as you had a link to our site, and it wasn't blatantly misrepresenting ALD to a worrying degree. This is not the case anymore. Within the next few weeks (or so) all remnants of the old image will be gone, so we obviously don't like the idea of your site being mistaken for representing ALD to any degree whatsoever. The whole thing is a legal nightmare. For example, you don't have obvious disclaimers on every page, and you use the ISO logo and AL Group logo, when you don't have certification, and you are not licensed by AL Group Plc. I'm not being thick, I know that you are not trying to do harm or claim to have anything to do with AL Group or ISO, but that isn't the way they would see it. Above all, as I said above, you are misrepresenting the company, and could easily be sued (or so I have been told by my barrister friend) My advice to you is to remove it all. The MD wont drop it, so things could turn nasty if you don't retreat and reconcile your position. If you want to use your web site as a potential CV/Portfolio, then I would personally say that was fair enough. Why don't you simply remove all reference to AL Downloading, and invent some bogus company and new logo. After all the text on the site is not really yours. If you still want to show off your version of the AL Logo, simply stick it in the gallery. This would probably be ignored/tolerated by the MD. Anyway, I think that if anything the ALD bit of your site lets the rest down. - Yet again, the bloody MD doesn't let me in on exactly what's going on, doesn't explain about the upcoming changes, leaving me wondering why he's asking me to remove advertising for his company. This whole misinformation/lack of information thing was one of the leading contributing factors to my decision to leave. People, eh? Anyway, the upshot is that I *will* be removing the ALD section, as I have it on my Hard Disk and a CD if I do need it for CV purposes. To be honest - looking at it now - I think I probably *was* wrong to keep the 'Licensed by A.L. Group' logo, and the ISO logo, but then, since it seemed to me that I was merely increasing their exposure, it didn't occur to me that it would be that bad... So, thanks again for your help and suggestions, but my site's gonna get smaller... (hehe... the ALD bit lets the rest down... hehehe) Gordon. -- The HEXdidn't... Homepage: -- Featuring The U.K. Policenauts Homepage -- http://www.hexdidnt.clara.net \-- AOL Instant Messenger: 'hexdidnt' --/
Re: comp.sys.sinclair... jesus...
Dave Whitmore wrote: There's 30,000 people at Microsoft in Seattle alone - not seven. 30,000.. Jesus... how often does the lightbulb need changing then? ... and the Mindcraft people came here to use the test lab - nothing more. If they visit again, you will make a point of walking up and saying 'Hi', though, won't you? :) OK, I'm sensing some kind of a 'point' to all this... Maybe part of this Mindcraft group is someone you know, Simon? Just a guess. -- The HEXdidn't... Homepage: -- Featuring The U.K. Policenauts Homepage -- http://www.hexdidnt.clara.net \-- AOL Instant Messenger: 'hexdidnt' --/
Off-topic and 'asking for a favour'
I recently got an email from the MD of my ex-employers asking me to take down a section of my website - specifically, the section that's made up of the work I did on their website before I resigned. Apparently, it's now causing some problems with it coming up on some search engines. I've said no, on the grounds that it's my work, they're weren't planning on using it, it clearly states that it's not 'the real thing', and it's providing all their details, so it's effectiely an advertisement for them at my expense. Would anyone out there care to pop in on my site and follow the 'Work!?' link (or just go to http://www.hexdidnt.clara.net/ald/start.htm ) to see if there's anything remotely confusing about that section. So far as I can tell, they can't really 'get legal' on me, because the extra exposure my site gives them can only be beneficial. It's not as if I'm doing it along the lines of NetscapeSucks.com, either. Opinions, anyone? Gordon. -- The HEXdidn't... Homepage: -- Featuring The U.K. Policenauts Homepage -- http://www.hexdidnt.clara.net \-- AOL Instant Messenger: 'hexdidnt' --/
Re: Putting the whole boring argumet simply
Maria Rookyard wrote: Simon Cooke (The views of this poster are his and his alone Should have insisted on an office with a window - that way you could have had real views instead of pictures! Surely his office *must* have windows. It's Microsoft. (boom boom) -- The HEXdidn't... Homepage: -- Featuring The U.K. Policenauts Homepage -- http://www.hexdidnt.clara.net
Re: Putting the whole boring argumet simply
Chris Pile wrote: ...I developed Defender on the PC using the following tools: Editor: Borlands' BRIEF. Which is great as it uses the hard-disk as virtual RAM, so your source can be almost any length. Oh, god... How I *love* BRIEF. The most fantastic text-editor for fiddling with PostScript files I've ever used. When you need to make a 120Mb file print portrait rather than landscape, or you need to comment out the a4tray line, accept no substitute. Also good for demonstrating to idiots the difference between Adobe PostScript and Hewlett-Packard print files. Sorry, just had to say so. -- The HEXdidn't... Homepage: -- Featuring The U.K. Policenauts Homepage -- http://www.hexdidnt.clara.net
Re: Hardwarehelp wanted!! Any ideas?
Justin Skists wrote: The Q is: the DOS for the SD interface is not working (never has), I read in FORMAT magazine that the source code has been lost and will need to be rewritten Sh..!! Will BDOS work with the SD IDE interface?? Or should I take a download and just try it out?? No. BDOS will not work with the SD interface - completely different systems. BDOS will, however, work on the ATOM interface or so I am informed. (I've never used either, you see) I shall politely refrain from comment over the 'loss' of the SD interface DOS source code... ...and promptly launch into an advert for the ATOM. I've been using one and BDOS for quite a few months now, and I can recommend to anyone wanting to stick a hard one into their Sam (er, hard DISK, that is). Sure, loads of people (Mr. Brenchley included) complain that BDOS splits your hard disk into floppy disk-sized records, rather than functioning 'properly' with directories and such. Better that than a hard disk interface and a DOS which *doesn't work at all* though, eh? The biggest problem you'll face is remembering the names/numbers of your records. If you're keen to keep your 2-drive setup, you'll probably need the external version of the interface, but I'm sure Edwin Blink can fill in the details on this, as both the ATOM and BDOS are his babies... Alternatively, if you're after a real sales pitch, I'm sure David Ledbury can help out. -- The HEXdidn't... Homepage: -- Featuring The U.K. Policenauts Homepage -- http://www.hexdidnt.clara.net
Musical people..?
Anyone on this list (still?) doing E-tracker music at all..? Not sure yet whether there's a reason behind this enquiry [suddenly looks shifty]. At the very least, it'd be nice to know... er... Just in case, y'know. (ahem) -- The HEXdidn't... Homepage: -- Featuring The U.K. Policenauts Homepage -- http://www.hexdidnt.clara.net
Re: Sam newsgroup
Ian Collier wrote: The only advantage I can think of but its a major one is you can select which topics your interested in to save you downloading messages you don't want. Not all Sam users are interested in all sam subjects surely. As far as I know, most news clients do not do this, or at least people don't generally do it because just downloading all messages is quicker than trying to decide which ones you want. Aw, I dunno... When I go through the newsgroups, I usually find anything above about 70K is worth a quick look, and anything below is poor quality, or too small, or both. OOPS! Did I *really* just say that. blush -- The HEXdidn't... Homepage: -- Featuring The U.K. Policenauts Homepage -- http://www.hexdidnt.clara.net
Re: sim-coupe
Peter Harkess wrote: Also i tried to save my Manic Miner,Prince of Persia and a few others as .dsk files but the come up as errors (reading the disk)I use samdisk to do this. My setup is.. Daewoo 333mhz cyrix,32 meg,win98if that helps any. Don't get me started on SamDisk. I've had *much* more than my fair share of problems with that little 'gem'. Most likely cause: Disk protection? I thought that was mentioned on the SimCoupe homepage, but I suppose things could easily have been updated since I last visited. I tried Sphera at one point, and that would have worked if it weren't for a bad sector or two at the end of the disk, so maybe it is something else... If it's not the disk protection preventing .dsk-ing, then it may be a BIOS thing in your PC (I think I read something about some BIOSes not supporting the sectors-per-track that's standard on the Sam). I'm sure someone far more technical than I can explain this more fully..? Ps. Which sadistic b*d wrote Samdisk? Noone on this list, I hope... -- The HEXdidn't... Homepage: -- Featuring The U.K. Policenauts Homepage -- http://www.hexdidnt.clara.net
Re: Replacement power-supplies
[EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: In a message dated 26/01/99 23:22:31, you write: My Sam produces no composite video output signal if the 12V is not present. Without it my Sam is not functional to any useful extent. And if I bought a new PSU then Format wouldn't guarantee the 12V line? Boy, am I glad I bought those Greenweld PSUs as soon as I did. Andrew That is not what I said, I said that SAM Elites were not guaranteed to have a TV output. All replacement PSUs sold do have full UHF output and 12v lines working. -- Bob. OK, now I've deleted the original message, but I am fairly certain you did in fact say there was no guarantee on the 12v line, and that the Elite is being sold as a SCART machine? I don't want to get into any kind of arguement here, but... Can we *try* to clarify exactly what does and does not work in your stock? If you're selling the Elite as a SCART machine, which does not need a 12v line, why get uppity when someone simply says that they are glad that they had bought a fully functional including-the-12v-line Greenweld PSU. Especially since I got the impression that they're now sold out so most, if not all replacement PSU business will be coming to you anyway. Also *how* can you *not* guarantee a TV output on a machine which *has a TV arial plug?* If it's supposed to be a SCART machine, why not remove the cable to avoid 'confusion'? Then again, I'm confused having read your response above, so it'll probably only get worse... Ah, screw it. I don't care. Leave it to those who understand ;-P
Re: 10th Birthday Party
Andrew Collier wrote: I think it would be really great if we could contact just about every major Sam name, past and present, and invite them to come along. We could hire a pro photographer and get a *real* group photo, for once. We could have Retro-computing TV researchers. And computer magazine journalists? (Snips long list of Sam-related folk until...) Jon Pillar/Nash Who else? Linda Barker? (grin) Certainly one of YS's more interesting editors, maybe not very Sam-related, but we don't *really* need to be that strict, do we? Ahem.
Re: 10th Birthday Party
Simon Cooke wrote: Linda Barker? (grin) Certainly one of YS's more interesting editors, maybe not very Sam-related, but we don't *really* need to be that strict, do we? Ahem. She had a voice like sunshine, and was cute as hell to boot. :-) Si Damn you! Why did you have to say that!!! Now I *HAVE* to meet her! jealous huff
Re: Who's still doing graphics?
Andrew Collier wrote: Is anyone here still doing any sam mode 4 graphics, screens or artwork-type stuff? Yes, I do have a vested interest in the answer to that question... Andrew I AM!!! I also still play about with my Amiga (when I can be bothered to bring it out of the cupboard), and have been known to use PPaint as a 'development package' for Sam graphics. Aside from a Mode 3 joke/demo on Sam Suppliment some years back and a few converted PC screens on Blitz, though, none of my stuff has been published. Yet. I am, sort of, working on two or three Sam games, but they aren't moving too quickly at the moment... I have a vested interest in doing LOTS of graphic design work, but I can be a bit particular ;-) Some of my stuff will eventually find it's way onto my website (PLUG: http://www.hexdidnt.clara.net), but there's no Sam stuff right now. Nor any Amiga stuff for that matter... erm...
Re: Games Ahoy! - Dyzonium query
Message text written by INTERNET:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Besides buying the pre-release copy of Dyzonium, I also bought Astroball. Both are cracking good games (as Wallace might say) and Balor Knight deserves credit for writing such good games for SAM. Balor received due credit (but sadly hardly any money!!) for Astroball as this was the game that impressed Probe Software to give him a job!!! I've played demos of both the Sam and Speccy versions of Astroball, though I never actually bought either. I liked the game, but I was mightily disappointed when someone said that the Space Invaders but wasn't in the Sam version... I did buy Dyzonium, though, and consider it to be one of the Sam's best games (not hard, considering it's competition as a shoot-'em-up). It's nice to see that good work on a (dare I say it) defunct machine can get you a fairly good job. Didn't Balor also work on the Playstation 'Fantastic Four' game, though..? Somewhat...less-than-Fantastic... but I won't begrudge him that.
Re: I am ten...
Message text written by INTERNET:[EMAIL PROTECTED] in High School, the girls managed to put their ties to some rather...*imaginitive* uses. (glazed look spread across face) Hmm :-) Did they use them on the boys, on each other, or on themselves? Simple answer? YES. But only if you asked the right girl nicely and she liked you. Generally, they just stuck me with pins... What does that say about them/me? Eh?
Re: Games Ahoy! - Dyzonium query
Message text written by INTERNET:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Didn't Balor also work on the Playstation 'Fantastic Four' game, though..? Somewhat...less-than-Fantastic... but I won't begrudge him that. Yes, he was the lead programmer on that one... I'm sure he won't mind you saying it was less than fantastic as he hated it!!! He also worked on the PC version of FORSAKEN, or 'Foreskin' as it was nicknamed 'in-house' Hated it as in 'the project', 'the end result' or 'the Fantastic Four in general'? And dare I ask WHY 'foreskin'?
Re: I am ten...
Message text written by INTERNET:[EMAIL PROTECTED] As it's soon to be SAM's tenth birthday, would anyone be interested in a special SAM lapel badge/tie or something similar? Sexist or what? What would I want with a tie? (cough) Dunno if this still applies these days, but back when I was a lad in High School, the girls managed to put their ties to some rather...*imaginitive* uses. (glazed look spread across face) Hmm :-)
Re: sim-coupe
Message text written by INTERNET:[EMAIL PROTECTED] ...i really dont fancy buying the disk version if i can help it as i`ve already got the tape. Cheers Peter Harkess How on earth could you stand waiting 2 1/2 years for *that* game to load from tape. I'll admit I was always amused by the pixel-by-pixel build up of a screen$ file from tape, but loading games?! What about if you got a tape loading error around day 700? But, on a more productive note: Maybe you could trade it in? As in 'send Malcolm the tape and some money (less than full disk price), and get the disk version sent back'? What do you think Malcolm? Call it an 'upgrade' (Though tape versions probably aren't that valuable except for the purposes of archiving... at a guess. I doubt you'll get swamped by this sort of request.)
Re: IDSA/SimCoupe
Message text written by INTERNET:[EMAIL PROTECTED] One thing about the new Digital Reality game `DEFENDER` it will not work on Sim-Coupe, thus eliminating one avenue of piracy. Does it come with an installer for ATOM users? ;-)
Unforgivable (But Intriguing) Spam
...For two whole reasons: 1. It's not Sam-related 2. It's the most insidious type of advertising there is: Hey you guys, look what I found! I visited Live '98 today, and aside from getting leafleted left, right and centre by Sony Babes (and others, but I didn't really notice who they were working for...), I found a new, web-capable 'Commodore 64'! It's called Web.it (yes, that's W-E-B-dot-I-T, possible the cheesiest name the show had to offer), and it's pretty cute. It's not, in fact, a C64, but a custom hybrid set-top-box sortof laptop thing, which plugs into your TV and your phone line. The processor's an AMD, it's got 16Mb of RAM (more of a Commodore16384, then), 16 bit stereo sound, a touchpad for pointer control, and a 56K modem. It runs Windows3.1 under IBM PC-DOS 7. It runs Commie games under an emulator (Aha! That's the connection!) It's Y2K compliant. It's at www.commodore64.com Oi, Bob! How about buying a few thousand, and badging them as SamSon..? On another - though similar - note, did anyone read/hear that Sir Uncle Clive plans to release a new Spectrum-style machine (ie. cheap, easy to use...shite GFX and sound) for the new millennium? Someone, please...tell me it's the Sam! Tell me Clive's bought WCC and plans to revitalise our ailing market... Lie if you have to, damnit!
Re: Who's Going To The 5th NSSS?
Message text written by INTERNET:[EMAIL PROTECTED] So don't miss out: Be there on th 28th November 1998. Hang on! Just wait there a minute... Last time you posted, you said: So don't miss out! Be there on the 12th September 1998. So which is it? Last I heard - a VERY similar flyer with Blitz - it's the 28th November. Absolutely, positively, definitely. November. 28th of. Saturday. Confirmed.
Re: Letter
Message text written by INTERNET:[EMAIL PROTECTED] I've said it before, and no doubt I'll say it again, if just 10% of the talent in the SAM world was capable of being properly managed on professionally formulated projects, then the SAM world would have software and hardware coming out of its ears. The problem with this, of course, is that a lot of these programmers *are* being properly managed on professionally formulated projects. It's just that when they've finished working on them, they're too knackered to do anything SAM-wise. I would also humbly suggest that those who have time to become involved in these *cough* properly managed, professionally formulated projects of which Bob speaks do not like to go unrewarded for their efforts. Does anyone know of anyone who *has* been payed for any software/hardware project on the Sam. Noone ever mentions them to me...only the irate, betrayed and violated few that don't get shit. If you'll pardon my language. And exactly what does he mean when he says ...*capable* of being properly managed...? Are we all hyperactive, authority hating sociopaths?
