Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!unmvax!ddnvx1!Path-Lost
From: GALETTI@uservx.afwl.af.mil
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.games
Subject: Re: Amiga Game Machine
Message-ID: <11648@uservx.afwl.af.mil>
Date: 12 Sep 90 02:07:31 GMT
References: <7383@milton.u.washington.edu>
Lines: 47

In article <7383@milton.u.washington.edu>, jimsa@milton.u.washington.edu (Jim Sather) writes:
> I was considering buying an amiga for a game machine, but never having
> used an amiga, I don't know what machine to get.  Can a 500 play all
> existing games?  How many bit's deep is the graphics on a 500, does it
> have 4096 on screen colors?  I remember reading that an amiga will
> output NTSC for use with television and thus I could save the monitor
> cost.  Is this true?  Does the 500 do this?   As you can see I am totally
> in the dark so any suggestions on which configurations are best and
> cheapest for gaming would be much appreciated.
> 
> Thanks,
> 
> -Jim
> jimsa@milton.u.washington.edu

IMHO, the Amiga is the BEST game machine available for an affordable price.

I don't know of any games the 500 can't play.  The type of machine (500, 2000,
etc.) really isn't the issue.  However, a significant number of games require
1 Meg of RAM which is not standard on a 500, meaning you might have to buy more
RAM to play a few games in particular.  Some games include two versions, one for
an Amiga with 1 Meg or more of RAM, and a "watered down" version for 512K of
RAM.

The 500's graphics, like all Amigas to date, allows for up to six bitplanes
of graphics.  Yes, you can display all 4096 colors on the screen simultaneously
using the Hold-And-Modify (HAM) mode.  There are some limitations, though.

The Amiga 500 has a composite video output, but it's in black and white.  What
this means is that if you have a VCR or an RF modulator, you can plug the 
composite output into your VCR and your VCR to your TV to display black &
white (actually gray) pictures from your Amiga.  Another option, if you can't
live without color (I know I can't!) is to buy an RF modulator from Commodore
which allows you to use your color TV as a color monitor.  The resolution isn't
as good as a real monitor because of the limitations of NTSC video, but the 
color is there, and I think the RF modulator only costs around $25. (Don't
quote me.)  

A friend of mine has an RF modulator with his A500 which he got with the
computer as part of a package deal.  For gaming, I'd recommend the same
package.  I think he bought his A500 at Software etc.

Hope this helps!

-Ralph

Disclaimer:  The only thing I claim is that I don't claim anything.  Oops!