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From: ifarqhar@sunc.mqcc.mq.oz.au (Ian Farquhar)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.games
Subject: Re: NES
Keywords: turrican
Message-ID: <764@macuni.mqcc.mq.oz>
Date: 14 Nov 90 02:50:48 GMT
References: <1990Nov07.170527.19872@hoss.unl.edu> <749@sky.COM> <1990Nov08.220435.28856@hoss.unl.edu>
Sender: news@macuni.mqcc.mq.oz
Organization: Macquarie University, Sydney
Lines: 42

In article <1990Nov08.220435.28856@hoss.unl.edu> 252u3130@fergvax.unl.edu (Phil Dietz) writes:
>NOT EVEN COME CLOSE to number 3.  Mario 3 is a 3+ meg cartridge.  It
>features graphix artist graphics and the sounds were digitized right off
>of a Moog synthesizer!  There are tons of levels, each with its own
>hidden nooks and crannies....its a wonderful game.....

I am amazed, the NES technical disinformation brigade is out in force
now :-)

Okay, the 3M is the first to go.  Most game manufacturers measure
cartridge size in *bits*, not bytes.  This makes a 4Mbit cart the same
as a 512K bytes.  Not at all impressive.  I would guess that, in this
case, it is 256Kbytes of program, and 128K bytes of graphics.  The
expression "so what?!" leaps to mind.

Now let's consider sound "digitized straight off a Moog Synthesiser".
The moog synth was simply a series of interlinked oscillators and
filters, and the quality of music that emminated from them could be
matched in effect by the C64 SID chip.  Why anyone would want to
"digitize" a moog synth is quite beyond me.  I suspect that Nintendo's
use of the word "digitize" here does not mean what you think it does,
BTW.  I suspect it means "we programmed our sound system to sound like a
moog synth because that's all it can do."

As for the nooks and crannies, you parade them as a virtue.  Half of
them are Nintendo bugs (that company is famous for some of its
unintentional game tricks).

As for your later assertion that Nintendo manufacturers are bigger so
they can put more money into development, this is quite true.  They have
to start off with more money: Nintendo protects carts with a "lock-out"
chip that they sell to cart suppliers.  So every time you buy a Nintendo
cart, you are also paying money back to Nintendo.  In effect, developers
pay Nintendo money for the privalege of producing games for that
system.

Standard disclaimers apply, as usual.  My comments are my own.
--
Ian Farquhar                      Phone : 61 2 805-9404
Office of Computing Services      Fax   : 61 2 805-7433
Macquarie University  NSW  2109   Also  : 61 2 805-7205
Australia                         EMail : ifarqhar@suna.mqcc.mq.oz.au