Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!yale!cmcl2!esquire!esquire.dpw.com
From: baumgart@esquire.dpw.com (Steve Baumgarten)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.games
Subject: Sky Shadow on the IIfx
Message-ID: <2898@esquire.dpw.com>
Date: 5 Dec 90 18:51:36 GMT
Sender: news@DPW.COM
Reply-To: baumgart@esquire.dpw.com (Steve Baumgarten)
Organization: Davis Polk & Wardwell
Lines: 45

Well, I'm very disappointed in Casady & Greene.  Sky Shadow is a total
waste on a IIfx because it runs much too fast to be playable.

Although I have a IIfx at home, I play it now mostly on the IIci we
have at work.  It runs fine on that machine, but at home the landscape
zips by about 3 times faster -- making landings all but impossible.

It also bombs with either 32-bit Quickdraw, the Apple 8.24 video card
or the combination of the two (I think it might just be the card, but
I'm not sure).  There's a workaround for that, at least, but it's
annoying:  You have to start the game with the control key held down.

I purchased version 1.0.6 and was assured that 1.0.8 (which I just got
after having to mail them both my master disks and a self-addressed,
stamped envelope) fixed at least the 32-bit QD/8.24 video problem.  I
also spoke to someone in tech support about the speed problem on the
IIfx.  When I told her that the game scrolled about 3 times faster on
my IIfx than it did on the IIci at work, she said "Well, the IIfx is a
faster machine."  That didn't win the award for the week's stupidest
answer, but it sure came close.

I explained that it was pretty dumb to have a game that behaved
differently (especially *that* differently) on the IIfx, since it ran
at exactly the right speed on the IIci (from what I could tell).  I
suppose this means that it'll run like molasses on an LC...  

It seemed to me that they had some hard-coded timing loops that were
written before the IIfx was released, so they don't take its greater
speed into account.  That's just a guess, but I think it does a
reasonable job of explaining what's going on.

So at this point I really feel ripped off.  I got this game to play at
home (though playing at work is always fun...), and there's really no
way to do that, short of trading my IIfx for a IIci (sorry, I'm not
taking offers...).

Just thought I'd warn IIfx owners who might be considering buying Sky
Shadow.  I'm going to call tech support one more time and see if I can
get them to *fix* this problem before I return the game altogether.

--
   Steve Baumgarten             | "New York... when civilization falls apart,
   Davis Polk & Wardwell        |  remember, we were way ahead of you."
   baumgart@esquire.dpw.com     | 
   cmcl2!esquire!baumgart       |                           - David Letterman