Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!husc6!bloom-beacon!gatech!ncsuvx!csclea!wolf
From: wolf@csclea.ncsu.edu (Thomas Wolf)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.atari.st
Subject: Re: Arcade games on the ST
Message-ID: <1786@ncsuvx.ncsu.edu>
Date: 4 May 88 21:07:08 GMT
References: <880501041352.036351@HIS-PHOENIX-MULTICS.ARPA> <223@snjsn1.SJ.ATE.SLB.COM>
Sender: nntp@ncsuvx.ncsu.edu
Reply-To: wolf@csclea.UUCP (Thomas Wolf)
Organization: Computer Science , NCSU, Raleigh NC
Lines: 30

In a previous posting on the subject, someone mentioned an updated version of
Star Raiders for the ST.  Does this version work in monochrome?

My reason for posting this message is to express my amusement:  Here we have
Atari Corp. who has marketed a single computer for which a software developer
has to develop TWO distinct versions of a game if he/she wishes to have them
run on both colour AND monochrome.  But does Atari set a good example by doing
exactly that with its arcade-style games?  Apparantly not.  The first version
of Star Raiders at least did not run in monochrome.  Atari apparently expects
other developers to go through the extra trouble but doesn't do so itself.

The only publisher of Atari ST games to have undergone that "extra effort"
(as far as I know) seems to be RainBird/Firebird.  Their "StarGlider",
"Tracker", etc. games all work fine in monochrome.  Since I only own a mono
chrome system, I would like to commend them for their efforts (btw, I have
no affiliation with this publisher -- I'm just a satisfied user.)

Maybe in the future we will see other companies taking that extra step in
developing their games?  Perhaps they already do in Europe? (since there,
monochrome systems are much more common than in the US)

Tom Wolf
Arpa:  wolf@csclea.ncsu.edu
         tw@cscosl.ncsu.edu



Tom Wolf
ARPA (I think): tw@cscosl.ncsu.edu
          or  wolf@csclea.ncsu.edu