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From: uzun@pnet01.cts.com (Roger Uzun)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac,comp.sys.mac.programmer
Subject: Re: Writing your own entertainment software.
Message-ID: <1087@crash.cts.com>
Date: 4 Jan 90 23:36:02 GMT
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hmmmm... I have never seen what one would call an "arcade quality" gam
(that's game) for any Mac.  Certainly Dark Castle with Monochrome
15-20 Frame Per Second animation cannot be considered anywhere near
"arcade" quality.  For example, any arcade game out since about 1986 or so
features at least 32 color displays, 50-60 Frame per second animation, stereo
sound, and detailed backgrounds over which the characters are animated.  I
have done animation routines for the Mac II series, and to get even 30
frames/sec I had to write directly to harware, limit the size of the objects
and, FORCE 8 bit pixels.  Even  then the Sound Manager routines seemed to slow
things even more so, of course that was about a year or so ago.
Does anyone think an arcade quality Mac II game would sell at all?
(if such a thing is even possible)
Certainly other computers are capable of arcade quality games, but they have
default video hardware that aids this greatly, it is too bad the Mac II's do
not have this as well, since it would speed up OS graphics as well.  I know
such boards are available to Mac II users but one has to develop to the lowest
common denominator and so one cannot release a product that requires such an
add on board, to be compatible with all such software one must use the toolbox
calls and these will just not cut it for even a moderate game so....

Of course with its default 640X480 screen and 256 color out of 16+ million
color display, Mac II games would look MUCH better than any competing systems,
and even better than 99% of all commercial systems, too bad they would be so
slow as to be unplayable!

-Roger

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