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[Krejlooc]

Yes, every bit of the title is true.

Last christmas, System 3 released an adf image of the unreleased Amiga 500 version of Putty Squad, the sequel to Super Putty on the Amiga and SNES. Putty Squad is a platformer based off of the puzzle gameplay of the original Super Putty that was heavily advertised for the Amiga and SNES, and even reviewed. But, while the SNES version ultimately shipped, the Amiga version was cancelled after completion.

System 3 released the adf for amiga owers to finally get to play the game, free of charge, and told the Amiga community to have at it. Immediately, a CD32 port of the game was started. Unfortunately, it was discovered that it would be impossible for a stock CD32 to run the game. Because of the way the CD32 works, small things like the drivers for the CD-Rom drive wind up occupying just enough memory so that games like Putty Squad can't run. Unlike a standard Amiga 1200, which has 2 mb fastram, the CD32 has about 1.9 mb fastram after the CD-Rom Driver is loaded.

The problem with Super putty is that all the backgrounds in the game are static high-color images stored in one giant master image that is loaded into ram. Rather than each level being a different image loaded into ram when needed, a single image containing all backgrounds are loaded and blitted appropriately, which puts the game over the memory limit of a stock CD32.

Well, some dudes on the English Amiga Board have begun taking pre-ordered for a CD32 add-on. In addition to adding in compact flash support and a real time clock, the CD32 add-on will also sport an accelerator chip (68030) and 8 mb additional ram. That 8 mb extra ram will allow the CD32 to run a number of games that it normally cannot.

Essentially, this add-on will do what the hyper-expensive SX-32 add-on does, albeit mass produced and at an affordable price.

The first game announced for this new add-on? A port of Putty Squad being advertised as "coming soon." A whole line of "8 mb CD32" games are supposed to be coming from this group. These CD32 conversions use WHDLoad32 and sport expanded CD32 controls plus extras like FMV clips on the disc.

Obviously, Amiga CD32 users with an SX-1 add-on and extra ram, or an SX-32 add-on can play this game as well without this new add-on.

Still neat to see a game console from 1992 getting a new add-on and a new game announced for said add-on 22 years later.

Oh, as for the game itself:

Amiga Longplay: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rc6U11-3a1Y

The game is also available for the Playstation 4 as an expanded remake

 

[Krejlooc]

Amiga Power review of the game from back-in-the-day:

Images obtained through the Amiga Online Magazine Rack project.

 

[liquidtmd]

 

[Krejlooc]

the Amiga will never die!

 

[Ubersnug]

Wait. A cheap, alterantive to an SX-32? Colour me interested. My CD32 has been needing some love and attention lately...

 

[Krejlooc]

Wait. A cheap, alterantive to an SX-32? Colour me interested. My CD32 has been needing some love and attention lately...

cheap as in, not 500 GBP. Preorders for the add-on are currently 150 GBP on EAB.

I have an SX-1 but I'm still considering the add-on for the 030 accelerator.

ALTERNATIVELY there is also the Gotek USB floppy drive emulator. I have one of those on my CD32 and it's awesome. Of course, you'd need an SX-1 in the first place to use it, because, you know, floppy drive port.

 

[Jamix012]

Damn, damn, damn. This will drive up the price of the CD32 I bet. I really want one, but I was planning to wait a few years. Might be forced to go in sooner now.

Question: Will this add on make games that run horribly on the system run not so horribly? Like...Street Fighter 2?

 

[Krejlooc]

Damn, damn, damn. This will drive up the price of the CD32 I bet. I really want one, but I was planning to wait a few years. Might be forced to go in sooner now.

Question: Will this add on make games that run horribly on the system run not so horribly? Like...Street Fighter 2?

you mean super street fighter 2 turbo? No, that game is actually missing frames of animation entirely.

That said, it does run smoother on an amiga with more ram and a faster processor, but the frames are missing regardless.

Now stuff like Doom, or Gloom? Those will see a big jump with the bump to, say, a 50 mhz 030 processor.

Additionally, there is talk of porting DOS games to the machine. Early work is promising.

 

[Krejlooc]

As for picking up a CD32 in general, I think it's the coolest, single best Amiga one can get if expanded. It's a full A1200 in a nice, sega genesis-shaped box. An expanded CD32 has everything a stock A1200 has, including HDD support, floppy support, extra ram, and even exotic stuff like a CD-Rom drive. My own CD32 has a CF kit installed, plus extra ram and a gotek floppy drive emulator. I use an A4000->PS/2 keyboard converter to attach a normal keyboard to my CD32, but the SX-1 add-on has keyboard ports too.

A stock CD32, however, is much inferior to a stock A1200. First of all, a stock CD32 has no HDD support, no support for additional ram, no floppy drive support, and uses a proprietary keyboard port. Also, if you want to actually use these machines, getting a PAL unit is a must, you'll pull your hair out running into NTSC problems. I run my CD32 through an Atlona CDM 660M to convert PAL to NTSC.

Honestly, if you're looking to get into Amiga gaming - and you should because the Amiga is an excellent retro gaming platform - the A1200 is the way to go. Only get a CD32 if you're willing to drop several hundred extra dollars on the thing to bring it up to stock A1200 spec.

 

[Jamix012]

As for picking up a CD32 in general, I think it's the coolest, single best Amiga one can get if expanded. It's a full A1200 in a nice, sega genesis-shaped box. An expanded CD32 has everything a stock A1200 has, including HDD support, floppy support, extra ram, and even exotic stuff like a CD-Rom drive. My own CD32 has a CF kit installed, plus extra ram and a gotek floppy drive emulator. I use an A4000->PS/2 keyboard converter to attach a normal keyboard to my CD32, but the SX-1 add-on has keyboard ports too.

A stock CD32, however, is much inferior to a stock A1200. First of all, a stock CD32 has no HDD support, no support for additional ram, no floppy drive support, and uses a proprietary keyboard port. Also, if you want to actually use these machines, getting a PAL unit is a must, you'll pull your hair out running into NTSC problems. I run my CD32 through an Atlona CDM 660M to convert PAL to NTSC.

Honestly, if you're looking to get into Amiga gaming - and you should because the Amiga is an excellent retro gaming platform - the A1200 is the way to go. Only get a CD32 if you're willing to drop several hundred extra dollars on the thing to bring it up to stock A1200 spec.

I've been looking at the thing from a distance years, but some of the information here was new to me and helpful, thank you. I really do want to go in and I generally prefer playing on a console than any kind of computer, so the CD32 with attachments would be the way I'd probably end up going eventually but...this makes me want to go in now and grab the attachment.

I don't have issues dealing with PAL, my upscaler can handle it, but I've read it's possible to switch the signal to NTSC in any machine anyway. Not that I'd do it because for this machine PAL seems to be the better choice. Does this upcoming attachment give RGB?

 

[Fularu]

150£ when you cam easily find sub 80£ Amiga 1200 units? Mhh why not I guess... If the memory is expandable (and not limited to 8 MB) it could be interesting. Wonder why they went for a compact flash design when new connectors use the more common SDCards

That said I really need to get my hands on a CD32 to complete my amiga collection

 

[Krejlooc]

I've been looking at the thing from a distance years, but some of the information here was new to me and helpful, thank you. I really do want to go in and I generally prefer playing on a console than any kind of computer, so the CD32 with attachments would be the way I'd probably end up going eventually but...this makes me want to go in now and grab the attachment.

I don't have issues dealing with PAL, my upscaler can handle it, but I've read it's possible to switch the signal to NTSC in any machine anyway. Not that I'd do it because for this machine PAL seems to be the better choice. Does this upcoming attachment give RGB?

If you hold both mouse buttons on boot up on any Amiga, you can get a boot menu that lets you output using NTSC refresh rate (i.e. 60 hz update rather than 50). However, it'll still output using PAL color encoding, and the bigger issue is games not running at 60 hz at all.

the attachment is going to likely include an indivision flicker-fixer built into the thing, so it'll output a modern VGA signal at 800x600 if so.

The Amiga isn't like normal computers as people think of them in the west, however. It has just as much in common with a console as it does a PC. The Amiga is a pretty awesome system, much easier to get into than most other old micro-computers. The games simply boot with no commands to input or anything. The amiga doesn't have a harddrive by default, so the first boot option on any machine is always the floppy drive. Just pop a game into your A1200, turn it on, and you're at the title screen. I replaced my internal floppy with a gotek floppy emulator because of dying floppies, but it works the same way. Pop in the correct USB drive, turn on the machine, and it boots into the game.

I wrote the article on Racketboy on Amiga collecting if you're interested. I don't think I'm allowed to post it because of NeoGAF site rules, however.

 

[Krejlooc]

150£ when you cam easily find sub 80£ Amiga 1200 units? Mhh why not I guess... If the memory is expandable (and not limited to 8 MB) it could be interesting. Wonder why they went for a compact flash design when new connectors use the more common SDCards

That said I really need to get my hands on a CD32 to complete my amiga collection

well keep in mind this is an accelerator card. So think something more in line with other 030 accelerator cards. Even today, blizzard accelerators go for several hundred dollars USD, so you'd consider adding that onto your 80 GBP A1200.

I haven't experience with SD Card readers for the Amiga, but don't those emulate floppy disks? The CF Card kit acts as a harddrive. Good for putting a real-deal copy of WHDLoad onto.

 

[Ubersnug]

Any chance someone could post a link to the EAB thread that's discussing this please? What's the expansions official name?

 

[Krejlooc]

Any chance someone could post a link to the EAB thread that's discussing this please? What's the expansions official name?

http://eab.abime.net/showthread.php?t=72361

They just call it "The CD32 Expansion Board" in the topic, don't think it has a name yet.

EDIT: Oh, sorry, durr, the name is right there in the OP. "Project Hermes"

according to the info on there, pre-order to get a unit isn't necessary. God I love the Amiga scene.

 

[liquidtmd]

according to the info on there, pre-order to get a unit isn't necessary. God I love the Amiga scene.

True. I love the love within the Amiga scene. Quite small, but it's third favourite in terms of communities and enthusiasts next to the ZX Spectrum and Dreamcast forums

 

[Krejlooc]

True. I love the love within the Amiga scene. Quite small, but it's third favourite in terms of communities and enthusiasts next to the ZX Spectrum and Dreamcast forums

Believe it or not, the Atari Jaguar has a vibrant and excellent homebrew community as well.

 

[Jamix012]

I wrote the article on Racketboy on Amiga collecting if you're interested. I don't think I'm allowed to post it because of NeoGAF site rules, however.

I'm pretty sure site rules say you can post your own work if its relevent to the discussion, but I'll scout it out. Modern VGA sounds like a dream. Do the other Amiga's run with standard console-like controllers as well?

 

[Gazunta]

This is hot as hell and I'm happy to see it happen!

 

[SiegfriedFM]

I couldn't care less about the memory stuff, but if there will be a newly produced addon to CD32 that provides VGA output without custom soldering, I'm on. I recently bought one and the shitty colour output is the main reason why I can't really enjoy it.

 

[MoGamesXNA]

.

 

[liquidtmd]

Believe it or not, the Atari Jaguar has a vibrant and excellent homebrew community as well.

The Jaguar. Good lord. I remember watching previews for it on Gamesmaster on CH4 UK 20 odd years ago

I think they were doing previews of Tempest 2000 and AVP. I could never get my head around controller to take it seriously! My loss hehe. I guess I love retro scenes because you see so much conflict with the owners of systems of the day on boards like this - once all the hype fades and the sales fall off, the conflict passes and all that remains are people that are united by infectious enthusiasm.

 

[Fularu]

well keep in mind this is an accelerator card. So think something more in line with other 030 accelerator cards. Even today, blizzard accelerators go for several hundred dollars USD, so you'd consider adding that onto your 80 GBP A1200.

I haven't experience with SD Card readers for the Amiga, but don't those emulate floppy disks? The CF Card kit acts as a harddrive. Good for putting a real-deal copy of WHDLoad onto.

No, new "hard drive kits" use SD cards instead of CF cards. You're thinking of the HxC (slim or not) which is a floppy drive replacement solution.

Also it depends on what kind of 68030 is in there, does it have an mmu? Can you add a coprocessor (68081-2)? What's the clock speed?

People pay a lot for Blizzard IV cards because they're amazing, you can easily find low quality MTecs for much much cheaper.

 

[Ubersnug]

Thanks OP.

This is seriously giving me the push I need to pull out my cd32 again. Been itching for a game of Jetstrike and a banshee for a while...

 

[Fularu]

Thanks OP.

This is seriously giving me the push I need to pull out my cd32 again. Been itching for a game of Jetstrike and a banshee for a while...

Banshee is Core's best game

Screw you Lara

 

[Krejlooc]

I'm pretty sure site rules say you can post your own work if its relevent to the discussion, but I'll scout it out. Modern VGA sounds like a dream. Do the other Amiga's run with standard console-like controllers as well?

They all use the same controllers. It's the DB-9 standard that sega and atari controllers used. Most amiga games support 2 mechanically independent buttons, but "standard" is a 1-button joystick. That typically means using up to jump, which isn't as awkward as it sounds with a good joystick like a competition pro or a tac-2.

The CD32 launched with a 6-button CD32 pad, but it's garbage. A better option is the Competition Pro CD32, which is different from the competition Pro joystick. It's basically a Sega Genesis pad with a Super NES layout and TG-16-style turbo switches. Great controller.

You can use the CD32 pad just fine on any other amiga, it's just that games need to explicitly support it, and mostly only CD32 games supported it. Games like Fightin' Spirit on the A1200 will support it just fine, however.

Also worth noting is the Gravis Gamepad for the Amiga. Rather than the PC Gameport, it uses the DB-9 connection. Unlike the PC gravis gamepad, it still functions as a two button controller despite having 4 face buttons. A switch at the top changes the behavior of the other two buttons - either they function as rapid fire versions of buttons 1 and 2, or, much better, they are mapped to up and down on the d-pad, turning them effectively into jump buttons.

 

[Krejlooc]

No, new "hard drive kits" use SD cards instead of CF cards. You're thinking of the HxC (slim or not) which is a floppy drive replacement solution.

Also it depends on what kind of 68030 is in there, does it have an mmu? Can you add a coprocessor (68081-2)? What's the clock speed?

People pay a lot for Blizzard IV cards because they're amazing, you can easily find low quality MTecs for much much cheaper.

This is a hobbyist creation, so I'd put money down on all of the above. Hobbyists crazy enough to create new hardware generally don't skimp.

There is talk in the thread of a 50 mz 030.

 

[Krejlooc]

The Jaguar. Good lord. I remember watching previews for it on Gamesmaster on CH4 UK 20 odd years ago

I think they were doing previews of Tempest 2000 and AVP. I could never get my head around controller to take it seriously! My loss hehe. I guess I love retro scenes because you see so much conflict with the owners of systems of the day on boards like this - once all the hype fades and the sales fall off, the conflict passes and all that remains are people that are united by infectious enthusiasm.

The Jaguar has an absolutely fascinating history behind it, I'm doing an article for Racketboy on it, actually. In 1997, Hasbro, who had bought Atari, were pressured by the last remaining developer for the system to release the licensing fee for the system so they could publish their game, and Hasbro obliged. They declared the Jaguar an open platform in 1997 and that really opened the floodgates to a lot of awesome stuff. Entire publishing houses - real ones that actually still exist today - were created to publish post-death jaguar games. Songbird Games and Telegames were the two biggest publishers, and they still publish jag games.

people have created controllers and even finished games that were in production but never finished. Most famous is Another World, released last year, and Total Carnage, with midway's blessing.

The game that opened the gate to jag development, battlesphere gold, is a technical marvel. 16 player death match on 4 networked Jaguars? Jesus christ... These days, people have overcome a lot of the jank that came from not having any documentation on the jaguar to begin with.

Atari fucked up so hard with the jaguar, but it's neat to see a group of people who clearly still love tinkering with the incredibly exotic (and surprisingly powerful) hardware. The things people do now with Jaguars is kind of incredible given the state it launched.

 

[Fularu]

This is a hobbyist creation, so I'd put money down on all of the above. Hobbyists crazy enough to create new hardware generally don't skimp.

There is talk in the thread of a 50 mz 030.

150£ for :

- 68030@50
- mmu
- fpu
- 8 MB
- flicker fixer
- floppy drive port
- whatever else?

Sounds like a fantasy but you never know

I hope it happens though

 

[N4Us]

Let's get this baby in HD quality

 

[Lord Error]

Is the game any good on PS4? It's $25 and I kinda like the look of the Amiga version better to be honest.

 

[Krejlooc]

Let's get this baby in HD quality

This game was released on the PS4 last year in HD.

 

[Fularu]

This game was released on the PS4 last year in HD.

And is budget priced (at least here in Canada).

It's also out on Vita

 

[N4Us]

This game was released on the PS4 last year in HD.

Wow

Well then

 

[Krejlooc]

And is budget priced (at least here in Canada).

It's also out on Vita

Definitely for the best, I dunno if this would sell at a normal price these days.

Wow

Well then

I know, right? And then the Shadow of the Beast remake announcement. And Super Stardust came back last gen. And isn't there a new Superfrog in HD?

I'm glad this bit of gaming history is getting the recognition it deserves. We need Zool 3 next.

 

[Ubersnug]

150£ for :

- 68030@50
- mmu
- fpu
- 8 MB
- flicker fixer
- floppy drive port
- whatever else?

Sounds like a fantasy but you never know

I hope it happens though

Ive always had my heart set on a SX-32, but I could never justify the price. But for this, I'm genuinely tempted...

 

[Ubersnug]

We need Zool 3 next.

My heart cry's out for a Paradroid 90 remake. And a GODz remake. A Killing Gameshow remake. A Walker remake. etc etc

 

[Noisepurge]

We need Zool 3 next.

pff, Moonstone or bust!
(and Chaos Engine)
((and Turrican))
(((and Supercars)))

 

[Krejlooc]

Didn't Chaos Engine already come back?

EDIT: Yes it did, apparently with the original graphics but in widescreen, kind of like the Sonic CD remake. It also includes online co-op.

YES.

 

[Ubersnug]

pff, Moonstone or bust!

 

[blastprocessor]

Have l gone back in time?

I was just reading a review of the Amiga the other day. Ah the memories.

 

[ImBarryScott]

As for picking up a CD32 in general, I think it's the coolest, single best Amiga one can get if expanded. It's a full A1200 in a nice, sega genesis-shaped box.

I was absolutely sure it was a modified A500 and ran on Kick 1.3 or Kick 2.0 until you posted that. So sure that I checked on Wikipedia and you're absolutely right.

I really don't give my CD32 enough credit. That's probably because I have an expanded A1200 that I loved to bits. I've got an expansion board (can't remember which one) with 030 and other bits and bobs on it. At Uni I put a 4gb hard drive and a wireless PCMCIA card in. Miami TCP/IP stack and OS 3.5. I wrote some software that would allow me to mount ADF images into virtual floppy drives over the wireless network so me and my housemates could play games. *sigh* And to think it's now wallowing away in the cellar, not getting any love

 

[Krejlooc]

I was absolutely sure it was a modified A500 and ran on Kick 1.3 or Kick 2.0 until you posted that. So sure that I checked on Wikipedia and you're absolutely right.

I really don't give my CD32 enough credit. That's probably because I have an expanded A1200 that I loved to bits. I've got an expansion board (can't remember which one) with 030 and other bits and bobs on it. At Uni I put a 4gb hard drive and a wireless PCMCIA card in. Miami TCP/IP stack and OS 3.5. I wrote some software that would allow me to mount ADF images into virtual floppy drives over the wireless network so me and my housemates could play games. *sigh* And to think it's now wallowing away in the cellar, not getting any love

I have an expanded A1200 as well, I use them in tandem and for different things. The A1200 has an indivision flicker fixer installed and sits on a desk like a modern computer. I'm running Classic WB on it. I generally use it to build ISOs to convert amiga floppies into bootable CD32 images. There is a general movement going on right now to convert the entire Amiga library to a CD32 format because floppies are starting to die en mass.

I'd love to get my hands on a proper CDTV setup, though. That is basically to the A500, what the CD32 was to the A1200. An A500 in a form that can sit under a TV. You can upgrade an expand it to a full normal A500 if you buy the right stuff.

I use my CD32 for playing Amiga games on my television. Like I said, I have it connected to an Atlona CDM 660 via svideo. The Amiga's library is still great today, especially if you liked that generation of games. It goes well alongside the Genesis, SNES, and Turbo Grafx.

I have a pretty killer Commodore 64 setup, too, and I just got Knight n Grail for it. I've only played a short bit, but I want to set aside a day to play through it.

 

[Ubersnug]

Ill testify to the day I die that the Amiga plays host to some of the best games that have ever been made and, are solely responsible for inspiring some of the genres and games we have today!

In fact, I have a question about the CD32 that I've never been able to solve. So, the CD32 apparently has a built in, extremely small memory block that is meant for saving game progress.Has anyone ever managed to save their game progress to it - specifically the CD32 version of syndicate...

 

[Krejlooc]

Ill testify to the day I die that the Amiga plays host to some of the best games that have ever been made and, are solely responsible for inspiring some of the genres and games we have today!

In fact, I have a question about the CD32 that I've never been able to solve. So, the CD32 apparently has a built in, extremely small memory block that is meant for saving game progress.Has anyone ever managed to save their game progress to it - specifically the CD32 version of syndicate...

yeah, mine works fine. It's kind of weird - it's like self-cleaning in that, if it's out of space, it'll delete the oldest save. but if you boot up your CD32 without a game, you can access a screen to sorta-kinda manage your memory. From this screen you can either lock or unlock game saves. Locked game saves will not be deleted even if no more space is available.

If you can't save on yours, it sounds like maybe a battery or something has died on your console. I don't have the CD32 version of Syndicate but I have plenty of saves on my CD32.

It's funny that the reason the CD32 was first created was to combat the problem of piracy, and today it's seeing a late surge in popularity among Amiga owners because it's form of media, CDs, can be so easily created and they're more reliable than actual floppies.

 

[Phediuk]

I thought the thread title was some kind of double-blind LTTP thread.

 

[Hasney]

... So I'll be playing some Universal Warrior tonight. Got me some Amiga hankering now.

 

[Noisepurge]

Didn't Chaos Engine already come back?

EDIT: Yes it did, apparently with the original graphics but in widescreen, kind of like the Sonic CD remake. It also includes online co-op.

YES.

That was just the DOS version port that looks mainly like dogshit. Proper remake or Chaos Engine 3 please

 

[ImBarryScott]

Ill testify to the day I die that the Amiga plays host to some of the best games that have ever been made and, are solely responsible for inspiring some of the genres and games we have today!

Amen, brother/sister. On a personal level, I don't think I'd have gone into games industry were it not for my Amiga. It's where I first learnt to code and where my heart really lies.

 

[2+2=5]

Lol!
I wanted to buy the Vita version but it disappeared from the Vita store!
There's the PS4 version and it seems to be Vita crossbuy but then why it's not on the Vita store?