Official Feedback Issue 103

[Darran@Retro Gamer]

Trials Evolution has been reviewed. I got hold of Fez too late though.

[Stainy]

This issue is disappointing...

[Darran@Retro Gamer]

This issue is disappointing...

In what way?
Your comment doesn't give us much to work with. Too much Atari, not enough Nintendo, no Sega? Tell us what you found disappointing and we can take it on board for future issues.

[rossi46]

I was thinking my issue was late. Then I worked out that my sub has ended. Where's my renewal notice, Imagine? I'd have thought in this day and age, you'd be desperate for every subscriber to keep on subbing.

[Nemesis]

This issue is disappointing...

In what way?
Your comment doesn't give us much to work with. Too much Atari, not enough Nintendo, no Sega? Tell us what you found disappointing and we can take it on board for future issues.

Not enough ZX Spectrum (sorry couldn't resist!)

[carl_retrotext]

Enjoying this issue, the screen shots on Akira page 24 and Alien syndrome on Page 52 were very well presented, this is how the screen shots of games should be presented in my opinion, I think Corbra on page 92 may have been better with the same treatment.

[GameOver]

Another great issue, as always.

Really enjoyed reading the Atari article. Obviously a lot of time and effort went into researching all the details and they made it very interesting. Shame that a couple of the picture captions were wrong, but they didn't detract from an excellent piece (the RIOT is the 40-pin chip next to the cartridge connector, and the 6507 CPU is the smaller 28-pin chip next to it - the article listed them the other way around).

Loved The Making Of: Citadel. It did make me want to know more about the details of how other games got levels to fit within the memory constraints of the 8-bit machines. I know it's not everyones cup of tea, but how about just one article which explains some of the methods programmers used? It's a topic which gets a passing comment in most issues, but never really gets documented in any detail. People devised really neat solutions to these problems which, if no one writes about them, will just be lost forever...

[SirClive]

Great issue, but there is one thing I am compelled to have a moan about.

I love the big 2 page screen shots, especially when they are pixelly 8 bit games, but who the hell picked that Cobra screen?? It is a beautiful little game with one of the best character sprites in any Spectrum games and the screen chosen is just awful.

Other than that I love the issue.

[jdanddiet]

Great issue, but there is one thing I am compelled to have a moan about.

I love the big 2 page screen shots, especially when they are pixelly 8 bit games, but who the hell picked that Cobra screen?? It is a beautiful little game with one of the best character sprites in any Spectrum games and the screen chosen is just awful.

Other than that I love the issue.

I noticed that but don't care, it's just nice to see some Spectrum coverage in the mag for a change

[kelp7]

Loved The Making Of: Citadel. It did make me want to know more about the details of how other games got levels to fit within the memory constraints of the 8-bit machines. I know it's not everyones cup of tea, but how about just one article which explains some of the methods programmers used? It's a topic which gets a passing comment in most issues, but never really gets documented in any detail. People devised really neat solutions to these problems which, if no one writes about them, will just be lost forever...

Yeah loved that article also, particularly the screenshot showing that they used some of the screen memory on the Electron version to store data, I think programmers back then used all sorts of different tricks, there's always little bits of memory that can be used temporarily for things, i'm sure i've heard of people storing bits in the tape-read buffer in memory before etc...

[joefish]

Thought it was a bit thin regarding the 'big 3' 8-bit micros, but then I don't mind reading new stuff about gaming platforms that pre-date that era like the Atari, or 'the others' like the Beeb. Some more nods to the PC too, though still nothing but a promise of an upcoming ST article. But even if the hardware gets a mention, where are the games? ST and Amiga gaming was bigger than PC for a long time. This mag still has a big black hole around the early 90s over which the retirement of the Spectrum +2B and the arrival of 13h is being stretched to breaking point.

Yep, that screen grab of Cobra was very poorly chosen.

Liked the article on flight sims, though it lost focus. What was the point of bringing games like Afterburner and Blue Lightning into the discussion? At least G-Loc had a cockpit view, even if the physics model was about as authentic as Miner Willy jumping. It could even physically flip you upside-down, which most commercial flight sim motion rigs would struggle with. Anyway, if the piece needed padding with arcade sims I definitely recall Microprose making an arcade machine out of F-15 Strike Eagle (already discussed around last year's piece on Microprose) - I'm sure I saw a multi-screen variant too - then there was Taito's excellent Air Inferno and recently there's been SEGA's Airline Pilot.

[Darran@Retro Gamer]

though still nothing but a promise of an upcoming ST article.

It's in issue 105. We can't just magic things out of thin air, these things take time to plan.

[martyg]

Another great issue, as always.

Really enjoyed reading the Atari article. Obviously a lot of time and effort went into researching all the details and they made it very interesting. Shame that a couple of the picture captions were wrong, but they didn't detract from an excellent piece (the RIOT is the 40-pin chip next to the cartridge connector, and the 6507 CPU is the smaller 28-pin chip next to it - the article listed them the other way around).

Completely my fault, last minute late night (or early in the morning technically) reworking after some submission confusion between myself and Darran, and I had Sygnetics = 6507 on the brain because of how that company was the main source for the 65XX chips for Atari.

[slacey1070]

Enjoying the issue so far, love the cover and really enjoyed the Citadel article, despite never having played it.

Read the flight sim article last night (please can be have a profile of Digital Integration? they released some interesting stuff)... Whilst I did enjoy it and found it interesting, there appeared to be a couple of a gaps (possibly because of the authors experience)....

The Amiga and ST.

Solo flight.

The amiga and ST had some great simulations on them and if you're going to include consoles in a round up of flight sims, then they are both worthy of mention for the likes of F29, Stealth, Falcon, Interceptor on the Amiga to name but a few.

And... no mention of Solo Flight. Not a "true" sim (but then Pilot wings for some reason got a mention - it shouldn't have in my view, but there we go... and before anyone says, I have it and I think its pretty good) but it put in some interesting objectives into a sim-like setting and on the C64 was a fantastic game.

Hopefully you'll see that as constructive feedback, I'm not having a pop at the issue or the article as such - just think it could have built on a really solid base by being a bit more inclusive.... or maybe it should have been a two part article....

[necronom]

The amiga and ST had some great simulations on them and if you're going to include consoles in a round up of flight sims, then they are both worthy of mention for the likes of F29, Stealth, Falcon, Interceptor on the Amiga to name but a few.

I haven't read that bit yet, but the first thing I noticed when I flicked through was "No pic of Interceptor? Oh well, I'm sure that and a few other Amiga ones will get a mention", but it appears not