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Date: Tue, 11-Apr-1989 14:08:00 From: Unknown Subject: Games on the NeXT >From: An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind <SERETNY@HARTFORD> <<Note From: Scott P Leslie <UNCSPL@UNC>> >> Michael Nosal <ST502042%BROWNVM.BITNET@CUNYVM.CUNY.EDU> writes: >> [Several comments about new types of applications made feasible by the >> NeXT, which I agree are worthwhile and exciting, followed by:] >> >> >(Personally, I'd *love* to see some KILLER games on the NeXT. This has >> >real possibilities, far beyond ANYTHING you've seen, esp. with the sound!) >> >> Here I beg to differ in a big way. The Amiga is probably the best >> game platform today. Its sound capabilities are not as good as the >> ... >> -Dave (dsill@relay.nswc.navy.mil) > Not to mention that MIDI capability can easily surpass the processing > power of the NeXT, and it's already available for several computers. Competing with the Amiga on "dumb", flashy, pyrotechnic shoot-em-ups, the NeXT has no chance. I think the types of games Michael was referring to were games with considerably more "substance" and mental stimulation. Sure, Ami's blitter & copper "cpus" can blast color pixmaps very efficient, but let's remind ourselves that the heart of the machine, the part that actually THINKS, is a mere 7.16 MHz 68000, rather primitive for reasonably involved simulations. Also, when Michael mentioned sound, he wasn't referring to cheesy 8 bit sound suitable for arcade noises (no offense to game authors here, I've done my share of that sort...), but what about real music?? What about 16 voices of high-quality (at 12 bits/sample, it would sound as good as a cheap CD player) sound/voiceovers??? And in stereo besides. Noone wants to buy a game which requires external entities like DX-7's, Roland JX-8P's, or Akai S-900's. Sure, you COULD do a game using MIDI for sound, but it'd be the silliest and more frivolous use ever imagined, and only a select few could possibly run it! The Ami is a fine product, and with the release of the 2500, it is even better, but a *fast* machine it ain't. It's co-processors are designed around very specific tasks (blitting pixmaps/memory for the most part), while it's overall throughput is quite slow. It's a great machine for $1000, but in the end, you always get what you pay for. Robert M. Seretny, (Oh boy, did I step into a firepit or what???) (Flames welcomed seretny@hartford.bitnet) ------------------------------------------------------------------------
These are the contents of the former NiCE NeXT User Group NeXTSTEP/OpenStep software archive, currently hosted by Marcel Waldvogel and Netfuture.ch.