JEO 17/46
//// BattleSphere Ramblings
Subject:      BATTLESPHERE COMPLETION ANNOUNCEMENT
From:         "Thunderbird" 
Date:         1998/01/17
Newsgroups:   rec.games.video.atari
BattleSphere's release announcement will be posted to all the
appropriate areas by the 4Play Team, immediately upon completion of
the game.
It is important to note that the game's "finished" status will NOT
appear first on some well-meaning but premature Jaguar Fan's Web-Page.
For now, suffice it to say, BattleSphere is _NOT_ "finished".
The game is STILL being playtested, and lacks several music tracks,
and has bugs in the NVRAM setup parameters. Once all the music is
complete, any ROM space left over will then have to be allocated to
one or more several "bonus" features which have yet to be designed.
Once again, I repeat: BattleSphere is _NOT_ "Finished".
It is very close, but not quite there yet.
Please do not let this rumor spread. It will only serve to injure
4Play in the long run.
Thank you for your understanding.
    Thunderbird
    4Play
Subject:      Re: Battlesphere Vs. Darklight Conflict
From:         legrand@tesla.mbi.ucla.edu
Date:         1997/12/09
Newsgroups:   rec.games.video.atari
In article ,
  pforhan@cs.truman.edu wrote:
>
> In , rjung@netcom.com (Robert A. Jung)
> writes:
> >In article  save2600@ticon.net writes:
> >> I was checking out some new Saturn games at our local Toys 'R Us the
> >>other day and noticed a game by Electronic Arts called Darklight
> >>Conflict. Looking at the back of the card, it seems very Battlesphere-
> >>ish with it's light sourcing and lens flares. I was just curious if
> >>anyone who is into the Jag/Battlesphere had  seen and or played this
> >> cool looking game and what your thoughts were...
>
> Note that, as I understand it, 4Play didn't have enough room to
> implement Light-sourcing things...
Bzzzt...  Actually, there is one global light source.  What we don't
have that DC has is specular highlights (which look really nice in our
embryonic Win32 engine BTW which is something I work on now between
bug reports), and positional (local) light sources for weapons and
explosions.
> I must disagree.  While it didn't have the scope of, say, TIE fighter
> (and, hopefully, BattleSphere) where there are a hundred things going on,
> the game is intensely beautiful, and very playable, and challenging, as
> well. The movement was more realistic than most space games (for example,
> the original Elite or Privateer) where you are not always moving in the
> direction you are pointing.
I like Darklight better than Colony Wars.  I admit that it really made
me regret the absence of specular lighting in Battle Sphere, but the
Jag really isn't set up to do that without going into 24 bit RGB
(which would annihilate the framerate and the ability to use most of
the Jag's shading hardware) or I could have hacked it in at the last
minute.  In summation:  this is a hardware rather than a software
issue.
> To me, it seems more of a dogfighting game.  You have to balance when to
> fire your main weapon and when to use your shields (since they are
> mutually exclusive).  Each of the ten or fifteen weapons are
> significantly different, and are used differently.  If you can't beat a
> mission after a while, it makes a huge difference just by changing your
> tactics.
I loathe the fire/shield thing in DC.  I loathe the acceleration in
CW. I love the jump gate in DC, I loathe the jumpgate in CW.  I love
the nebulae in CW, I love the lighting in DC.  I love the capitol
ships in DC, I think the capitol ships in CW suck.  I despise the gun
turrets in DC, I despise the tactical displays in both of them. I
prefer the tractor beam of DC.  I love the docking in DC, I loathe the
lack thereof in CW.  I get a sense of combat out of DC, I get a sense
of Disneyland ride out of CW.
> It is by no means perfect, for sure.  It is not as epic as TIE fighter,
> Elite, or Star Raiders.  You are the center of the action.  Control
> (for the PC) is not perfect.  But it is a good game, especially for the
> $15 or less price you can get it for (and the PC version comes with
> two full CDs!).
Absolutely.  I recommend DC as a cheap thrill.  I do not recommend CW.
But if you wanna talk complete lack of control, try Shadows of the
Empire with Microsoft's no-calibrate-I Force Feedback Sidewinder Pro.
> >  Still waiting for BATTLESPHERE,
>
> The world holds its breath...
Tell me about it :-(...
Scott Le Grand
Lead Coder
4Play
... The sooner you fall behind, the more time you will have to catch up.
--- JetMail 0.99beta22
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