Tempest 2000 included in Atari 50 for Switch/PS/Steam etc.

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davyK
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Tempest 2000 included in Atari 50 for Switch/PS/Steam etc.

Post by davyK »

This is running under some sort of Jaguar emulation. Has anyone got to play it and have any opinion on how well it runs?

I've only ever played the Saturn port and while it is supposed to have a better framerate there are reported issues with collisions at later levels. So it would be nice if this gave us a proper experience.
Fingolfin
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Re: Tempest 2000 included in Atari 50 for Switch/PS/Steam et

Post by Fingolfin »

It’s good!

Haven’t gone back to back w/ Jaguar Tempest 2000 vs Atari 50 emulation (or 400/800, 5200 & 7800) yet but of all the Jaguar games I’ve played Tempest 2000 Atari 50 the most (for a few hours).

Yes, yes, yes, yes

Atari 50 is excellent! :mrgreen:

Really enjoying my time w/ Tempest 2000, Arcade Food Fight, Arcade Centipede & Millipede, Lunar Lander, Black Widow and Tempest. All of the games previously released in Atari Flashback 1-3 PS4 / Xbox One & Switch are quite similar emulation wise; no idea how much if at all emulation code differs between Flashbacks & 50 but feels quite comfortable going back & forth between them.

There does seem to be just a very small adjustment for Atari 50 w/ regard to Centipede, Millipede and Tempest vs Flashbacks. Anyone else feel this?

Playing these games that were trackball and spinner based in the arcade do feel ever so slightly more precise in their Atari 50 emulated versions vs Flashbacks (own Vol 1 & 2 on PS4 & Switch version). Atari 50 PS4 here.

Curious what others think.

No online leaderboards for Atari 50; Flashbacks have online leaderboards.

Lots of really cool Atari staff interviews nicely paired w/ various games from:

Arcade
Computers
Consoles

Great to have Tempest 2000 though the rest of the Jaguar games are neither AAA or AA; also goes for 7800 and Lynx games represented in Atari 50; emulation is solid and satisfying but choices for 7800, Lynx and Jaguar are weak. Like all favorites, quite subjective but would’ve been better/best to have Iron Soldier for Jaguar and any number of 7800 and Lynx games (vs fare offered in Atari 50).

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XtraSmiley
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Re: Tempest 2000 included in Atari 50 for Switch/PS/Steam et

Post by XtraSmiley »

I really like the collection and Tempest 2k seems to play just like my Jaguar original, at least how I remember. I haven't pulled it out to do a direct comparison.

I HAVE compared the trackball games to my arcade originals, and Quantum and Crystal Castles suck. I mean, the reality is you can't get a trackball feel with a joystick, no matter what. With the real trackball, I can whip the bear around and the Quantum, uh, spark around. I can't even get close on the PS5 DS.

Some some good, some bad.

Definitely worth the $30 it's now going for!
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BrianC
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Re: Tempest 2000 included in Atari 50 for Switch/PS/Steam et

Post by BrianC »

XtraSmiley wrote: I HAVE compared the trackball games to my arcade originals, and Quantum and Crystal Castles suck. I mean, the reality is you can't get a trackball feel with a joystick, no matter what. With the real trackball, I can whip the bear around and the Quantum, uh, spark around. I can't even get close on the PS5 DS.
No touchpad controls? Those could work if done right, but IIRC the previous Atari Collections for PS4 had poor touchpad controls. Mouse controls in Quantum for the PC version seemed ok to me, though I haven't played the AC version to compare. Definitely doesn't play well with analog sticks. How is food fight on PS5? It used a hall effect analog stick in arcades. PC version seemed to control well with analog sticks. One detail I like with AC Food Fight is how the eyes roll along with the movement of the stick. Never noticed that in the 7800 version.
Last edited by BrianC on Sat Dec 03, 2022 1:53 am, edited 1 time in total.
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LSU
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Re: Tempest 2000 included in Atari 50 for Switch/PS/Steam et

Post by LSU »

This compilation is worth the asking price just for I, Robot alone for me. Superb game, way ahead of it's time.
Wittischism
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Re: Tempest 2000 included in Atari 50 for Switch/PS/Steam et

Post by Wittischism »

Tempest 2000 has been my #1 GOAT since I first played it almost 25 years ago. I was extremely excited when it got announced in this collection, but I held out a little bit dependent on the quality of the port. I triple dipped, getting it on Switch, Xbox for my Series S and on steam. Unfortunately, it is not currently compatible with the Steam Deck. That said…

It is an awesome port. It plays great, even smoother than on the original hardware it seems. In the later levels, when so much is going on with enemies, power ups and shooting while whipping around the web, slowdown happens on the Jaguar, for sure. Maybe not slowdown exactly, but more of stuff is happening faster than it can be shown. Using the save state, on Switch I’m at level 95 and Xbox in the 70s somewhere. There hasn’t been any slowdown or anything that I’ve noticed so far. The Game Over screen is bonkers fast compared to on the Jaguar, also. On Xbox I’ve been using the Hori Competition Pro wired controller. On the Switch, I’ve been playing just in handheld mode, using standard joy cons, but ones with a d-pad mod. The controls feel tighter on the Switch compared to the Xbox, actually.

Hopefully, it will become Deck compatible soon. On PC, I have a few possible options for rotary controls, if that control option becomes accessible. I don’t believe it is at the moment, because the Option button on the Jaguar controller does not look like it is mapped at all… Maybe we can beg for a patch for this. The more glaring issue would be that Beastly mode would also be inaccessible, since you access that pressing the option button.

The option button issue is my singular complaint about the port. Otherwise, it’s pretty much perfect, if not better than the original.
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davyK
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Re: Tempest 2000 included in Atari 50 for Switch/PS/Steam et

Post by davyK »

Great to hear. Love original Tempest and T2K.

The icing on the cake would the use of motion for the paddle games like Warlords and Super Breakout.

The best replacement for a paddle I have experienced was the wiimote as it is was utilised in the Bit.Trip games. You hold the wiimote horizontally with one hand and then rotate it toward or away from your body with the other hand - it works superbly well. But I have never seen that sort of scheme used since. :( It is a brilliant stand in for a paddle though it wouldn't work well enough for something like Tempest.
velo
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Re: Tempest 2000 included in Atari 50 for Switch/PS/Steam et

Post by velo »

Help off so far because of 1) the Flashback overlap and 2) bunch of games that aren't going to work well with a stick...

How is Tempest 2K vs Tempest 4K? Any thoughts on the new games that are included?
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m.sniffles.esq
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Re: Tempest 2000 included in Atari 50 for Switch/PS/Steam et

Post by m.sniffles.esq »

How is Tempest 2K vs Tempest 4K?

I know it's inclusion was controversial*, but in lieu of a real spinner, I think 4K's analog control works really well and is super-fun to use. So while 4K isn't as much of a game changer as 2K, ultimately, I would love if somehow the two were frankensteined together.

(*the controversy is half justified. The game never tells you that the shoulder button acts as a brake. So without knowing that, I could see how using the analog stick would drive you crazy. That's said, you could just use the d-pad which is normal control. However. the game's pretty much designed to utilize both. As the action gets WAY too fast to use the d-pad alone, while it's precision is still needed in sections)
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davyK
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Re: Tempest 2000 included in Atari 50 for Switch/PS/Steam et

Post by davyK »

4K is an evolution over 2K. Both games are equally good to play. As mentioned above the brake button makes 4K playable, without it , it's a mess using the stick.

btw I absolutely adore Polybius....
Fingolfin
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Re: Tempest 2000 included in Atari 50 for Switch/PS/Steam et

Post by Fingolfin »

davyK wrote:btw I absolutely adore Polybius....
Played PS4 & Switch Tempest Flashbacks and Atari 50 PS4 for comparison sake last night.

Flashbacks have different screen options/setup vs Atari 50; there’s the aforementioned slightly more tight control system on PS4. Completely subjective.

As others are stating there is no replacing a real, original Atari trackball or spinner (or dual sticks for that matter).

Last night after Arcade Tempest comparisons of Flashbacks vs Atari 50 >
Tempest 2000 Atari 50 PS4>
Tempest 4K PS4 >
Polybius PS4

Minter madness

Image

Wondering if along with his love of all ruminants :mrgreen: he was also a fan of the exceptionally bad ass bass player known as Ox?

Image
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m.sniffles.esq
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Re: Tempest 2000 included in Atari 50 for Switch/PS/Steam et

Post by m.sniffles.esq »

btw I absolutely adore Polybius....

For some dumb reason, I thought Polybius was a rhythm game (ala Thumper) for the longest time. Then--I think last summer--the Steam sale had this "Minter Pack" I used to fill holes in my collection (I think Polybius was $3), and I saw it was a normal tube shooter. Not only that, but a really, really, really good one.

tl;dr: Polybius is good and NOT a rhythm game
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Lander
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Re: Tempest 2000 included in Atari 50 for Switch/PS/Steam et

Post by Lander »

Polybius is transcendant. Bloody brilliant game, easily Minter's finest to my mind.

I think it's somewhere around More Tea Vicar? that it really opens the endorphin valve. A healthy supply of fried eggs to tighten up your deflector, and plenty of beeping monoliths to crash through as you barrel down the tubehole like a madman. Bliss.

I think I read in an interview somewhere that Minter wanted to subvert and invert the Polybius myth when he was designing his version - where the original was an IPCRESS idea that would do nasty things to your head, this one is designed for its stimuli to evoke all manner of happy good feels instead.

And it succeeds with an explosion of psychedelic flying colours. I've not been much for the ASMR trend that's swept YouTube, but I'd wager there's some legitimate sensory science behind all of the crunchy sound effects, cycling colorscapes and weird little interjections about Uncle Clive and his shiny bald head. Tearing through Stage 1 with Brace Position thumping away in the background is a shortcut to feelings that other games take tens of hours and enormous budgets to evoke, and that's a god damn steal for three bucks :D
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