Any possibility of doing that 2007?
I'm interested!

But on XBLA, with online multiplayer. EA raped Wing Commander, so someone has to step up to the plate with a REAL space combat sim.

Yeah, it's glorified free-roaming Zaxxon from what I can see. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it didn't seem to click well from the videos.

Scott sucks!

There's an incomplete copy of BSG on ebay the seller has no idea that it's incomplete. I'm going to be watching this one. It would be funny to see SS4U get this copy.

Incomplete?

I didn't see it (BS:G) on eBay what section is it in?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...E:IT&ih=016

No mention of JUGS, the hookups or the demo CD. Those are all valid salespoints, and since the seller doesn´t mention them, we can only assume they aren´t part of the package.

We could be wrong though.

EDIT: Seller clarified this in another thread. Mystery solved.

Oppressor sux cheese orbs.

It's what the nerds all do!

Where does one hunt for these golden orbs?

This was original posted on the "One Born every minute" thread about how SS4U raked in $600 for Battlesphere. Thunderbird commented that the Diabetes foundation has probably receive less from Battlesphere sales than SS4U at this point.

I thought this message was worth posted on the Battlesphere thread because I believe it is a viable solution, if we really do still want at least part of the Battlesphere money to go to diabetes research and not in the hands of privateers.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-




But seriously shows one thing, that there are still people who want to play the game. I get comments to my Battlesphere videos on Youtube all the time "Wish I could find a copy of that..." There's a need or want and business people are looking to find what people or need or want and make a buck from it.

Either good intentioned people work to fill that void, or other people will.

Dispite how flakey Thunderbird can be as a friend/associate, I respect him and his crew for their work because I know their love and intentions for the Jaguar, and what they worked to raise money for. I have the means to make copies of Battlesphere, but would not sell for that reason.

Others, once again, see a need, couldn't give a rats ass about Scatologic's intentions or love for the Jaguar (since they are business people out to make a buck and could not give a rats ass about the Jaguar), and will do what it takes to fill that need. Or buy real copies, which aren't cheap to begin with, and sell at outragious prices. Why? Because they can.

Don't like it? Then sue them, accept you aren't doing something to fill that need and they are, or work to fill that need.

What I would like to see, to make one of the best games of the Jaguar possible, is subcontracting of building carts by Scatologic-Blessed people. Let people make carts, take in a partial profit above the cost to build to pay them for their time, and then the understanding that the rest go to the Diabetes Association.

People would jump at the chance to to pay $100 for a Battlesphere cart, right? I would, others have mentioned they would pay no more than that. So cost of building the cart (shell, modified board, eproms, label), 10% to the builder for their time, everything else off the top goes to the Diabetes Association. If in the end that is only $10-$15 per cart to the Diabetes Association Foundation, that is still better than what they are getting now.

Box and manual are extra. I would say most just want to play the game and couldn't give a smeg about the box or manual. Especially people, like me, who are looking to buy additional copies for a larger Battlesphere network. Why do I need 12 more manuals and boxes?

People WANT to play Battlesphere. Either we make a solution possible so that the Diabetes Association foundation will get at least some money, or people like SS4U will get loaded pockets and the Diabetes Association foundation will get nothing.

Thunderbird has said in the past he would consider letting someone else build carts,
as long as they do not profit from it and take away from the charity.
What you are suggesting does not conform to that.


Its their game to do with as they wish, there does not have to be a compromise here, you are forgetting that simple fact.


Its a pride in quality thing, if you don't want the box, throw it away.

i kinda like the fact that Battlesphere is really rare an expensive.......

I think it is not THAT rare but thought after. Add to that, that it is a multiplayer game, so people seek for multiple copies ( as you might know ;-))
and through that it gets more rare and expensive. I wish I could add a second BSG to my collection so I could have some really nice linkgame with a friend from time to time but then again I am pretty happy with my one copy and the rare chance to play it linked at €-Jagfest. Wish everyone had this opportunity.

Thunderbird has said in the past he would consider letting someone else build carts,
as long as they do not profit from it and take away from the charity.
What you are suggesting does not conform to that.

What I've mentioned is a win/win/win solution for the cart maker and the game designer. The cart maker gets a small thank you for their time involved to make the game, the designer is happier to know that part of the proceeds go for the original intended charity. The final win is the typical Jag gamer that wants to play Battlesphere for around $100.

Its their game to do with as they wish, there does not have to be a compromise here, you are forgetting that simple fact.

Don't get up in arms Jagmod, this is a suggestion and I have forgotten nothing. I see something that people want, looking for a solution that can make Thunderbird's and our dreams come true: To keep money flowing into the original charity, and to stop privateering from happening while making the game more affordable to typical Jag gamers. How do you keep eyesores like SS4U from happening? By making Battlesphere less rare. How do you do that? Make more carts? How can you do that? Employ approved people to do the work.


(about boxes/manuals) Its a pride in quality thing, if you don't want the box, throw it away.

Again, a suggestion on a way to save time and money on production. The suggestion is to make it optional.

And really, that is really all this is, a suggestion. Thunderbird was moaning about how SS4U was profiteering, I could just stand by and say "Yeh, I hear you.. well, I'm off to go play Bubsy" or I can go above that and give a suggestion for a solution.

I remember in the mid nineties when the Star Wars figures came out again, everyone was hording Star Wars figures, charging great rates for the figures. The hording and price gouging ended when I heard Kenner got word of it and decided to ramp up production. Finally hording ended, and the figures were finally able to reach the hands that should have gotten them... the kids who wanted to play with them.

THAT'S how you beat someone like SS4U.

I wish I had a copy of battlesphere to play

TBird has addressed this many times.
Why should anyone other than the charity recieve money for this game?
Why should the cart maker receive money when TBird won't see a dime?
It is not a win for all involved.


Its a suggestion that has been brought up many times in the past and the answer from TBird was always the same.


SS4U is not the first to profit from BS, nor will he be the last.

I would love to see another run of BS carts so everyone would have an opportunity to play it and
continue to buy copies as they want to grow a network.

But unless TBird decides to donate more of his time and effort and money to make another run happen,
I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for someone to step up and offer to build the carts for free and to
the quality standards he demands.

This is actually the point I'm making.

Did anyone say anything important here? I stopped reading when I was called "flakey".

Flakey?

I don´t think I´ve ever met a person more consistent in his viewpoints than you.
Anyway, I´ve grown to like these petitions for more Battlesphere carts every few months. Gives me yet another opportunity to praise the game immensely.

Something I recently discovered is that, apart from being a kickass shooter and a Jaguar milestone etc, you´ve managed to infuse the game with both its own personality as well as giving it your own personal touch (Scott´s, Stephanie´s and your own, of course).
I don´t believe I´ve seen this outside of a Jeff Minter game in a very long time.
Once again, good job!
BattleSphere ™ - Best shooter of its generation. Accept no imitations.

Flakey doesn't come to mind with me when describing you.

Stubborn does. Stubborn like a mule.

I always thought 'No. 7.' would also be a good nickname for you.

flakey.......

PM to Thunderbird. Otherwise I've made my suggestion. Have fun with Battlesphere, I know I am.

That's one of the most gratifying things anyone has said about the game in a very long time. Thanks!

thats trueA! Battlesphere™ does kick ass!!! great game!

You´re quite welcome.
The thing is, I wasn´t the there for the whole BattleSphere ™ launch-thing. From 1996 - 2001 I was up to my knees in kids (literally), so I kind of dropped out of the whole Jaguar scene for a long time there.
I bought the game a few years back with no preconceived ideas of what to expect.
I guess the mythical aura of the game was what drew me in.
I played it for a while and gave it rest. Then I rekindled my interest in the game, this time judging its qualities as a 3D shooter, comparing it to other games, forgetting about the whole supply/demand situation and definitely not thinking about the mythical aspect.
What I found was a shooter that I wanted to come back to time after time. Nothing but.
Honestly, I couldn´t give a frak whether or not other people get to play this game. Yes, I´m that selfish.
I´m having the time of my life when I enter the BattleSphere ™. Every time.

That's from: http://vintageatari.com/jaguargames.php

I didn't know that along with Star Raiders, an original Star Trek episode was an inspiration for the game; Thunderbird, is this correct?

I've really grown attached to my BattleSphere classic & Gold editions. I like the fact that I can wake up and play them first thing in the morning (like I beleive TB said of playing Star Raiders back in the day - I think??) or I can play them at any time I wish. As far as the the Star Trek comment I have gone through at least 20 pages of goooooogle links with the search criteria being, "Atari Jaguar BattleSphere" or with "reviews" put on the end of that search and I have yet to see anyone say it was based off a Star Trek episode, I thought it was a Star Raiders update -in AATE mode. I may have somehow missed that info though . If this is true it's the first I've heard of it, if so, then which Original Star Trek episode title is the one referred to, so I can look for it and watch it again.

Thanks.

Arena. I believe it´s covered somewhere in this very thread.

EDIT: It´s this thread: http://jaysmith2000.ipbhost.com/index.php?...76&hl=arena

(which, apparently I started myself a while back) and looking through it, Arena is never in fact confirmed as the episode. Still the best suggestion. The Gamesters of Triskelion is on the table also, but I fail to see the connection. We never *did* find out how exactly Arthur C. Clarke was a part of this whole thing either.

Keep Guessing!

Maybe you'll even attract Oppressor here to discuss it!

Thanks Palmer, I will keep a lookout for those episodes and watch them,.. looking for BattleSphere inspirations.

Thanks also for the link, I have not read that JS2 thread, seems like you have the same questions I have.

Where is Oppressor then?
What must one do in order to attract his attention to the threads these days?

They´re good questions.
One of the more obscure inspirations for BattleSphere ™ seems to come from the Babylon 5 television series. One of the unlockable "codes" is called "All alone in the Night", which I´m sure is a reference to B5, but since I haven´t found out what exactly this code does, I´m still pretty much at a loss as to the specifics.

Just wanted to add, got my copy in the mail today. This is the kind of game that makes me want to buy a pro joystick. It's like a faster, more colorful version of Tie Fighter back in the day (my previous all-time favorite space actioner).

Does network mode have the same kind of playability over JagLink?

I actually believe Tie Fighter was one of the main inspirations for BattleSphere.

I think I´ve nailed one of the inconsistensies of the BattleSphere FAQ.
This particular line of the FAQ has had many people puzzled for a long time:

The ancient Star Trek episode which inspired BattleSphere, was itself inspired by an even more ancient Arthur C. Clarke short story.

I never could figure out how Arthur C. Clarke and Star Trek were related and less so how they would have tied in with BattleSphere.
So. What if the FAQ isn´t entirely accurate? What if the Arthur C. Clarke angle is there but not related to an episode of Star Trek?
I read somewhere a long time ago that the Oppressor race from BattleSphere is based on the Overlords from Clarke´s Childhood´s End. That´s one Clarke inspiration right there.
Another one can be found in the Telchine race of BattleSphere, who may or may not be inspired by the Ramans from Clarke´s Rendezvous with Rama. They sure do share similar traits.
So, that takes care of the Clarke angle, and if we can assume that the ancient episode of Star Trek that inspired BattleSphere is Arena, we can lay the matter to rest.
I rest my case.

Derek Else of Else Engineering designed the Jaglink2 and tested it with BattleSphere™ and says it can link "2 to N Jaguars" in a daisy chain fashion. Jaglink2 is basically a two port hub and they can be linked to other multiple Jaglink2s. You use it with the original Atari Jaglink which are $20 or so for one set. Jaglink2s are available again NOW!, after a long absence at the Atariage store; for $30 + s/h. Quite a price difference from the hard to find and very expensive ICD Catbox & Scatologic Scatbox™. These two alternatives go for hundreds & hundreds of dollars. So Jaglink2s are the cheapest alternative , although Gunstar, reports only 95% compatibility. Haven't tried any network modes yet, but I've heard when setting them up you can't use different linking devices, you must use all of one type.

Congratulations, DrMalba on your BattleSphere purchase!

Arena sounds like the most likely inspiration, but I'd like to view all 70 or so original episodes again to look for possible BattleSphere beginnings. I've seen, probably all original episodes multiple times, I'm sure , but it was a loong time ago.

ScatoLOGIC has never tested the Jag-Link 2 product and has no information regarding it's compatibility with any of our products.

We believe it has never been tested with more than 3 copies of BattleSphere™, and suspect that the signal degrades due to the fact the bussed nature of the network is being replaced with signal repeaters.

We have no evidence that any signal integrity testing was ever performed with our products and believe that simply connecting 3 Jaguars together and playing a few rounds of our game is inadequate testing. There may very well be a tremendous amount of bit errors being generated and bandwidth is being consumed by the robust error correction and retry logic built into our network protocol. If a portion of the bandwidth is being consumed by error retry messages, then that's taking away from the bandwidth of the distributed AI and could be slowing the performance of the network and also may introduce lag.

Only testing performed with special network monitor Jaguars that understand the BattleSphere™ Network protocol can detect this type of problem and only the BCD Catbox and ScatoLOGIC ScatBOX™ have ever undergone this type of test.

We do not endorse this product in any way. Use of our trademarks to promote this product is a violation of the trademarks.

Use at your own risk.

OK , That's why I posted about Derek Else's Jaglink 2 here in this thread because I, personally, wanted to know your opinion of this linking method especially after Gunstar's remarks that it's not fully 100% compatible. Thank you for the information, I had not considered AI bandwidth loss & network slowdown, that would definitely take away from the game. So, The Jaglink 2 is not the ideal linking device. Conclusion: Not Scatologic approved.

It's none of my business,... of course, but have you talked to Derek about the use of your trademarks on his site without your consent? So people don't get the wrong idea about using a cheaper alternative like the Jaglink2 and thinking it would be just as good as a cat/scatbox. He is presenting BS as the primary use of his Jaglink2, by only showing the three
BS station setup running.

Don't know if showing the Jaglink2 linking 3 BS stations, with the below quote at the bottom of every page, constitutes fair use of someone's trademark:



Anyways, The Jaglink2 isn't mentioned in the BS manual so logically, I should have realized it's not an approved linking method. Thanks man.

Interesting. I'd love to know how he came up with his conclusions.



Also consider that RS-232 signals are a digital signal transmitted over analog wires at a distance. Every time you convert the signal from RS-232 to 5V Logic Level, or from 5V Logic to RS-232 you are making a copy of the signal with slight imperfections. If you daisy chain a lot of these level converters together you are essentially taking the signals and making a copy-of-a-copy-of-a-copy-of-a-copy, etc. for as many of these things you string together. Think about taking a VHS tape and copying a copy of a copy of a copy 8 or 16 times and tell me it looks as good as the original. That's what daisy chaining does to the signals.

And we all know that the Jag's UART is touchy and sensitive to bad signals even on a GOOD day.



He burned his bridges by trying to sneak his device onto the market when he read I was working on the ScatBOX™. He never asked any questions of me regarding getting it tested or even if I would give him advice on how to make it compatible. He intentionally tried to slip it under my radar and beat me to market. Then he attacked me and my product when I did come out and I told him he shouldn't be using claims of compatibility or at least state how he tested so people would know. He just came back and said what a bad person I was and how he was being treated unfairly.



It implies an endorsement or at the very least independent testing to insure compatibility. Neither of which I think he has.

Thank You for the detailed information , and interesting insight about how BattleSphere linkage works, and the reasons why Cat/Scatboxes are a much superior way to set up a Jag network. Too many errors, with error upon error definitely cannot be good in running a quality BS network. The VCR/video tape copy of a copy analogy was an excellent way to visualize & describe what detriments can be done to a BS network, using inferior and unapproved linking devices. I've used VCR's and videotapes a lot in the past and know exactly how crappy a copy of a copy can be, especially in EP mode. It's always nice to be able to ask you directly about such things.



Oops, it was doctorclu who stated the Jaglink2 is not fully 100% compatable:

doctorclu:


It's from this thread on Atariage:
http://www.atariage.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=118837


I've got two Catboxes so at least I can set up a two player network, with optimum connections.

In a nutshell, the CatBox/ScatBOX™ solution connects all the Jaguars up in parallel. Every one is connected to the same wires as every other one so when one guy talks, every other guy hears him at the same instant in time (neglecting the speed of electricity travelling down the wire, because it's instant for all practical purposes).

In a "daisy chain" network, you depend on each Jaguar forwarding copies of the data to the next guy in line...

It's rather humorous how certain pirates all hang out on a "general purpose" Atari forum and talk about how they are Jaguar Developers, but they tremble in their boots at the thought of coming to a Jaguar-Specific forum because for some odd reason the people that are specifically Jaguar fans don't agree with them on certain important issues.

I wonder how many "general purpose" Atari fans are going to buy "Jaguar Specific" hardware...

T-Bird... I know you are cooking something up interesting for the Jaguar in the future. Not sure what it'll be but I look forward to all future releases.

As for 'Jag Developers' in general purpose Atari sites... I guess they want the Big fish little pond feeling. lol They should venture into the ocean that is JSII and really get involved.... ahh but the bs they reek of will attract bigger fish and swallow them whole. lol

By the way... what's that cart (?) in your avatar? IT appears there are chips (or connections?) on the outside of the shell... looks very interesting regardless. Just being nosey.

That´s the ScatBOX ™

ScatBOX Deluxe™ To Be Precise!

But thanks for answering!

Maybe it just looks that way 'cuz the shell is clear?

I want one.

Scatbox Deluxe eh? Is this something new? Something that may see a release in the future? If so, I'll be in line to get one... would this bring the Jaguar into HighDefinition or something wild and crazy?