Falcon 030 Power 2/F030_POWER2.iso/ST_STE/MAGS/ICTARI01.ARJ/ictari.01/MISC/FALCON/REVIEW.TXT

Text File | 1992-03-04 | 12KB | 232 lines

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                  A T A R I   F A L C O N   R E V I E W

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Well, Atari's new wonder machine has finally arrived, in small quantities
at least. The first piece of bad  news  is that due to our current dismal
standing in the exchange rates, prices  have risen. The 4/65 model (which
I 've got) now retails for around 900-1000 pounds, and I expect a similar
rise in the price of the other  configurations.. But it's worth it folks,
honest...

1) Hardware

The falcon arrives looking identical to an  STE apart from the new colour
keys. There is a small  circular  grill  on  the underside which houses a
cooling fan. Unfortunately, this  is  not thermostatically controlled and
is somewhat noisy in a small room. However, when you're using it it's not
too intrusive. The ports out the back are well documented (it's about the
only technical detail that was known  way  ahead)  but the RF output is a
phono socket, so you need to hack up  a  cable yourself to plug it into a
TV, which is how I'm using mine until my VGA monitor arrives. Sound input
and output are standard  stereo  minijacks.  The mouse/joystick ports are
still in the old stupid place too.

The hard disk supplied in my  machine  is  a Conner 65Mb model, and seems
quite fast. However, it was partitioned in a rather perculiar fashion and
I had to redo it, which  was  no trouble. Standard atari hard diskdrivers
are used.

NO video adapters are supplied. Apparently  they retail at about a tenner
each. One for ST,VGA and composite output.  The  Video socket is a 19 pin
DB socket, which I can't find a  plug for ANYWHERE. Neither Maplin nor RS
stock them, so if you are thinking of building some custom video adapter,
you'll have to get in touch with atari.

2) Software

First the bad news. Atari UK are not yet shipping Multi_Tos. However, I'm
told that it will be  sent  free  of  charge  to  all falcon owners. Also
missing are the system sound manager  and  the audio fun machine. I don't
know about them. The programs which ARE shipped are :-

a) Calappt.     A sheduler/Appointment book/phone book. This is quite a
                neat little package, icon-driven in the main and quite
                easy to follow.

b) Landmines    If you've seen minesweeper on the PC  you know what to
                expect. Only this version has sampled sound effects
                (including a great BOOM) and the buttons are given a
                nice gradual colour change..

c) Breakout     The old favourite. Samples are quite good and it plays
                quite well, but it is only breakout after all, so it
                hasn't been used much.

d) TClock       A clock program which actually TELLS you the time, no
                less. In a clear female american voice. However, since
                I'm not multi-tasking and I don't wanna pay 900 quid
                for an alarm clock, I haven't used it much..

All these programs look to have been written to use MTos, as they all sit
in windows and are mouse controlled.

3) In use

O.K., so much for the adverts. What's  it actually LIKE?? Right. I use it
mostly at 640*400*8 bit on a  TV.  THis resolution flickers somewhat, but
is usable for say an hour at  a  time  if you have reasonable breaks. The
flicker is noticeable mainly in  the  gadgets  of windows and other high-
contrast boundaries. If you display a  256-colour graphic such as  a ray-
traced picture, that doesn't flicker at  all. It feels SUBJECTIVELY about
as fast as my mono  STFM,  which  is  not  bad considering it's pushing 8
times as much data around the screen.

Actual processing seems to be about 5 times faster, which is borne out by
Quick index, which rates the CPU section  at about 450-500% of a standard
ST. It rates video performance much lower,  but  since it won't run in ST
mono res (but will  in  640*400*256..  Go  figure)  I  can't  make a real
comparison of video speed. The true-colour modes slow the video down even
more. At 320*200 it runs at  about  ST  low speed, but at 640*400*true it
drags horribly. Gemview2.13 took 2 seconds  to re-draw a window after I'd
moved it. I think the Hi-res truecolour  mode is destined to be a display
rather than a use  mode,  if  you  follow.  320*200 truecolour games seem
quite feasible though.

The new desktop (Tos 4.01 apparently) is VERY nice. All the icons are now
full colour (16) and, rather than  just inverting when selected, animate,
A drawer will open, a disk light will  come on or the wastebin's lid will
open. I'm waiting desparatley for  an  editor  for these.. You can assign
keyboard short-cuts to any menu option.  The  menu system is identical to
Tos 2.whatever. The windows and  icons  have  been spruced up and (unless
you change them with the  cpx)  are  metallic  in look, much like Windows
3.1. The whole desktop reminds  me  quite  heavily of Macintosh system 7,
which I guess is a compliment :-).


The sound system is possibly the  most  impressive  part. The claim of CD
quality sampling is by no  stretch  unfeasible.  I recorded some material
off a CD and to my  ears,  there  was  no difference when piped through a
proper stereo. Unfortunatly, the built-in speaker is somewhat tinny, so I
would advise people interested in  good  sound  quality either to link it
into a stereo system or buy a GOOD set of active walkman speakers to plug
in. The input socket is a microphone  rather than a line-in, which caused
the first input I tried to  be  somewhat distorted. However, using a lead
from a CD walkman to the socket produced a fine reproduction quality. The
system doesn't automatically pass on any audio signal fed into it, so you
have to have sound  software  running  to  hear  the  input. Using the PD
Winrec program I was able to  produce high-quality samples, and playing a
.MOD file   using  Falcplay  was  a  revelation.  The  idea  of computers
'beeping' is gone forever...



4) Compatability

Next I'll mention my efforts  running  ST software. Considering that very
little of the machines is  actually  common,  I was quite inpressed. Most
Gem programs will run, although it is  best to run in an ST compatability
mode (they have a special option in  the 'set video..' menu item) as some
can corrupt the screen. Those which  fail  to run usually give two bombs,
which if memory serves is a bus  error. This would likely they are trying
to access something  which  isn't  there  anymore...  There  are  two big
exceptions. Neither version of  Timeworks  runs.  As  soon  as you try to
access the menu, the entire computer stalls dead. This is unusual, as the
Falcon is much more able to recover  than  an ST. When a program crashes,
it now prints an alert box to  tell  you so, with aoptions to continue or
re-boot.

The other  exception  is  (get  this)  GDOS.  That's  right.  Atari,  who
complained at everybody else when  things  broke  on the STE, can't write
them properly themselves. GDOS 1.1  locks  up  the machine while booting,
which is most inconveient. You  have  to  hold down ESC,CTRL,ALT and BOTH
shift keys to stop the HD booting  (try  it sometime. You need about four
hands...) and re-install the disk so you can remove it. This also happens
if an accessory crashes it.  I  haven't  tried  that  many yet, but their
failure rate seems quite low. Luckily,  FONTGDOS  (which you can get from
some FTP sites or the ST club) works perfectly.

Some applications I KNOW run are...

        Hyperpaint/Draw
        Degas Elite
        All the Hisoft products
        Calamus 1.09
        Calamus SL
        Pagestream 2.2
        Calligrapher


Some of these require st resolutions though. The best guess is that if it
is a fairly standard GEM program,it's about 80% likely to run.

GAMES are a different matter. For one,  any that autoboots and EXPECTS to
be in ST LOW will fail, because you aren't. It boots up to 320*200*256 on
a TV. So any game which you  can't  run  from the desktop is out for that
reason. I would guess also that  most  STOS games will fail, because they
always seem to. Incidentally, a STOS 3D  game from ST format's cover disk
of a while ago works fine (talk  about  smooth  3d.  Run it on an ST then
double the speed. I just wish  I  understood  what was going on.) but the
palette is corrupted. Quite a few PD  games run, some at normal speed and
others with varying degrees  of acceleration.  My fave game at the moment
is another ST format one, called DROID.  Sort of a rip-off of The Killing
Game show. On a falcon it  makes  Sonic  the  Hedghog look like a slug. I
haven't got many commercial games, because  I  sold  most of them with my
ST. There is supposed to  be  a  program  called DcBootit (I think) which
allows you to run an  autoboot  disk  from  the desktop. However, I can't
find this program so I can't say. With  games it is definitly suck it and
see, I'm afraid.  Also,  the  DEMO  of  Mig-29  runs  perfectly and looks
amazing.

When people start writing flight  simulators  for  this bird, we're gonna
have a whale of a time. Falcon Falcon 3.0 anyone?

5) Conclusion

The question we have to ask is,  would  I  buy  one again if this one was
taken away. I have to say yes I  would.  And I work every day using Mac's
and PC's. The falcon 4/65 with  a  VGA  monitor retails at about the same
price as a Mac LCIII (when  they  hit  the streets. ATARI aren't the only
ones who miss  shipping  dates..)   which  is  a  comparable machine. The
difference between the two is a toss up. The new desktop (with Multi-Tos)
is as good as system 7, and  the  quality of Atari software has caught up
to that of the Mac recently.

With Calamus SL or pagestream 2  you  can  produce  just as good DTP as a
mac, with Lexicor's modelling software you can do high-quality animation.
The Atari also has superior sound, a better games market and the huge ace
of a DSP chip.

Whether to buy  a  falcon  or  a  PC  is  possibly  a  harder choice. The
equivalent price PC will be  faster  than  the  Falcon, and will probably
have a bigger hard disk. There is  also  the huge range of PC software to
consider. However, to upgrade  a  PC  to  something  close to the general
facilities the falcon has  (sound,graphics  etc..)  would require further
outlay, and you have the massive performance drag of Windows to consider.
The reason you can buy a 486/25 for  the same price is because you NEED a
486/25 to get similar GUI performance.  Same for disk space. Calligrapher
pro takes up about 3 megs  of  disk space max. Wordperfect for Windows or
Word for Windows take up 10's  of  megabytes.  They also cost a lot more.
The bare economics  is  that,  in  the  U.K.  at  least,  in  pure USABLE
performance terms, the falcon is  the  equal  of  any  other machine in a
comparable price bracket. If you include  the as yet unexploited power of
the DSP and the high-power sound system, it's quite superior. If you have
an ST and are thinking of upgrading for  serious use, it's the way to go.
For games you might be  better  buying  a  Super  Nintendo or a Megadrive
right now (or even waiting  for  the  Atari Jaguar...). Some falcon games
are coming, but it'll be a couple  of  years maybe before we actually see
what it can do..

Would I buy one again? Yes. Like a shot. Would I give mine up for a PC or
Mac? No, sorry. Can you borrow it? Not a chance....

If anyone wants to contact  me  with  a  question  I can be contacted via
JANET mail  as  [e-mail].  If  you  don't  have  Janet
Facilities, You could write to  NIk  at  the  user  group address, and he
might be able to pass things on to me.

        Jonathan White