NetNews Usenet Archive 1992 #31/NN_1992_31.iso/spool/comp/sys/amiga/programm/17729

Internet Message Format | 1992-12-23 | 2.7 KB

Path: sparky!uunet!gatech!destroyer!cs.ubc.ca!unixg.ubc.ca!kakwa.ucs.ualberta.ca!ami-cg!cg
From: [e-mail] (Chris Gray)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.programmer
Subject: Re:  Big mistake - A compromise (of sorts)
Distribution: world
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
References:  <[e-mail]> <[e-mail]> <[e-mail]>
Date: 22 Dec 92 22:46:09 MST
Organization: Not an Organization
Lines: 41

In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail]
(Randell Jesup) writes:

>[e-mail] (Chris Gray) writes:
>>CBM has said they are working on two new chip sets/architectures. One is low
>>end and one is high end. OK, so deliberately make the two sets as incompatibl
>>as possible! Then, release the full specs on the low-end architecture, but
>>not for the high-end one.
>
>    It's not too bad an idea, except for the problem that today's high-end
>system has a good chance of becoming tomorrow's low-end system (or more likely
>the basis for developing a low-end version).  There is (or should be) a steady
>migration of technology from the high end to the low end as time goes by.
>Your idea has a problem in that if we release the specs for chipset X, and
>later make a derivative of chipset Y for the low-end, few games written for
>X (and some non-games) will work.

I understand what you are saying, and partially agree. How many of the games
for the current chipset (or for AGA for that matter) will run on the high-end
chipset? Making them compatible will make you all old before your time! Things
like the hardware-bashing demos and action games will be rewritten to take
advantage of whatever new gizmos are available to them. The writers of those
are in a constant competition to make the most use of what is given to them.
I doubt that that will change. Games that follow all the rules can be expected
to run on new architectures (perhaps with recompilation for any future new
RISC CPU), but they also will eventually want to use the new resolutions,
screen depths, sound systems, etc. Software grows old too; it just follows the
hardware by a couple of years.

I'm slowly being convinced that some of the demos and flashy games are good
for the Amiga, even if they require a reboot afterwards, and only work on
some of the machines. They are flashy, and flash attracts people. I realize
that where I'm heading is towards a split in the Amiga line - the low end
ones for demos and games, the high end ones for multimedia, animations, VR,
etc. Is this bad? Is it avoidable? Is it worth your effort to have one machine
that supports both? I dunno!

I'm off for a week - Merry Christmas to all!

--
Chris Gray   [e-mail]