Jeff Minter responding to critiscm his graphic style had been done on the Amiga 5 years earlier : when the game first came out, many folk in the US likened the style to that of a PC demo crew that I'd never seen.. it seems that one thing I have in common with demo crews is an eye for a nice effect :-).. however the 'melt-o-vision' (Atari's tongue in cheek name for the melt effect, which is in fact an application of the concept of video feedback to a bitmapped display) and 'pixelshatter' (simply exploding/rotating a bitmap) effects came about because I liked the way they looked, and they could both run as single-pass blitter operations. If I'm going to be flamed for simply exploiting the features of the blitter in an interesting way, well, foo. As for being innovative - sure, particle effects and video feedback are as old as the hills (look at any old '70s 'Top Of The Pops' for some fairly nauseating examples of the latter) but at that time people weren't using the Jaguar blitter in that way, so why not? Hehe.. \ (:-) - [actually quite amused by all this] /
The "traditional tempest" mode was basically just the leavings of some work I had done right at the start of developing the game. I brought up a quick version of what I remembered of the original game, just using plain vectors, in about four weeks, so that I had something you could actually play, and to use as a template to build "real" T2K upon. Trad mode is more or less that same code, just left in as an extra goodie for people to play with. I was under no obligation to include classic Tempest at all, but I thought it would be cool to leave it in. I almost wish I hadn't, now, with the amount of bickering that goes on about it... \ (:-) /
I think the music _in_ the game as actually better than the polished music CD version. It's the rawness that makes it shine. And yeah, absolutely loved this one.
The "Zone" you speak of, is what Minter describes as the DEFENDER TRANCE : when you get that out-of-body experience, when your world becomes the game, when you're outside yourself just watching this little ship pulling off these ultra-precision moves, and part of you is grooving on the CD you've got on, and part of you is just enjoying the rush, and part of you *becomes* the ship.... haven't had a game give me The TRANCE since Defender. Maybe it's because these new games focus on more than enough details you just can't wrap your mind around and let flow endlessly. \ (:-) /
Jeff Minter and his trippy visual for the games he's work on.Nice that you have jag controller,modded for a rotary dial the best way to play tempest.Also,long time no see for this review with the current pandemic i was wondering if i see more,MCTV reviews again.
As soon as I saw "MasterCast-TV has uploaded a new video" in my notifications, I clicked on that before even acknowledging the very existence of everything else on my screen!
I know, right? Folks thought I died. LOL! Hadn't planned on doing one any time soon, but.... I don't know. I may be in the Resident Evil mood. Need to get my skills back though. Been playing the Saturn conversion of the first game a bunch lately - NORTH AMERICAN! Yes, stronger enemies, no auto-aim, can't take as much damage before needing to heal, etc. Damn, bro! I've been spoiled with the Japanese version.
Jeff talking rotary controller support At the moment I know of nobody making a Tempest controller, which is a shame. I'm sure Atari could find some other games to use it... UntraBreakout (ARKANOID squared)... or Tac-Scan 2000 hehe... - I believe that someone at Atari once hacked an arcade Tempest controller to work with T2K. However I have never seen it, so I can't give you a definitivle yes on that. \ (:-) - listening to The Orb /
Jeff talking about the graphics Sure, you can display 24bit and run a game! The main reason for using 16bit is that certain blit operations are optimised for that mode. Truecolour would be a bit slower, inevitably - you're looking at twice as much RAM to clear - but it sure ain't gonna bring the Jag to a halt! I used 384x240 (280 for PAL) 16-bit. As for which *screen* has the most colours, hell, I don't know! I didn't count them, there's way too many! \ (:-) /
More Minter: Classic mode on T2K, which, as has been endlessly discussed, is nowhere near an accurate port of the coin-op. I did it all from memory not having seen a "live" Tempest machine for years. Get X3 (PlayStation) for the 2K game by all means, but if what you want is actual original Tempest, go for the PSX pack or get Microsoft Arcade Classics volume 1, which has a decent port. \ (:-) / The "traditional tempest" mode was basically just the leavings of some > work I had done right at the start of developing the game. I brought up > a quick version of what I remembered of the original game, just using > plain vectors, in about four weeks, so that I had something you could > actually play, and to use as a template to build "real" T2K upon. Trad > mode is more or less that same code, just left in as an extra goodie for > people to play with. I was under no obligation to include classic > Tempest at all, but I thought it would be cool to leave it in. I almost > wish I hadn't, now, with the amount of bickering that goes on about > it... > > \ > (:-) > /
It's been awhile. One of the best games for the Jaguar. Of course, for me, AVP is my favorite for the system. 6:05 Tempest seems to take place in space, so it's space gas or dust. 10:13 I see you haven't gotten to level 64...ha, ha, ha!
Yeah, masturbation won't do itself. LOL! Alien vs. Predator is definitely in my Top 5, though I don't know if I can give it the top spot. Then again, I hit both games with great regularity. It's tough. 6:05 - How dare you try to apply logic to this game! FOR SHAME, SIR! FOR SHAME! 10:13 - I know. I'm a failure.
Saturn Tempest 2000 coder talking about the Jaguar version : Tempest 2000 on the Jag is, undeniably, one of the best console games available. In some circles, it's considered to be THE best game. There were, however some problems. Among them, the frame-rate got a little weird on some levels, and the pixel shatter effects did sometimes obscure the view a touch too much as a result.
Jeff talking about games sound: Actually the second sound effect was never supposed to say "boost". It was just a general kinda orgiastic pleasure noise. The game was set to alternate between the two, switching whenever you passed through a speedup and increasing in pitch thru the level. Given that the noise is not meant to be announcing "boost" at the speedup rings, there is no right or wrong way to do those sounds, and it's therefore not a bug. So there. :-) \ (:-) / (anyway, I would have prefurred to have the ecstatic bleating of sheep anyway :-])
Didn't realise UK magazine, Games World were not as taken in by it as Gamesmaster Magazine, despite a score of 81% some of the magazines reviewers did not mix their words. 2 pointing out it was merely an update of a 13 year old game, one went as far to say this would make for a stunning Game Boy title, another saying he was unimpressed. Game had repetitive music.
The partciles are awesome, i awlays like when a game uses it so well. Atari may never tought that one day one of their jaguar games would cause raging boners like you said. And that othr controller is a piece of beauty.
RU-vid is the worst. Even though I’ve watched every single one of your videos many, many times, this did not pop up in my sub feed. If it wasn’t for your Facebook post, I never would have known! Awesome video, I never knew about the controller mod. I can’t believe the game maker added that mode, that’s really the icing on the cake. What a legend
I didn't expose him; I merely provided a voice for those that needed one. Seriously, my contribution to Andrew Whittaker's downfall was greater. Kieren, unfortunately, is still a blight on the community. He managed to bypass RU-vid's rules and regulations, creating a new channel after his old one had been ripped down after receiving numerous copyright notices (stealing content), simply by changing the name slightly. Now, it's "The Laird's Lair"; not "Laird's Lair". He'll still keep doing dumb shit, no doubt, but I don't think he'll be able to weasel his way into anymore ghost writing gigs.... One can hope.
@@MasterCastTV sadly for you guys, it looks like he's trying to reinvent himself for the USA now the UK has seen him for what he really is. Sun has truly set on the Empire if we are exporting the likes of Retro Laird
I still play this game since launch. I have built the Jaguar into my arcade cabinet with a rotary controller. It's still amazing and on a 29 inch CRT with RGB out it's glorious. This is in my top 10 games of all time, that's how good it is. There are plenty of rotary controllers on eBay for this game. The soundtrack is glorious and playing for high score with your friends is super fun. If anything this game doesn't get the credit it deserves. The Jaguar version is still the best version of Tempest ever made. Even Tempest 4K pales. Fun fact, the AI of the Jaguar Tempest is still the best, even the AI Droid has its own AI routine. In every other version the AI Droid only follows you, it will not seek enemies on its own. Basically it's fucking perfect as a game.
It's fucking amazing. I can't believe I put it off for so long. I'd love to see that arcade cabinet you built. Got a link to a video? Can it be seen on Facebook? There's no rotary controllers on eBay. Not right now at least. There's a guy offering modification service, though it's the only listing I've seen.
This game is a masterpiece and in my top ten Games of all time. I play this game so much I actually built an arcade cabinet with a 29 inch CRT monitor and rotary controls just a play it. I might put a video on RU-vid so people can see it.
I concur. LOL! Seriously, this game's like a drug. It's been a coping mechanism of sorts. These are indeed challenging times, but when I'm playing this none of it seems to matter. Almost like the game centers me, like it clears my mind. I'm grateful for that.
Wow you referenced my favorite NIN song (Perfect Drug) and one of my favorite foods (cheesy fiesta potatoes). Quite the enthusiastic review, it actually made me want to play this game again, as it was not one of my Jag favorites.
Ha! Funny. "Perfect Drug" is a favorite of mine as well. I wonder if Reznor's attitude toward the track has improved. I realize he was going through his own shit at the time, so it has a different feel for him, but it's a solid fuckin' cut.
Yeah, I was playing this at a friend's house years ago and it's seriously hard to put down. I could make a Superman 64 joke, but tempest 2000 is a game and Superman 64 is a dark anomaly spewed from the most abysmal chasm of agony and defeat.
Just to clarify, Jeff Minter coded Tempest 2000 from his home in Wales, not Sunnyvale Atari HQ as Jane Whittaker has claimed. Jeff was at Sunnyvale doing experimental Jaguar coding before returning home to code Tempest 2k Whittaker hadn't even joined Rebellion and AVP was far from near finished when Minter was there. got invited to a Jag devcon in the UK at the end of '92, where we were shown Jag for the first time. They had Tigercube (which has since mutated to become the spinning Jaguar logo) and various demos of the colour capabilities, spriting and Gouraud shading. I was interested then, and they gave us the tech notes to take away and they made interesting reading, but I didn't fully realise what Jag was actually like until a few weeks later. Atari invited me out to Sunnyvale to write some demos for the Jag. I remember the moment the penny dropped - I was learning the blitter and I wrote this warp effect using only the 68K and the blitter. I assumed that, as it was quite a nasty warp, it would be a non-realtime effect - something you'd do once to a bitmap and then display the result. I got it going, it ran, and warped this image of a girlie I was using as source. Then Leonard came by and said, how about putting it in a realtime loop? I said naaah, didn't intend it to be realtime, but I put it in a loop that altered some parameters and tried it out anyway... and it went in realtime - that girlie was warping about like she was on a sheet of rubber, and I just went F###! Then it just took over, the hardware sprite scaling, the rotation, the shaded blitting, it just blew me away again and again. At that point my soul belonged to Jaguar. Source: www.atarimax.com/freenet/freenet_material/6.16and32-BitComputersSupportArea/8.OnlineMagazines/showarticle.php?449
True but he definitely spent some time in Sunnyvale as I met and spoke to him there twice over the span of 6 months. So not full time but a little bit of time. I still can’t believe Whittaker is pulling off this ruse. Crazy.
@@Gorilla_Jones nobody is doubting Jeff was there before and after coding Tempest 2K,its Whittaker name dropping time-line B. S that's winding folks up He takes events that actually happened, puts himself there, exaggerates roles, twists everything. This V. P of Atari at 19 claim by Whittaker.. Good Grief
Having recently warmed slightly to Tempest 4000 on PS4, i still wish Jeff hadn't just brought T2K to the modern platforms, rather than go overboard on the visual clutter with T4K. 2000 is by far the purer title. Jeff's become something of a diva when it comes to Tempest. He's stated in his old articles he's grown to feel he's inherited Tempest from Dave Thayer... Responds poorly to criticism of Tempest 3000 and Space Giraffe and thus the same mistakes in these crop up in 4000. He came across as a little too nose out of joint, I wasn't asked to code it, when reviewing Playstation Tempest X3 I used to play 2000 for hours. I dip into 4000 for a very quick blast every now and then.
I totally agree. I'll have to give the rotary it's own video, just showing off games it supports and how it affects game play. Thanks again, Tom. She's fuckin' gorgeous!
This is gonna piss off a bunch (more like almost every) Atari Jaguar fan: I'm not interested in Tempest 2000. I played this game once at a gaming convention (the same convention I got my Jaguar at) and it just wasn't for me. I've never really been a big fan of Tempest in general (even though I named a character after it).
Hahaha! It's not like you said it's an overrated, poorly made relic from the 90's. Now *that* may ruffle one's feathers. That being said, folks have given me shit for not liking Final Fantasy VII.
When I finally bought a Jaguar(with a bunch of its best games) around 10 years ago, Tempest 2000 really impressed me. The graphics have a nice neon sheen, the music is pumping, and it's really slick to play. I love how polished every facet of the game is. It's easily my favourite game for the Jaguar. This really entertaining review really highlighted how special this game is. Thanks. 😎
This game is a must own. And don't forget the rotary. Might as well recommend that too. I don't think I've made it past the 50ish levels. I can't imagine beating 100 and unlocking beastly mode...
Oh, I show off the rotary. Was so impressed with the D-pad I didn't think the rotary would add much initially, but - DAMN - was I wrong. I haven't made it past 48 yet. 😞
@@derekdash2179 That's addressed during the "plus" segment, though only through text. I had neglected to mention it during my narration and I was too lazy to re-write/re-record it.... Yes, I suck.
It's funny how often people don't "get" all the fuss over this game. Then... they play it. It's just a total fun trip. Have you played Tempest 3000 or Tempest 4000?
Right? Happy to say I'm one of those folks that was shone the light. Yes, I've played both. Tempest 3000 is awesome! It's definitely mesmerizing, and I like the new nets. More complex and challenging. As for Tempest 4000, it looks and sounds great, though I had difficulty acclimating to the controls. It just didn't feel right to me? That, and I had gotten Polybius at the same time, so I was distracted by that.
@@MasterCastTVHopefully it won't be regardless I'll be glad to watch whatever you put out next. Would love to see you cover some of the fps games on Saturn as well Wolfenstein on Jaguar and Burning Rangers as well. :)
Oh, I've been wanting to do Wolfenstein on Jaguar/3DO, as well as the North American/Japanese versions of Burning Rangers. I just need to knock out some more Jaguar videos first. That, and I gotta' finish my Virtua Cop double-feature.
All of those sound awesome mate. We'll gladly watch them all. Not enough cover the jaguar on RU-vid its awesome to see those games. I got a Saturn off a mate late last year and I absolutely adore it to pieces one of the best consoles I've had the pleasure of playing on. Gladly gonna collect more games for it in the future.
NICE! The Saturn's still my all-time favorite. So many great games - especially if you import. Some of my favorites are Virtua Cop's I & II, Die Hard Arcade, Sega Rally Championship, Virtua Fighter 2, Deep Fear, Burning Rangers, any SNK and Capcom conversion, Powerslave (Exhumed on your side of the pond), Quake, Duke Nukem 3D, Resident Evil, D and so much more. It's just a fantastic console. If you can, get a 3D analogue controller - the one that came with Nights into Dreams. Makes Powerslave, Quake and Duke handle like butter.
Fuckin' A right! After having played the game for so many months now I understand why it receives as much praise as it does. Such a great game.... Shame Tempest 4000 underwhelms. *That* was really disappointing.
@@MasterCastTV Yes, T4K is a bit disappointing. T3K actually had a perfect difficulty curve, but it seemed to be missing some things in comparison to T2K.
Is there any other way to play Tempest 3000 without getting into the Nuon racket? I really don't wanna' live through the nightmare of having to find a Nuon controller.
@@MasterCastTV Scratch my last comment. Looks like an emulator called Nuance had been started, but the author died before getting it to a stable state. Looks like someone else may be working on it now: www.thehelper.net/threads/resurrecting-nuance.166935/
@@MasterCastTV I went on a binge to try and conquer level 64. At the end of it, I was dreaming in vector graphics. THAT'S how addicting the game is. :)
Master-Cast TV i have a music channel, and there have been comments like that too. They always pop up within 30 seconds of posting the video. Damn bots!!!
I know, right? At first, after having died a few times early on, I thought to myself, "Wow! This actually plays pretty well. Okay, I'll stick with it." Before I knew it a 15 minute session turned into 2 hours. WTF?! It's been awhile since i game made me lose complete track of time.
I'd say skip Tempest and go straight for Tempest 2000 on Saturn. From what I've been told, it controls just as well. The version of classic Tempest on Atari Collection Vol. I just isn't all it's cracked it to be.
@@MasterCastTV Jaguar version has slowdown which Saturn version doesn't, but Saturn can't fully replicate the headfuck visual effects Minter got by coding the Jaguar chipset backwards
Whatever you do, don't try Tempest 4000 JEFF screwed the purity of Tempest 2000 right up. So much visual clutter and difficulty spikes from the off. Great review here, been waiting for you to look at this one for ages
DUDE! It's been forever! How's your bod? I'm sad to say I already bought and played Tempest 4000. Sadly, I feel your assessment is accurate. I gave it 20 minutes and it just didn't feel right. Oddly enough, the 20+ year old console has better control. Whoof! Thanks, man! I was waiting to get a rotary controller. Felt it would be lacking to speak of Tempest 2000 and *not* demonstrate the rotary somehow.
@@MasterCastTV doing ok here. Hope you and your family are safe. Fantastic to see you back doing videos. Never tried Tempest 3000, but it appears Jeff learnt little from it, with 4000.
Oh yeah, the family's fine. In spite of the stupidity that surrounds us. LOL! It's great having time to work on 'em again. The demand at Costco's been extreme. Either people clearing us out, or demanding we continue producing certain products (we did away with half-sheet cakes during this pandemic).
@@MasterCastTV Good to hear your all safe. UK no better off, 10 years of austerity, 3 years of Brexit, now this..stay at home and protect the NHS..Unless your a Tory Twat or celebrity and then drive to your second home in the country where your cuts closed hospitals and you dodge your taxes
You and me both! Oh yeah, you can expect more videos. I've got a few in the pipeline, so it shouldn't take another 3 or 4 months before I produce anything....but don't hold me to it.
This was one of the first games I got for my Jaguar. For what it is, it was a stone cold stunner in 1994. This game was hitting those hard techno beats long before Ridge Racer was and it was great! What's kind of funny is, I didn't want the game at first. My mom picked this up for me on a whim and it took me almost two full days before I put it in. The reason is, I grew up on Sega and Nintendo. I just wasn't interested in old Atari games when this hit and man...was I stupid. Addendum- While Tempest is an excellent game, I do not think it is the best the Jaguar has to offer. That award has to go to Alien vs. Predator. It was so cutting edge and did things even the best PC's were unable to replicate and it can't be found anywhere else.
I wouldn't call you "stupid", bro. Not even a little. However, PC was capable of pulling off Alien vs. Predator. By the time of its release, Doom was already out, which is much more complex than Alien vs. Predator in regards to level size and complexity, lighting effects, etc. Although, it is trapped on Jaguar. That is undeniable.
@@MasterCastTV The reason I called myself stupid was...that was during my fanboy days. I passed on getting the TG-16 because I thought it was an inferior gaming platform (that was a huge mistake) and I almost completely passed on getting a Jaguar at the time for that same reason. Had it not been for my stepfather forcing me (in a way), I would have gotten a bunch of Genesis/Sega CD and Snes games for my birthday (divorced parents is why I was able to double up). The reason I said AVP was doing things that even the PC wasn't was because in 1994 that was largely true. Yes, Doom and Doom 2 were out but I can't think of anything else at that time that had such a huge wow factor. No doubt about it, Doom and Doom 2 on PC were much more complex with geometry and lighting. However, that was a huge transitional period for the PC. The 486 was just starting to really come into its own and most people at the time had a 386. The 386 was not great for gaming. At the time most PC games were still trying to replicate NES styled games to middling results. Check out Mega Man for the PC in 1993 and you will see what I mean...yuck. Addendum- I just thought of another great FPS from that time...Marathon. Now, the PC had strategy and mech games in spades. I still prefer X-Com *1993 over the new ones and Mech Warrior 1+2 were absolutely fantastic. It's been a long time...;)
But, that's the thing, it wasn't true even in '94. Doom was much more advanced than Alien vs. Predator in terms of level size and complexity, enemy variation and animation, music and sound effects, etc. In addition, Doom was designed to run well with minimal enhancement done to your PC in '93 for MS-DOS. That's one reason why Doom spread so quickly. This is also explains some of the criticisms that were hurled at Alien vs. Predator - especially when Doom came out for the same platform only a month later. Yeah, PC had a tough time with side-scrollers, but much of that had to do with developers tackling coding issues in the traditional manner. Carmack cracked that with an unauthorized conversion of Super Mario 3 on the PC for he thought outside the box. By that time, it didn't really matter because the focus was beginning to shift. That side-scrolling crap was for the kiddies with toy consoles; PC got serious shit. At least, that was the vibe that was presented, hence why consoles kept fighting to catch up.
I honestly don’t think this game is that good tbh. If anything, I think it’s pretty lame. The soundtrack and visuals are great and all, but the gameplay is just frustratingly repetitive, and the game is only good until the difficulty goes insane to the point of it being pretty much impossible to complete. And yet, this is supposedly the best game that the Jaguar has to offer? That just goes to show how terrible the system actually is.
As do I, sir. Was always fascinated by it, though I never would've have anticipated loving it so much I'd be hunting down custom controllers, a second console, home-brew titles, etc. Just....wow!