Atari Smeghead Posted August 3, 2007 Share Posted August 3, 2007 Hi folks. Not sure if you saw this eBay item from this guy... http://cgi.ebay.com/ATARI-LYNX-Eye-of-the-...1QQcmdZViewItem ... but since I'm pretty sure I'm the first person to take the chance and purchase a reproduction of Eye of the Beholder from "Super-Tronix" I wanted to share my review of it. Hopefully, those of you who have a "real" version of EotB can compare it to this. First off, it is a small, clearly incomplete demo, and not very interactive. I'll go screen by screen: I turn it on, and get the title screen, complete with a surprisingly good theme song and a misspelling. "Fantacy Role-Playing Saga" © 1990 TSR Inc. Hit A or B to continue Next is the character-choosing screen, where you choose four characters, scrolling through a list of 20 with the "A" button. "B" moves you between the four players. Option 1 to move on (and it doesn't matter if you pick characters or not.) Next are six screens of "gameplay." It is several shots of a dungeon, two of them have character animations on screen... one is a skeleton swinging a sword at you over and over, and the other is a small troll or something, swinging a battle ax. The other screens are static pictures, you're moving toward a ladder. The only button that does anything is Option 1. After the six game screens, you're back to the title screen, no music. Option 1 to continue. Now, you're an a list of options... Rest Party, Memorize Spells, Pray for Spells, Scribe Scrolls, Preferences and Game Options. You can use the D pad to scroll thru the list, but it doesn't matter, since none of these options work. Option 1 Next screen is a character life screen, for a mean-looking bald Goatee-wearing dude named Allabar. It's reminiscent of Dungeon Master, where you can move certain items around, shoes, a rock and a dagger, you can equip them or move them to the side storage boxes, again, like DM. Interesting things is, if you move stuff around, once you cycle back around to this screen again, the stuff is as you left it. D pad moves the on-screen arrow/cursor around. Option 1 More info on Allabar... basic D&D stats...ooo, he's a level 3 Fighter, Chaotic Good. Option 1 brings you back to the character select screen, and the cycle begins again. So, as you can see, there's not a lot. It looks fantastic, nice wall textures... Does remind me of Dungeon Master, especially in the way you move, one screen at a time. After playing with this cart for a bit, I emailed the seller, "Super-Tronix" and asked him if this was all it was supposed to do, or did I get a bad copy. He never replied. You might find it interesting that this is the exact same man who also sells under the name "Abrakadabrax." (for some reason, he's using his "Abrakadabrax" name to sell the Space Incident, and "Super-Tronix" to sell the other Lynx carts.) They both sell/sold the same knockoffs of demos like Road Riot, Centipede and the lynx Diagnostic cart, the ones with the nicely done VCR tape holders. He used to sell copies of Lemmings and Raiden under Abra, but now he's doing it under the other name. I wonder how he gets away with it... Anyway, for $30 (when you add in shipping from Poland) I guess I feel okay about having purchased EotB from him, since I have to doubt I'll ever get my hands on a real proto or a licensed reproduction. But I wonder if the version(s) some of you AAers have is more complete. My guess is yes, since this cart is the exact same type of cart as the other ones I bought from Abra.... Green PCBs, large chip, silver contacts. They are printed with "128kB Atari Lynx Game Cartridge." The label he put on the chip is kinda dumb... all it says is "Eye of." So, there ya go. Hope I've helped somewhat. Cheers, Smeg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimid2 Posted August 3, 2007 Share Posted August 3, 2007 Thanks for the review Smeg! I've looked and wondered at that auction a couple times; I think I'll steer well clear now, as I actually do want a GAME for my hard earned samoleans, but it's nice to know... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gregory DG Posted August 3, 2007 Share Posted August 3, 2007 This is just a collection of static screens, right? No gameplay? At least that's what the ROM does... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4ever2600 Posted August 3, 2007 Share Posted August 3, 2007 That's why it's ALWAYS important to try these 'games' in an emulator like Handy first! Remember it's YOUR MONEY! And no, TEMPEST actually HAS the full game and it's a 512k lynx game... I guess there are only a few floating around... Would love to get the whole game... Hope this helped... Later! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atari Smeghead Posted August 3, 2007 Author Share Posted August 3, 2007 Thanks for the review Smeg! I've looked and wondered at that auction a couple times; I think I'll steer well clear now, as I actually do want a GAME for my hard earned samoleans, but it's nice to know... You're welcome! Figured I had a unique perspective on this. If I can help some of my AA friends, I gotta try! This is just a collection of static screens, right? No gameplay? At least that's what the ROM does... Exactly. No actual gameplay at all. At least with a demo like AvP, you can move around freely and shoot things. The most you can do here is pick characters you never use and equip Allabar with a rock or take his shoes off. So, I guess if you're into feet... That's why it's ALWAYS important to try these 'games' in an emulator like Handy first! Remember it's YOUR MONEY! And no, TEMPEST actually HAS the full game and it's a 512k lynx game... I guess there are only a few floating around... Would love to get the whole game... Hope this helped... Later! I agree with ya on that. For some reason, I've never gotten around to DLing Handy (plus I wouldn't know where to find ROMs). I suppose it's because I have a real Lynx, and practically every game/demo/waste of cartridge available. Actually, that's exactly why I bought this cart. I have 102 Lynx cartridges in my collection. Basically, everything that's ever come out commercially/semi-commercially except for Krazy Ace and some the uber-rare items like the CGE Songbird cart or that PITS thing. I figured it wouldn't be anywhere near complete, since I read the thread here about trying to make a 512k EotB copy. I had a feeling this one would be 128k, since everything else this guy has done is on the same cart. Basically, I wanted it, I had the money, and sometimes, it's good to be an example for others. So, I'm assuming we will not see a "full" version of EotB unless approval is given from TSR or whoever owns the rights? I wonder what the rights holders would say if they saw that eBay auction... Cheers, Smeg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+davidcalgary29 Posted August 3, 2007 Share Posted August 3, 2007 (edited) Exactly. No actual gameplay at all. At least with a demo like AvP, you can move around freely and shoot things. The most you can do here is pick characters you never use and equip Allabar with a rock or take his shoes off. So, I guess if you're into feet... To be fair, the seller DID indicate that this was the demo version of EoTB, which has been available on Harry Dodgson's website for years. I saw that auction myself, and passed, because it was pretty clear that he was NOT selling the actual game. I'm considering buying from this seller largely because of his cases, which are unique. So, I'm assuming we will not see a "full" version of EotB unless approval is given from TSR or whoever owns the rights? I wonder what the rights holders would say if they saw that eBay auction... Cheers, Smeg Nothing, because a) the seller's in Poland, and b) it's a demo, and not the actual finished game. Sorry, but after years of making various enquiries, I've come to the conclusion that we will never see EotB released as a legitimate release, and I very much doubt that there will be another run of pirate carts, either. I've been trying for YEARS to get one of these latter items, but no success -- they're being very tightly held for some reason. Pity -- I would have liked to have tried the save-game feature. Edited August 3, 2007 by davidcalgary29 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EricDeLee Posted August 3, 2007 Share Posted August 3, 2007 I bought the same demo.... just to have it. I knew what I was getting so it was no big deal to me. I just wanted the demo on cart form so I can add it to my collection! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atari Smeghead Posted August 3, 2007 Author Share Posted August 3, 2007 To be fair, the seller DID indicate that this was the demo version of EoTB... I'm considering buying from this seller largely because of his cases, which are unique. True, although his wording ... "this game is an unfinished ( demo ) !" ...can be open to interpretation. Perhaps he could've said "non-playable demo." Otherwise, it leads me to think it would have some actual gameplay. But again, if I would've known enough to check it via Handy... but, I'm just not that savvy. Still, I am not trying to say that I feel ripped off or cheated. As EricDeLee said, I too bought it for the collection, with the assumption it would be less than a complete version. I was just hoping for a bit more than what I got. But really, how else would I get a real cart version (unless I bugged Nimtene again, of course ) And yeah, I agree that his boxes are quite well done. I have a few of them, and if Nimtene wouldn't have offered to make me a Space Incident cart, I would've jumped at the eBay version. The extra touch of the styro-foamy stuff to hold the cart in, that's sweet. The first items I bought from Abra did not have that feature. Nothing, because a) the seller's in Poland, and b) it's a demo, and not the actual finished game. Sorry, but after years of making various enquiries, I've come to the conclusion that we will never see EotB released as a legitimate release, and I very much doubt that there will be another run of pirate carts, either. I've been trying for YEARS to get one of these latter items, but no success -- they're being very tightly held for some reason. Pity -- I would have liked to have tried the save-game feature. That is seriously too bad. It looks like it would've been a really fun DM game on my Lynx. BTW, did you guys happen to notice that Abra AND Super-T are selling copies of Space Incident right now? I know for a fact that it's the same man, since when I paid via PayPal, both payments went to the same guy. He's actually competing with himself... different prices, different shipping amounts... kinda weird, huh? He's also selling another Lemmings copy. I'm not overly anti-pirate, but that bothers me. Does it bother anyone else? Cheers, Smeg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SwedenLynxer Posted August 4, 2007 Share Posted August 4, 2007 He's also selling another Lemmings copy. I'm not overly anti-pirate, but that bothers me. Does it bother anyone else? Yes, it bothers me too. Especially that he is selling his own copys of the already commercial released games Raiden and Lemmings. Personally I would think twice before I bought any stuff from this pirate. It's a little bit like saying: The Atari Lynx is a dead system anyways, so who cares if a game is legal or not as Iong as I can get it and play it. Maybe im old fashion, but I want properly licensed and released games. Yes, I also know the current status of EotB. But I do think there will be a legitimate release of this game. Maybe not today and not tomorrow, but some day in the future. It must to be possible to work something out! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris_lynx1989 Posted August 4, 2007 Share Posted August 4, 2007 (edited) Yes,it does sound like you only received an Alpha CES/Evaluation Demo,being it is only on a 1 meg/128k board and the fact that it sounds like it kind of seems to do "nothing". I have 2 complete versions of EotB on 512k EPROMs that came the former Atari Corp.(one came with the RAM save and one did not).Yours is different though with the misspelled word "Fantacy",neither of mine have this typo.Sounds curious.Otherwise you have what looks like my complete versions by what you describe. Edited August 4, 2007 by chris_lynx1989 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crazy Climber Posted August 4, 2007 Share Posted August 4, 2007 If only this game were completed some day....it sounds so cool! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tempest Posted August 6, 2007 Share Posted August 6, 2007 Yes I own the only? known copy of EotB for the Lynx. I've played around with it for a little bit and it seems complete, but I've never gone all the way through the game (I just haven't had the time). I have a rom dump of the game, but it doesn't work right on emulators (or so i've been told). I talked to Songbird about the possibility of releasing the game, but there's no way WotC (whom own all the TSR properties now) would allow it without some serious fee. So sadly EotB sits all alone in my Lynx until someone makes me an offer I can't refuse to buy the game. Tempest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gregory DG Posted August 6, 2007 Share Posted August 6, 2007 Maybe if the ROM was released someone could fix an emulator to make it work? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tempest Posted August 6, 2007 Share Posted August 6, 2007 Maybe if the ROM was released someone could fix an emulator to make it work? Can't do that. Same reason I can't sell copies. Tempest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gregory DG Posted August 6, 2007 Share Posted August 6, 2007 ^^ How about a video of the game in action? It'd be nice to see something other than those static screens. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tempest Posted August 6, 2007 Share Posted August 6, 2007 ^^ How about a video of the game in action? It'd be nice to see something other than those static screens. I don't actually own a camcorder. Never had any use for one. Tempest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atari Smeghead Posted August 8, 2007 Author Share Posted August 8, 2007 Yes,it does sound like you only received an Alpha CES/Evaluation Demo,being it is only on a 1 meg/128k board and the fact that it sounds like it kind of seems to do "nothing". I have 2 complete versions of EotB on 512k EPROMs that came the former Atari Corp.(one came with the RAM save and one did not).Yours is different though with the misspelled word "Fantacy",neither of mine have this typo.Sounds curious.Otherwise you have what looks like my complete versions by what you describe. Ah, an eval/demo version makes sense. Yes I own the only? known copy of EotB for the Lynx. I've played around with it for a little bit and it seems complete, but I've never gone all the way through the game (I just haven't had the time). I have a rom dump of the game, but it doesn't work right on emulators (or so i've been told). I talked to Songbird about the possibility of releasing the game, but there's no way WotC (whom own all the TSR properties now) would allow it without some serious fee. So sadly EotB sits all alone in my Lynx until someone makes me an offer I can't refuse to buy the game. Tempest Sounds like you and Chris have versions of EotB. I wonder how similar the 3 versions are, or if Tempest's version is like one of the two Chris has. Tempest, does yours have the save feature? Out of curiosity, where did your EotB come from? I just wanted to add that tho I'm obviously disappointed that I (probably) will never get to see/own a complete copy of EotB, I appreciate the integrity both of you have, for not resorting to piracy. Frankly, if it were me who had it, I'd probably find a way to copy it and sell it to those few people here who would appreciate it the most. (Meaning, I wouldn't go off and eBay it and anger the TSR gods.) But seriously, good for you! My moral standards aren't as high as yours. I would love, someday, to see a video of gameplay on YouTube or somewhere. Cheers, Smeg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tempest Posted August 8, 2007 Share Posted August 8, 2007 My version has the RAM save. Sounds like there is at least one other copy out there. Tempest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris_lynx1989 Posted August 18, 2007 Share Posted August 18, 2007 My one EotB is an original Atari/SSI burned and is a completed/"Final Beta" version on a 4meg/512k EPROM of Toshiba make-- looks just like the scan Tempest put up here on AA.My EPROM RAM Cart/Board has the same Atari Part # on it and black socket for use with other 512k Lynx games--- if one has them! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris_lynx1989 Posted August 18, 2007 Share Posted August 18, 2007 Ran out of text room,heh. I also use this same board to run my Beta of Relief Pitcher--- only received one board with the 2 EPROMs I got many years ago,all that was available as there were no more 512k boards left to get with my Lynx Lot. My second EotB is #5 of 5 from a "Special Collectors Edition" run.All of the 5 special RAMs left were used up here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris_lynx1989 Posted August 18, 2007 Share Posted August 18, 2007 (edited) No text space left again. My second EotB does have the 8k/32k RAM save on it.Both versions/models I have look and play/sound/feel the same on my Lynx units.I'm not a big RPG fan and player,although I have spent a few hours playing EotB to be impressed with it's graphics.Just like I am with RP and AG. Edited August 18, 2007 by chris_lynx1989 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EricDeLee Posted August 18, 2007 Share Posted August 18, 2007 very interesting posts..... Thankx for the information chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris_lynx1989 Posted August 18, 2007 Share Posted August 18, 2007 very interesting posts..... Thankx for the information chris You're welcome. I can also add that my first copy acts like there is a RAM attached to my board.Why?You ask.It does ask in vain if you want to "Save Game?" or "Load Game?" I can do neither.Kind of dumb questions to ask me! I've not made it past the first level yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EricDeLee Posted August 19, 2007 Share Posted August 19, 2007 very interesting posts..... Thankx for the information chris You're welcome. I can also add... I've not made it past the first level yet. UGH! I hate to even hear that. I hate that a game is sitting in a closet somewhere. Wanna charge $20 to rent it out from time to time? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gambler172 Posted August 19, 2007 Share Posted August 19, 2007 Hi Guys i own a rom of this EOTB demo,which runs on my emulator.It is only this cheap demo. greetings gambler172 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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