Amiga CD32... it's alive, it's ALIVE!

[Jess Ragan]

Yesterday, I was puttering around on another forum, and found a thread which made a passing mention to the Amiga CD32. I remembered that I actually owned one of these consoles, but that I couldn't actually USE it due to its weird AC adapter port. Last year's attempt to use a PC power supply as a substitute failed, so I just stuffed the Amiga CD32 in my closet and left it there to gather dust.

 

On a whim, I decided to dig through my closet for the system and the power supply and give the mod another shot. Careful examination of the DIN plug that I used revealed that I had soldered the wires incorrectly. I fixed the issue, then plugged the other end of the adapter to a Molex cable inside my desktop, since I couldn't find a way to turn on my spare power supply. I fired up the computer, then flipped the switch on the back of the CD32 while crossing the fingers on my free hand.

 

And then... success! The CD32 finally came to life, displaying a shiny compact disc floating over the Aurora Borealis. Sadly, without games for the system, that was as much excitement as I was going to get. Nevertheless, it's a relief to finally feel like the purchase was justified. I just need to find a convenient way to play games on this thing! Is there a way to run classic Amiga games on the CD32 without the use of an SX-1 unit or a mouse? I'd like to just pop a disc into the unit and play video games like I would with all my other systems. Any advice would be appreciated!

[+remowilliams]

Is there a way to run classic Amiga games on the CD32 without the use of an SX-1 unit or a mouse?

The absolute best way is of course an expanded SX unit with a HD. However if you can get a compatible Amiga keyboard (I use a A2000) and adapter to hook to the CD32, you can play tons of Amiga games off the CD100/200/444/888, etc. compilation CDs. There are games that don't require keyboard interaction, but lots of them do.

[Jess Ragan]

I've tried the compilation discs, and sadly couldn't get them to load on my machine. However, they DO load in WinUAE. Ironically, I've found that the emulator is a much more convenient and reliable way to play CD32 games than the CD32 itself!

 

I wish that Ze_Ro guy were around... he wrote an enormous and extremely informative response to someone's CD32 questions on the other classic gaming forum. I was hoping that he could impart a little of that wisdom on this forum, too!

[Ze_ro]

Heh, actually, I did see this thread... but remo already made the same suggestion I would have. The compilation discs are the way to go for playing "normal" Amiga games on the CD32. Anything else requires a significant investment in additional hardware. One thing to note though, some of the discs have actual CD32 versions of the games, but to get them on a disc with everything else, some stuff was taken out. So if you're playing a game, and there's no music at all, it could be a CD32 version where they sacrificed the CD-Audio tracks. I was a little disappointed with that.

 

Did you try booting the discs in PAL mode?

 

--Zero

[+remowilliams]

I've tried the compilation discs, and sadly couldn't get them to load on my machine. However, they DO load in WinUAE.

I find that typically is the case with a bad image/burn.

[Reaperman]

I hope you figure out what's wrong and can pass the advice along. I've been looking at this as a valid gaming option for some time now, but the cost of the cd32 has kept me away. Though now that I see that it's pretty much all I need (with a mouse and keyboard) the price is looking a lot more attractive. I've never played an amiga, and this seems just the way for me.

[Jess Ragan]

Yeah, that was my motivation for buying a CD32. I have an Amiga 500, but it won't work properly with my television, and I didn't have the cable to connect it to the Amiga monitor that I bought at a yard sale. So I figured the best course of action would be to buy the Amiga game system. It's got connections for modern television sets, and no floppy disc drive means no obnoxious disc swapping while playing games.

 

However, I've been kind of disappointed with the system so far. It's probably because I don't have the necessary equipment for it... the makeshift AC adapter I'm using works roughly half the time, and I don't have a CD32-specced joypad, making it impossible to start some games. Also, Disposable Hero works really poorly on the system. I played this on WinUAE once and thought the emulator was responsible for the glitches, but even on the real hardware, sprites still vanish, the frame rate still chugs, and the edges of the screen still spill beyond the borders of the display. Is this a PAL/NTSC issue? It's definitely a "makes the game impossible to play" issue.

 

You said there was a way to switch display modes on the CD32 at boot-up. Can this be done with a two button joystick, or would I need a full-blown CD32 joypad? Also, what the heck are the pinouts for that joypad? I've been looking all over the Internet for them, but keep coming up empty-handed. Without that information, there's no way I could hack together a fully compatible joystick for the system.

 

Remo: I burned that compilation five times, but just couldn't get it working on my CD32. The first few times, I burned the disc at 8x, and the next time, I went even lower than that, burning at the base minimum of 1x. Still no dice... the 200 Games logo pops up in the top left corner of the screen, but nothing else happens. I'm starting to wonder if the CD-ROM in the system is to blame, as the system IS very old.

[DragonmasterDan]

Yesterday, I was puttering around on another forum, and found a thread which made a passing mention to the Amiga CD32. I remembered that I actually owned one of these consoles, but that I couldn't actually USE it due to its weird AC adapter port. Last year's attempt to use a PC power supply as a substitute failed, so I just stuffed the Amiga CD32 in my closet and left it there to gather dust.

 

On a whim, I decided to dig through my closet for the system and the power supply and give the mod another shot. Careful examination of the DIN plug that I used revealed that I had soldered the wires incorrectly. I fixed the issue, then plugged the other end of the adapter to a Molex cable inside my desktop, since I couldn't find a way to turn on my spare power supply. I fired up the computer, then flipped the switch on the back of the CD32 while crossing the fingers on my free hand.

 

And then... success! The CD32 finally came to life, displaying a shiny compact disc floating over the Aurora Borealis. Sadly, without games for the system, that was as much excitement as I was going to get. Nevertheless, it's a relief to finally feel like the purchase was justified. I just need to find a convenient way to play games on this thing! Is there a way to run classic Amiga games on the CD32 without the use of an SX-1 unit or a mouse? I'd like to just pop a disc into the unit and play video games like I would with all my other systems. Any advice would be appreciated!

 

It's been on my "to buy" list for a few years being one of the few North American released consoles post the crash that I don't own.

[+SpiceWare]

I have issues burning the compilation CDs as well. They seldom work, and when they do they don't work reliably. Is it possible the CD32 doesn't like 700MB CDRs? As I recall, CDs are supposed to be 650 MB and 700 MB is done by making the track spacing closer, which is slightly out of spec. Most CD drives can handle it, but I wonder if the CD32's drive is early enough that it causes issues. There's even 800MB and 900MB CDs that squeeze the tracks even closer together.

 

I hit ebay periodically and have 30+ games for mine, along with an extra CD32 gamepad and even tracked down a CD32 Competition Pro game pad(it has rapid fire options).

 

To get the menu you need to plug an Amiga mouse into port 2 and hold down both buttons when turning on the power. I use the mouse and keyboard from my Amiga 2000HD. To use the keyboard I picked up a PS/2 to AT adaptor cable.

[+remowilliams]

Hmm, I haven't had many issues with the compilation disks on either my stock CD32 or the 'SuperCD32'. I've got the Anarka, Frostwork, and Gary compilations.

[Ze_ro]

Yeah, that was my motivation for buying a CD32. I have an Amiga 500, but it won't work properly with my television, and I didn't have the cable to connect it to the Amiga monitor that I bought at a yard sale. So I figured the best course of action would be to buy the Amiga game system. It's got connections for modern television sets, and no floppy disc drive means no obnoxious disc swapping while playing games.

Problem with this is that you can never save data. The CD32 has some internal RAM (a measly 1K), but games have to be specially programmed to use it.

 

Disposable Hero works really poorly on the system. I played this on WinUAE once and thought the emulator was responsible for the glitches, but even on the real hardware, sprites still vanish, the frame rate still chugs, and the edges of the screen still spill beyond the borders of the display. Is this a PAL/NTSC issue? It's definitely a "makes the game impossible to play" issue.

That's what happens when I try to play my copy in NTSC mode as well. Playing it in PAL mode fixes everything. Not sure if the version you're playing is the same, but try it out.

 

Keep in mind that this thing was only ever popular in Europe, so it's a safe bet that the guys who made these compilations were Europeans, and that all the games on the compilation are PAL games.

 

You said there was a way to switch display modes on the CD32 at boot-up. Can this be done with a two button joystick, or would I need a full-blown CD32 joypad?

Actually, you need an Amiga mouse. Plug it into port two, and hold both buttons down while you turn on the system. It'll bring up a GUI with several options (most of them useless, as they're only applicable to Amiga computers). You have to use a mouse or keyboard to navigate the menu too. I've heard people say they managed to switch using a controller, but I'm not sure how they managed that.

 

Also, what the heck are the pinouts for that joypad? I've been looking all over the Internet for them, but keep coming up empty-handed. Without that information, there's no way I could hack together a fully compatible joystick for the system.

I've heard that a Genesis controller can work in a pinch, though you lose some buttons obviously. More information here.

 

--Zero

[Jess Ragan]

Playing Disposable Hero in PAL mode made my television go nuts. It would rapidly alternate between a color and monochrome display, and the vertical position of the screen would jump all over the place. Would it matter if I used the system on a CRT monitor? Right now I'm connecting it to a DVR hooked up to a high-definition LCD television.

 

Also, there is a way to control the cursor in the BIOS without a mouse. It's not very easy, though. You basically have to roll the joystick in a circular motion to make the cursor move. After you've done fifty or sixty spinning piledrivers, you'll work your way down to the bottom of the screen. It's a very sloppy and tiring process, but it works if you don't have an Amiga mouse (and I don't).

 

Right now, I think I'm going to put the Amiga CD32 into retirement until I have the tools to fully enjoy it. WinUAE seems to have improved a lot since I last used it, and it supports a wide variety of machines and configurations. Plus, it's not so damn picky about playing discs. I noticed your post over at DP which described a variety of "weird" peripherals, but I don't think a USB adapter is "weird" at all. Hell, having such a versatile port handy would make the Amiga experience much less of a headache. Need a mouse? Just plug it into the USB port! How about a keyboard? USB, baby! Extra storage space? Just jam a flash drive in there... you'll have more than your Amiga could ever need!

 

The thing that really bothers me about the Amiga (and it was something that could easily have been remedied with USB) is the alarming number of games that use single button control. No, no, no! Look, that was great for the 1970's, but the Amiga was a 1980's system, and there was no excuse to chain it to such a primitive input device. I can't count the number of games on the Amiga that force you to press up to jump. That's not a big deal for Ruff 'n Ready, but a much bigger issue for Assassin, a Strider clone where climbing walls is key to making progress. Once you're on the wall, you can climb it, but can't dismount from it 'till you've reached the top! I won't even get into how much this screws up Mortal Kombat. It's just woefully short-sighted and incredibly frustrating. Multi-button joysticks existed even BEFORE the Amiga hit stores in 1985... there was no reason the system couldn't have a controller with at LEAST two fire buttons on it. Preferably four, but at LEAST two.

[Andy]

Jess, the symptoms that you describe with the television are undoubtedly a sign of the different rates between PAL and NTSC. Years ago, if it were possible on your TV, it'd be a simple matter of altering a dial until stability resumed - at least on a PAL display.

 

Regarding the compilation discs, did you wait a long time when booting on the CD32? I tried them myself a few months ago and was surprised how long one had to wait even under emulation. It became evident that my usual patience was a little lacking that day and further attempts (and those long, long waits) eventually brought forth a selection menu, with an appreciable difference in load times between the various disc images. At least under WinUAE, the logo turned out to be a sign that things were indeed working. Perhaps it's worth a retry, given the relative lack of pace in all of the CD32 hardware? Just note that each time you have doubt, wait!

 

Finally and just for interest, later in the Amiga time-line, there were games that could make use of a second button. In fact, I played through all of Flashback using a Megadrive/Genesis joypad and believe that I did the same with Desert Strike. Of the games that I owned, such an option was a rarity - but it was at least a possibility! For what it's worth, I can assure you that the frustrations borne of one-button restrictions were commonly felt back in the early Nineties, too! It is worth noting that things could be different with the Amiga 600, Amiga 1200 and CD32, however. My hands-on experience ends with the 500+, but I can recall reading years later that things had changed with the adaptations and move to surface-mounting in the above models. Obviously, I don't know that to be the case, but it may be something further to look into should the 32 gain your favour/favor a little longer.

[+SpiceWare]

The Chaos Engine for $5.95 on ebay. I've picked up a number of things from the seller.

[Reaperman]

how is Frontier: Elite II on this system? I haven't played that game on anything, and am only familiar with the first elite.

There's Amiga and ST version on ebay (2 floppy), but nothing for CD32. 2 floppies on one CDrom...hmm, I'm guessing that says "CD quality music and annoying cutscenes" all over it.

 

I'm so close to taking the plunge on one of these--I've actually talked myself back from the brink a couple times. All I really need is an amiga keyboard (and adapter if I don't buy the exact right keyboard), an atari ST mouse and the system? It'd be nice if I could find a PAL one. I have the screen for it.

Edited April 16, 2008 by Reaperman

[Ze_ro]

how is Frontier: Elite II on this system? ... I'm guessing that says "CD quality music and annoying cutscenes" all over it.

I only tried playing it once, and found out very quickly that you pretty much NEED a keyboard for the game to be at all enjoyable. I believe you can actually navigate the interface without one, but there are just too many options to really have any fun that way. I don't remember if there was any CD-Audio or FMV (Elite has always been a "make the game your own" type of affair, so I think scripted scenes are very unlikely). The game also came with a bunch of extra books (one of which was actually a collection of Elite fan-fiction, if you can believe it), and a map of the galaxy. Not sure how much of this is necessary to enjoy the game.

 

All I really need is an amiga keyboard (and adapter if I don't buy the exact right keyboard), an atari ST mouse and the system? It'd be nice if I could find a PAL one. I have the screen for it.

An Atari ST mouse is no good, it has to be an Amiga mouse.

 

By the way, there's a DOS version of Frontier. Might be easier to just play it in DOSBox than to screw around getting a CD32. You can get the shareware version here, and they only charge £5 to register it seems.

 

--Zero