Keatah Posted February 21, 2017 Share Posted February 21, 2017 Tempest was something of a holy grail for me as a kid. And I suspect the same for many of you. We admired the speed and high-contrast vectors. Something we always wanted to see at home. And of course the uniqueness of it all. It was a same-ol same-ol shooter, but yet abstract and quite different. So what version(s) of tempest capture the spirit of the original game best? It can be any version on any platform. My personal choices are: 1- The original, through a real arcade cab or MAME. 2- Tempest 2000 for the PC, dated around 1995'ish. 3- Typhon 2001, a "modern-day" remake with ultra hi-speed OpenGL graphics. Amazing! 4- Honorable mention - Tempest Tubes mod. Anything else pales in comparison. Between these versions I can get my Tempest fix in style. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+save2600 Posted February 21, 2017 Share Posted February 21, 2017 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bennybingo Posted February 21, 2017 Share Posted February 21, 2017 Arcade. Nothing else seems to hold a candle to it. The x/y color monitor, the movement of everything in the play field, the sounds and the timing....even the whir of the spinner knob. It all adds up to a unique experience that simply has not been captured in any of the sequels, ports or even the tubes upgrade. The original is one of those arcade games that truly stands the test of time. I still break into a cold sweat when I start getting into the higher levels....super intense! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Retro-Z Posted February 21, 2017 Share Posted February 21, 2017 TxK for the Vita has quite a few fans. Unfortunately, Atari wasn't one of those fans... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blazing Lazers Posted February 21, 2017 Share Posted February 21, 2017 Tempest 3000 on Nuon! http://www.nuon-dome.com/sounds/t3k/01%20-%20Intimidation.mp3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BydoEmpire Posted February 21, 2017 Share Posted February 21, 2017 5200 Tempest is a really solid port and certainly captures the spirit and gameplay of the original. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick Dangerous Posted February 21, 2017 Share Posted February 21, 2017 Shoulda' been a poll..... My personal top three are: Tempest 2K (Jaguar) Tempest (Arcade) Tempest (5200-w/track ball) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keatah Posted February 21, 2017 Author Share Posted February 21, 2017 My gosh! The Jag version is identical to the 1995 PC version! That's impressive because my PC in 1995 seemed to have less gaming prowess - 50MHz 32bit 486, 50MHz 16-bit 2D graphics with 12MHz ISA interface, 8MB system ram. ISA soundcard. And it ran at full speed! Shoulda' been a poll..... I didn't make it a poll because I do not know all tempest versions available. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+save2600 Posted February 21, 2017 Share Posted February 21, 2017 My gosh! The Jag version is identical to the 1995 PC version! Umm... you mean the PC version is identical to the Jag version. Jaguar came first! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keatah Posted February 21, 2017 Author Share Posted February 21, 2017 Yes. That's what's so impressive that the PC was able to keep up and do what the Jag did with less gaming-oriented hardware. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yak Posted February 21, 2017 Share Posted February 21, 2017 TxK for me, Vita or PSVR/Oculus version (the latter especially lovely with a spinner control). T2K on Jag is fine but I feel a pain in my heart when I see the frame rate drops. And of course I love the original, as the seed from which the other versions grew. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flojomojo Posted February 21, 2017 Share Posted February 21, 2017 Tempest 2000 on the Jaguar as I remember it, which is better than it actually was. The Vita game TxK is better in almost every way, and it's a crime Atari shat on it. I liked Arashi on Classic Mac OS, because it was long before MAME and such a good version. There was an even older one called STORM. It's nothing much now, but it was pretty cool at the time. http://macintoshgarden.org/games/arashi I liked Microsoft Arcade's Tempest for the same reason. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+save2600 Posted February 21, 2017 Share Posted February 21, 2017 Wow, wasnt aware of all the different versions of Tempest. I have one for the Amiga called Vector Storm which looks good, but have never even played. lol Here's a good video that shows a bunch of different versions: 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick Dangerous Posted February 21, 2017 Share Posted February 21, 2017 T2K on Jag is fine but I feel a pain in my heart when I see the frame rate drops. You should find the original programmer on twitter and berate him about it.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yak Posted February 21, 2017 Share Posted February 21, 2017 a few years ago I did a comparison of some 8-bit Tempests, not all of them official, and certainly not all of them great 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanooki Posted February 22, 2017 Share Posted February 22, 2017 The only version I ever dug was the original and the emulated or closely simulated copies from back in the 90s. Outside of that I was big into the DOS Tempest 2000 game which was identical to the Jaguar title as far as I know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jess Ragan Posted February 22, 2017 Share Posted February 22, 2017 Heh, Minter's here! Annnyway, I'm going to try Cyclone 2000 on my Android TV. I think the full version is 99 cents, and unless they really messed it up I'm sure it'll be worth at least that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gamemoose Posted February 22, 2017 Share Posted February 22, 2017 TxK for me, Vita or PSVR/Oculus version (the latter especially lovely with a spinner control). T2K on Jag is fine but I feel a pain in my heart when I see the frame rate drops. And of course I love the original, as the seed from which the other versions grew. I just got TxK today. Dang fine game. I played it during my last bit of a lunch break (which was amazing as I hardly get one). The graphics looked pretty spectacular but I accidentally discovered they look better in the dark as the lights went out in my office during play. I sat still for too long and the motion detectors for the lights thought the roon was empty. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yak Posted February 22, 2017 Share Posted February 22, 2017 Yeah TxK does look lovely in the dark, especially if you have one of the older Vitas with the OLED screen. Speaking of things Tempestuous somebody pointed out this KS to me this morning which seems to have a fair bit of Atari branding and specifically states that it is going to have a version of Tempest 2000 on it. https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/gameband/gameband-the-first-smartwatch-for-gamers/description Quite how effectively they manage that, and how they go about implementing effective controls remains to be seen. I shall be keeping a critical eye on whatever they end up doing to my game. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keatah Posted February 22, 2017 Author Share Posted February 22, 2017 In Tempest (underpants for the VCS) SuperZapper is Fire + JoystickUp. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gabriel Posted February 23, 2017 Share Posted February 23, 2017 Best version of Tempest that isn't the arcade original (real or emulated hardware)? 5200 Tempest. Hands down. Easily the best. Tempest 2000 on the Jaguar comes next. X3 and this games other ports come close but are definitely less than the Jag version. All other Tempest ports are just pale shadows. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Austin Posted February 23, 2017 Share Posted February 23, 2017 For the original Tempest, definitely the arcade version, then the emulated Windows version from the late '90s. Really nice with mouse control. For all others, Tempest 2000 on the Jaguar is my top pick. It's the most well-balanced package of the remakes and has a smooth ramp up in difficulty. Some of the visual effects that were chopped out of the other versions, as well as the original cart soundtrack gives it an energy that remains unmatched today. TxK is my next pick of the remakes. Beautiful looking game, but it gets knocked down a few points by becoming stupid-hard much sooner (which I can't really say was needed--T2K is already tough enough as-is). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spacecadet Posted February 23, 2017 Share Posted February 23, 2017 I seem to recall that Tempest 2K on the Saturn ran better than it did on the Jaguar. (I had both for a while; I still have the Saturn version but sold the Jag.) I don't remember if there were any gameplay differences, but I do remember that there seemed to be constant frame rate drops on the Jag that weren't there on the Saturn, and the Saturn version seemed to run at a higher frame rate to begin with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+save2600 Posted February 23, 2017 Share Posted February 23, 2017 Can't say I ever noticed any framerate issues in Jaguar T2K. Must be extremely minor or barely noticeable for me to care if I did. The game is a technical marvel, especially so considering the system it originated on. Isn't the Saturn version missing some of the Melt-o-vision graphics? Or colors in the webs or am I thinking the DOS version? Used to have and play both when first released, but it's been too long. Got rid of 'em as I always preferred the gameplay of the original Jaguar version. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Austin Posted February 23, 2017 Share Posted February 23, 2017 Yes, the Saturn and DOS versions have higher framerates, but they lack the melt-o-vision effects and they use the CD OST which lacks much of the energy of the Jag version. The framerate definitely stutters here and there in the Jag one when things get crazy, but it's pretty solid overall. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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