If Battlesphere were all that...

[Flojomojo]

...why hasn't it been ported/converted/remade for another platform, like PC or mobile? Something with a larger user base and a working network infrastructure?

 

Like Tempest 2000 and Iron Soldier were?

[+CyranoJ]

...why hasn't it been ported/converted/remade for another platform, like PC or mobile? Something with a larger user base and a working network infrastructure?

 

Like Tempest 2000 and Iron Soldier were?

 

Because much better games came out many years before it on those platforms, eg: X-Wing (1993)

[82-T/A]

...why hasn't it been ported/converted/remade for another platform, like PC or mobile? Something with a larger user base and a working network infrastructure?

 

Like Tempest 2000 and Iron Soldier were?

 

 

Hah... yeah. Like Cryano-Jones said. Truth be told though... the game was nice for the time because it kind of showed what the Jaguar could do, while making use of some of the extra chips on the Jag that a lot of games don't take advantage of.

 

Caveat: I say this without having actually ever played the game, and only relaying information 3rd hand that I've heard on here from others.

[+LS650]

Caveat: I say this without having actually ever played the game, and only relaying information 3rd hand that I've heard on here from others.

Um, isn't that like trash-talking a car you've never driven?

"The BrandXYZ car isn't as great as everyone makes it out to be. Or so I've read in magazines, cuz I've never actually seen one..."

 

I own BattleSphere and have put a lot of hours into it. I wouldn't say it's the best Jag game, but if you like space shooters it's a good game.

[walter_J64bit]

I've got both Battlesphere and Battlesphere Gold, it's what is called now theses day an "Exclusive Game" so you'll never see it on any other console! I like the game with all its oddities like "in house jokes" and with all the "Easter eggs" that I'll never unlock but only handful.

[82-T/A]

Um, isn't that like trash-talking a car you've never driven?

"The BrandXYZ car isn't as great as everyone makes it out to be. Or so I've read in magazines, cuz I've never actually seen one..."

 

I own BattleSphere and have put a lot of hours into it. I wouldn't say it's the best Jag game, but if you like space shooters it's a good game.

 

It would be like that if I was bashing it, but I said:

 

 

 

 

Truth be told though... the game was nice for the time because it kind of showed what the Jaguar could do, while making use of some of the extra chips on the Jag that a lot of games don't take advantage of.

 

 

That's not bashing it, just being honest. I've obviously seen video of it... and it's great for the Jaguar.

 

But, CryanoJ is not wrong... Battlesphere came out in 2000. It looked like this:

 

 

 

Wing Commander 3 came out in 1994, a full six years prior, and it looks like this:

 

 

 

So... it's great for the jag, but like CryanoJ said:

 

"Because much better games came out many years before it on those platforms, eg: X-Wing (1993)"

 

 

Wing Commander 3 was on the 3DO in 1995.

Edited April 9, 2017 by 82-T/A

[+Sauron]

4Play/Scatalogic had talked about doing a PC port or porting to another console way back in the day. I assume life got in the way of them doing it, and I seriously doubt they would trust another party to do the port for them.

[PeterG]

I hoped they would make a port for XBox Live Arcade so those who like the game could have those 16 or 32 player multiplayer rounds without hassle while still keeping the console feeling. But at this point I highly doubt we will see it again. The game had it's momentum over 15 years ago with finally getting released and even getting an updated gold version. If that didn't help getting it released on other platforms I don't see it happening now.

 

Still I would gladly purchase a copy and being happy that finally anyone who wants it can have a go without drama and ridiculous prices.

[ZylonBane]

I got a copy of the original BattleSphere when it first came out, and I don't think I've even played it a dozen times. By that time I'd been playing Freespace 2 for years, and by comparison the gameplay was just so bland.

 

And seriously what the hell, a space combat game that doesn't even give you range to target? Even the original dinky little 8K Star Raiders had that. And the obnoxious weirdness of friendlies being red and enemies being green on the radar. And the pointless demoscene visual effects littered throughout the UI where they made no sense at best and often actually made usability worse.

 

Yeah, they got the Jaguar to reliably support huge multiplayer networks, which was a great technical achievement, but in the end that was the least-used feature. All that effort would have been better spent implementing a more interesting purely single-player game.

Edited April 9, 2017 by ZylonBane

[+Saturn]

I believe it was being worked on for the XBOX back in the early 2000's (updated version) but got sidetracked at some point. There was a CD hook addon called Shattered Sphere in the works as well for the Jaguar version. You can find mention of it in the fine print on page 3 or 4 of the manual for the Scatbox/Scatbox DX. I'd asked Thunderbird about it when the Scatbox was released after reading the SB manual from cover to cover back then.

Seems neither made it out the door or ever will.

[PeterG]

I believe it was being worked on for the XBOX back in the early 2000's (updated version) but got sidetracked at some point. There was a CD hook addon called Shattered Sphere in the works as well for the Jaguar version. You can find mention of it in the fine print on page 3 or 4 of the manual for the Scatbox/Scatbox DX. I'd asked Thunderbird about it when the Scatbox was released after reading the SB manual from cover to cover back then.

Seems neither made it out the door or ever will.

Yes remember the mention of the CD hooks, I know I was dreaming of more game modes as addon back then. Would also have been the first game on the Jaguar to do something like that. Now as I understood it Protector S.E. offers that possibilty...

 

It kinda fits the Jaguars history, always waiting on potential promising stuff that eventually gets cancelled. But I guess having released three products is at least something. Could have also been vaporware like so many other announced products. :-)

[7800JAGFAN]

At $600 plus dollars, I would be pretty let down. but for the $90 I paid, its a damn fine game, you just have to put some time into it. the more you play it the more the game opens up, a lot of neat little details show a lot of heart went into this game. I just wish they would re-release it as I imagine almost everyone who still collects/plays a Jag would buy it up.

[82-T/A]

At $600 plus dollars, I would be pretty let down. but for the $90 I paid, its a damn fine game, you just have to put some time into it. the more you play it the more the game opens up, a lot of neat little details show a lot of heart went into this game. I just wish they would re-release it as I imagine almost everyone who still collects/plays a Jag would buy it up.

 

I'm not trying to be mean, but unless they just don't have any idea that anyone is actually still interested in the game, I'm surprised that they're not willing to have someone else reproduce it. If they went to Al, or Gatzee, etc... they could easily sell the game for $125 and a ton of people would pay for it.

[7800JAGFAN]

totally agree, there is a lot of money that could be made here for sure!

[PeterG]

 

I'm not trying to be mean, but unless they just don't have any idea that anyone is actually still interested in the game, I'm surprised that they're not willing to have someone else reproduce it. If they went to Al, or Gatzee, etc... they could easily sell the game for $125 and a ton of people would pay for it.

There was talk of this back in the day and the biggest hurdle for Battlesphere classic was that the money made with the game had to go to diabetes research. After that they had some very distinct ideas about the quality their release should have starting with gold plated contacts and the thickness of the cardboards for the box (as for example the Songbird titles used thinner cardboard) among other things. I think you can read it all up here on AA if you are really interested. But the bottom line is that they won't go to anyone you mentioned for official reproductions.

[82-T/A]

There was talk of this back in the day and the biggest hurdle for Battlesphere classic was that the money made with the game had to go to diabetes research. After that they had some very distinct ideas about the quality their release should have starting with gold plated contacts and the thickness of the cardboards for the box (as for example the Songbird titles used thinner cardboard) among other things. I think you can read it all up here on AA if you are really interested. But the bottom line is that they won't go to anyone you mentioned for official reproductions.

 

Geeze... we call those kinds of people "snowflakes" here in the United States.

[+Saturn]

 

Geeze... we call those kinds of people "snowflakes" here in the United States.

Not exactly. There are years and years worth of posts, arguments, claims, near death experiences and a host of other info not directly being discussed in this thread that explain the situation accurately as the events took place. Keeping a product of the highest quality, exclusive to a system and after overcoming the mountains of hell it took to get it finished, released, revamped into a better version and rereleased while giving all of the profits to diabetes research as it was a (very lengthy) labor of love is so far removed and opposite of the definition of a snowflake that's it's incomprehensible to attempt to associate the two.

[82-T/A]

Not exactly. There are years and years worth of posts, arguments, claims, near death experiences and a host of other info not directly being discussed in this thread that explain the situation accurately as the events took place. Keeping a product of the highest quality, exclusive to a system and after overcoming the mountains of hell it took to get it finished, released, revamped into a better version and rereleased while giving all of the profits to diabetes research as it was a (very lengthy) labor of love is so far removed and opposite of the definition of a snowflake that's it's incomprehensible to attempt to associate the two.

 

No, I think it's great... everything they went through, and the fact that they gave the proceeds to diabetes research. I'm talking about since that point. It's a quick-win for everyone if they choose to just re-release it. Life is too short, what does it matter of the leads aren't made of gold? In the end, it's just a video game.

 

And when I mean re-release it... I mean hand it all over to people who are ready and willing, take a percentage, and donate that if they want to. I mean, this isn't the Ark of the Covenant we're talking about here. We're talking about an Atari Jaguar game.

Edited April 10, 2017 by 82-T/A

[+Saturn]

It matters because that's how the product was intended. High quality. Less expensive components only diminish the legacy and purpose. Maybe some people hold their products to the highest standard. But also limited number runs are exactly that. Once it's done, it's done. I have 10 BSG's (one still in the original shipping container) and two original BS-in pursuit of a 16 console network but if I don't get the rest too bad for me. I'm hardly going to compare the creators to a bunch of liberals that complain their government provided glasses, cell phone and section 8 housing aren't good enough-while they lay around all day doing nothing.

[+madman]

Is political commentary really necessary here?

[+Saturn]

I didn't think so. Not sure why the term snowflakes was introduced but since it was it only seemed fitting to illustrate the difference and hopefully remove any further political references from the discussion.

[skip]

 

Geeze... we call those kinds of people "snowflakes" here in the United States.

Umm, 4Play/Scatologic *are* from the US.

 

And comparing BS (essentially a three person team developing part time for much of the game's early life) vs WC3 (big team, actors, backed with millions of dollars at the time, one of the biggest and most expensive video game productions of the time) is a little silly. Sure, the BS gameplay and structure wasn't the norm (open vs mission based), but to the dev's credit they stuck to their guns, like it or not. And yes, I would have like to have seen big superships and even a more rigidly structured single player mission mode too, but it is what it is. The multiple modes of gameplay, mostly rock solid framerate, and extra value added features are miles above what was shoved out by most bigger teams with bigger budgets.

 

If you want to get picky (and being objective), the colour depth, framerate, visible playfield on the screen, networking etc in BS each beat out WC3.

 

And yes, the lack of distance to enemy indicator and green for enemies weirdness (fixed in BSG I believe) are both annoying to me. I'm in no way an 'apologist' for anyone / anything related to this game, but I've noticed a slight bit of somewhat revisionist dislike for the game in recent years (or maybe people are now just being more honest about what they think about the game, who knows) based on personal disagreements with individual(s).

 

As far as the whole charity thing goes, *I believe* the statement about all profits being donated to diabetes research was only locked in place for the original release, not BSG. I'm also disappointed that with the plethora of developers and publishers out there these days that some kind of deal or arrangement has not been made to re-release it. I understand there's a number of reasons, but given the time since the game came out and the continued interest in the Jaguar, I hope one day this can be revisited with one of the existing publishers. I, unfortunately, don't think it will happen...but I'd like to be surprised.

Edited April 10, 2017 by skip

[82-T/A]

It matters because that's how the product was intended. High quality. Less expensive components only diminish the legacy and purpose. Maybe some people hold their products to the highest standard. But also limited number runs are exactly that. Once it's done, it's done. I have 10 BSG's (one still in the original shipping container) and two original BS-in pursuit of a 16 console network but if I don't get the rest too bad for me. I'm hardly going to compare the creators to a bunch of liberals that complain their government provided glasses, cell phone and section 8 housing aren't good enough-while they lay around all day doing nothing.

 

 

I know, I understand. I think it's great to have pride in workmanship. I'm just saying, there's a ton of people out there who are ready and willing... seems silly that so much effort is basically being wasted because of pride.

 

Snowflake meant to represent the programmers. I'm a programmer, and snowflakes (the non-political meaning) in my area of employment represent computer programmers who have crazy demands (IE: I only want blue M&Ms, etc...)

 

 

 

 

Umm, 4Play/Scatologic *are* from the US.

 

And comparing BS (essentially a three person team developing part time for much of the game's early life) vs WC3 (big team, actors, backed with millions of dollars at the time, one of the biggest and most expensive video game productions of the time) is a little silly. Sure, the BS gameplay and structure wasn't the norm (open vs mission based), but to the dev's credit they stuck to their guns, like it or not. And yes, I would have like to have seen big superships and even a more rigidly structured single player mission mode too, but it is what it is. The multiple modes of gameplay, mostly rock solid framerate, and extra value added features are miles above what was shoved out by most bigger teams with bigger budgets.

 

If you want to get picky (and being objective), the colour depth, framerate, visible playfield on the screen, networking etc in BS each beat out WC3.

 

And yes, the lack of distance to enemy indicator and green for enemies weirdness (fixed in BSG I believe) are both annoying to me. I'm in no way an 'apologist' for anyone / anything related to this game, but I've noticed a slight bit of somewhat revisionist dislike for the game in recent years (or maybe people are now just being more honest about what they think about the game, who knows) based on personal disagreements with individual(s).

 

As far as the whole charity thing goes, *I believe* the statement about all profits being donated to diabetes research was only locked in place for the original release, not BSG. I'm also disappointed that with the plethora of developers and publishers out there these days that some kind of deal or arrangement has not been made to re-release it. I understand there's a number of reasons, but given the time since the game came out and the continued interest in the Jaguar, I hope one day this can be revisited with one of the existing publishers. I, unfortunately, don't think it will happen...but I'd like to be surprised.

 

 

Yeah, I know they're from the US. I was responding to someone who wasn't in the US.

 

I'm definitely not bashing the game, I think the game is great. I just wish they would swallow their pride, let someone reproduce it for them.

[PeterG]

And yes, the lack of distance to enemy indicator and green for enemies weirdness (fixed in BSG I believe) are both annoying to me.

 

 

Green is still the enemy in BSG. Actually aside from it being weird because it is different to any other indicator ever, it did not bother me all that much. But yeah, it would have been more natural to have the classic colour scheme.

 

 

As far as the whole charity thing goes, *I believe* the statement about all profits being donated to diabetes research was only locked in place for the original release, not BSG.

 

Yes, that is what I understood as well, that's why I was referring to BS Classic in the above reply concerning the diabetes research.

[+Saturn]

The enemy/friendly color scheme was awkward for me at first but didn't take long to adapt.