What games showcased the best 3D graphics on Micro Home Computer platforms? (Non-PC)

[Leeroy ST]

I'm generally thinking non-pc home computers before the PC started taking off ahead of home micros and desktops after 1993, so that year or before.

 

Generally computers like Early Mac, Apple 3, Amiga, Acorn etc. There were many.

 

I'm interested in the most graphically impressive 3D games during the home computer era while it was still alive during the 80's to mid-90's.

 

When you think of the best examples of 3D graphics on these platforms, which games do you think of?  The games that gave the best for the time visuals, effects, gameplay, and frame rate (relatively).

[Cebus Capucinis]

Miggy for sure.

[Leeroy ST]

14 hours ago, Cebus Capucinis said:

Miggy for sure.

What platform that for?

[The Usotsuki]

Think "Miggy" means Amiga.

[+DrVenkman]

Star Raiders, 1979.  

[Cebus Capucinis]

8 hours ago, The Usotsuki said:

Think "Miggy" means Amiga.

Yep! Sorry, shouldn't have gone to "quaint speak." Given the Amiga was known for that sort of thing, I suspect there's a number of impressive titles. Alien Breed 3D comes to mind.

[Leeroy ST]

On 7/22/2021 at 3:14 PM, Cebus Capucinis said:

Yep! Sorry, shouldn't have gone to "quaint speak." Given the Amiga was known for that sort of thing, I suspect there's a number of impressive titles. Alien Breed 3D comes to mind.

Yeah I was speaking of games not hardware so that's why I was confused. 

[bluejay]

Dungeons of Daggorath on TRS-80 Color Computer. 

[+x=usr(1536)]

Elite on the BBC Micro.  It was available on other platforms as well, but that's the one I most strongly associate it with.

[Keatah]

Elite on Apple II

StarGlider on Amiga

Flight Simulator I and II on various platforms

Jet on Apple II and Amiga

Stellar 7 on Apple II

BallBlazer on various platforms

Carrier Command on Amiga

Rescue on Fractalus on Atari 8-bit

Star Raiders on Atari 8-bit

Marble Madness on various platforms

Zaxxon on various platforms

 

A variety of interactive graphic novels had nicely drawn scenes. But that's not animated 3D done on the microprocessor.

 

There's more for sure.

 

[Arnuphis]

Zarch - Archimedes

[Matt_B]

Zarch was good for a late 80s game, but there are plenty more for the Archimedes:

 

3D Tanks - A wireframe battlezone clone but it's impressively fast and smooth.

Aldebaran - Zarch goes insterstellar.

Arcturus - A Marble Madness style game in full 3D.

Chocks Away - The definitive flight sim for the machine

Elite - Puts the ST/Amiga ports to shame. Probably between it and Elite Plus (PC) for the best version of the game unless you're a wireframe purist.

Starfighter 3000 - A flagship title with an impressive draw distance.

Stunt Racer 2000 - Not the also excellent Geoff Crammond game, but a slick sim racer.

 

Also, anything that got ported to it from the Amiga/ST would typically run much faster.

 

There's no 3D acceleration hardware in there though, just a far more efficient CPU and a bus architecture built to handle the throughput that it can deliver.

 

 

[Leeroy ST]

6 hours ago, Matt_B said:

Zarch was good for a late 80s game, but there are plenty more for the Archimedes:

 

3D Tanks - A wireframe battlezone clone but it's impressively fast and smooth.

Aldebaran - Zarch goes insterstellar.

Arcturus - A Marble Madness style game in full 3D.

Chocks Away - The definitive flight sim for the machine

Elite - Puts the ST/Amiga ports to shame. Probably between it and Elite Plus (PC) for the best version of the game unless you're a wireframe purist.

Starfighter 3000 - A flagship title with an impressive draw distance.

Stunt Racer 2000 - Not the also excellent Geoff Crammond game, but a slick sim racer.

 

Also, anything that got ported to it from the Amiga/ST would typically run much faster.

 

There's no 3D acceleration hardware in there though, just a far more efficient CPU and a bus architecture built to handle the throughput that it can deliver.

 

 

I think the ports of March (Virus) may have been the first 3D polygon games on the ST/Amiga though unless I'm missing something. I think Acorn may have started the real 3D phase for computer games. 

[Matt_B]

This game was pretty impressive for late 1985, especially considering what it's running on.

 

 

 

[Leeroy ST]

On 7/30/2021 at 4:03 AM, Matt_B said:

This game was pretty impressive for late 1985, especially considering what it's running on.

 

 

 

There's warping but the somewhat smooth movement is impressive for a system like speccy. 

[Leeroy ST]

So from what I gathered even in stronger Amigas there's not much improvement in 3D, and the blitter only helps speed up the fps by like 1-3 at best?

[Keatah]

On 7/30/2021 at 3:03 AM, Matt_B said:

This game was pretty impressive for late 1985, especially considering what it's running on.

Indeed it is.

[Keatah]

33 minutes ago, Leeroy ST said:

So from what I gathered even in stronger Amigas there's not much improvement in 3D, and the blitter only helps speed up the fps by like 1-3 at best?

Pretty much. The Amiga was never designed with 3D hardware in mind. And it's expansion architecture wasn't open enough to allow for 3D cards as we know them like in PC. Simply too many ties to the built-in 2D video.

[derSammler]

On 7/22/2021 at 9:14 PM, Cebus Capucinis said:

Yep! Sorry, shouldn't have gone to "quaint speak." Given the Amiga was known for that sort of thing, I suspect there's a number of impressive titles. Alien Breed 3D comes to mind.

Alien Breed 3D came out after DOOM and wasn't impressive at all. It was a poor try to have a DOOM-like game on an already outdated platform.

 

For me, the early Lucasfilm games using fractals (The Eidolon, Koronis Rift, Rescue on Fractalus) were just amazing examples of what was possible on 8-bit machines. Zarch on the Archimedes was quite impressive as well, but given the platform's power, that probably doesn't count.

Edited August 10, 2021 by derSammler

[Leeroy ST]

On 8/10/2021 at 2:20 PM, Keatah said:

Pretty much. The Amiga was never designed with 3D hardware in mind. And it's expansion architecture wasn't open enough to allow for 3D cards as we know them like in PC. Simply too many ties to the built-in 2D video.

I always figured Amigas biggest mistake was even with later models overlying on the built in architecture. Though since Amiga was considered to be a console before Commodore was involved I guess the design philosophy makes sense 

 

But it doesn't work to well with computers. Amiga may have lasted longer with more third party compatibility and being able to be expanded easier.

 

Not that the ST/falcon was much better in that regard, and the AtariPC device failed.

 

There's a reason Windows PC, Mac, and Risc were the only ones left after 94.

[Keatah]

Sounds like C= was presented with a console, but what convinced them to market it as a computer?

[Matt_B]

The problem with the Amiga as a console it was far too expensive at launch. They eventually had a couple of goes at it when the costs came down, but $1000 games machines just weren't a thing at the time.

There was at least something of a market for a computer with high-end graphical capabilities though, plus home computers that pulled double duty as games machines were definitely more in line with Commodore's ethos.

[Leeroy ST]

22 hours ago, Keatah said:

Sounds like C= was presented with a console, but what convinced them to market it as a computer?

Same reason why the a few of the 16-bits ended up as computers, cost.

 

Even by 1990 base Amiga models were still too expensive. 

 

What I think they should have done is put out a relatively affordable CD console model in 1990 instead of the 1200 or the CDTV. At least that could start somewhat low and drop in price. CD32 was way too late. I'm still not sure why they bothered launching it.

[Keatah]

Cost. Designing something and then having it sold as a games console. Explains why so many 16-bit rigs felt like machines for gamers. But as we know, games alone couldn't complete against the IBM PC and clones.

 

This even includes the Apple IIgs. Which was even worse, running at 3MHz. And still not having a real graphics chip, but, instead having over-the-top sound for its class. An unbalanced go-nowhere machine.

[Leeroy ST]

2 hours ago, Keatah said:

Cost. Designing something and then having it sold as a games console. Explains why so many 16-bit rigs felt like machines for gamers. But as we know, games alone couldn't complete against the IBM PC and clones.

 

This even includes the Apple IIgs. Which was even worse, running at 3MHz. And still not having a real graphics chip, but, instead having over-the-top sound for its class. An unbalanced go-nowhere machine.

Some people I know of nicknamed the Apple Iigs the "Apple II Game System" and on forums occasionally or in videos there are still people who think that, that I come across once in awhile.

 

But yeah ST did a better job than Amiga for productivity for the "power users" but both were basically media and game machines. Britain Acorn same, but at least they had education for a time.

 

PC and clones started to get further and further ahead in everything else, and once the graphical improvements came the game was over on all fronts.

 

I remember Apple trying hard to mimick the rise of PC and clones with MAC. Never could pull it off.