• Tag Archives TI-99/4A

  • Miner 2049er

    Posted on by Azrael Comment

    Source: Video & Arcade Games – Volume 1, Number 2 – Fall 1983



    In Miner 2049er, you play the role of Bounty Bob, a member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, as he searches for the villain Yukon Yohan. This search occurs in an abandoned Uranium mine. Miner 2049er is a sort of juxtaposition of past and future. While the theme and even the title reflect gold mining in the 1840s, this is a Uranium mine and the obstacles you face are futuristic in nature. things like matter transporters and jet-speed floaters among other odd items. In addition, you will have to face various creatures that have mutated due to radiation. Only in video games and sci fi does radiation make you stronger.

    Game play is pretty straightforward. You must walk over all sections of the mine in order to “claim” it. Each screen consists of platforms and ladders. Along the way you’ll find weapons and other objects to help you in addition to the mutated creatures you must fight.

    Miner 2049er was first developed for the Atari 800 and then ported to a wide variety of other systems. Miner 2049er was unique for its time in terms of size. It was much larger than normal, especially for a platform game. Miner 2049er consisted of 10 separate screens at a time when most other similar style games only had 3 or 4. Because games for the Atari 800 were typically released on cartridge, this meant a cartridge size of 16K instead of the more typical 8K.

    The large size of Miner 2049er led to a fairly high priced game for the time. Miner 2049er initially sold for $49.99 which adjusted for inflation would be about $133 today. The Atari 2600 version was released as two separate games and in total still encompassed barely more than half the levels: Miner 2049er contained three levels and Miner 2049er Volume II contained three levels. Other computer ports were a bit easier because they were mostly on disk. Sure, you may have a bit of a load time between levels but it was much cheaper to produce that way.

    Despite the high price, especially for the Atari 8-bit cartridge version, Miner 2049er was a very popular game. It received outstanding reviews and even though the graphics were really only mediocre, even for the time, the playability was excellent. It’s truly one of the classics that every gamer should at least try. Without games like Miner 2049er, there may never have been games like Super Mario Bros.

    In addition to the Atari 8bit and Atari 2600 versions, Miner 2049er also made its way to the Commodore 64, Atari 5200, VIC-20, ColecoVision, Intellivision, Apple II, IBM PC, TI-99/4A and a variety of other platforms. There were also a couple of later re-releases on the Game Boy, Windows Mobile, Blackberry and iOS. There was even an official emulator released of the Atari 8-bit version but it only worked with older versions of Windows (pre Windows 7). If you want to play it today and don’t have original hardware, the best way is probably to emulate your favorite version.

    Screen shots above are from the Commodore 64 version…because the Commodore 64 is my favorite retro platform. The ads above are from the Fall 1983 issue of Video & Arcade Games.


    📂This entry was posted in Computer Arcana Retro Games 📎and tagged

  • Home Computer Magazine (August 1984)

    Posted on by Azrael Comment

    Source: Home Computer Magazine – August 1984

    Home Computer Magazine started life as a magazine dedicated to the TI-99/4A under a different name. As it became clear that the TI-99/4A was not going to maintain its success, the magazine branched out to cover other popular systems as well, in particular the Commodore 64, IBM PC and Apple II. The August 1984 issue includes:

    Features

    • Snap-Calc – Creating this mighty math matrix is a snap.
    • Bars and Plots – Colorful graphs can chart your figures.
    • Elementary Addition and Subtraction – An educational program for the preschool crowd.
    • Spider Graphics – Ah, what a tangled (and colorful) web we can weave.
    • Convertible for Comfort – Automatic conversion of machine language programs to DATA statements.
    • Programming: The Name of the Game – Pick a game, any game…and design it.
    • Colorfun – Match the color swatch to its name.

    Product Reviews

    • Personal Editor – Ease of use makes this an outstanding text editor.
    • EasyWriter II – A powerful word processor for the PC…and Junior.
    • PFS: File, PFS: Report – Database management without intimidation.
    • Home Accountant – Financial management comes home.
    • Count-Sil – A Spreadsheet program for home use.
    • Doublestuff – Double the Apple’s normal color and resolution.
    • Chivalry – Knights and Ladies abound in this board/video game.
    • Burgertime – Burger-building in a chaotic kitchen.
    • Alpha-Pak – Learning the alphabet is as easy as A-B-C.
    • In Search of the Most Amazing Thing – A nonviolent, educational, fantasy adventure.
    • Murder by the Dozen – Use your wits to track down “who ‘dun’ it.”
    • Necromancer – Chasing zombies was never like this.
    • Microsurgeon – A “fantastic voyage” through your patient’s bloodstream.
    • Trickster Coyote – Don’t let the wily coyote cry wolf.
    • EasyScript – An inexpensive word processor for the C-64.
    • Companion – A helpful companion can esy writing’s burdens.
    • Home Budget Jr. – A valuable program that’s easy on your budget.

    Logo Times

    • Binary Forest – ‘Branching Out’ with Smokey the Bear.
    • LOGO Flakes – Creative explorations with snowflake desings.

    Gameware Buffet

    • Robochase – Pits you against rampaging robots.
    • Cyber-Cipher – Break the top-secret computer access code.
    • Wild Kingdom – Trapping tigers in a jungle maze.
    • Speeder – A game to make your own.
    • Boolean Brain – Wander down logic paths inside your computer.
    • Missile Math – Launching interest in multiplication.

    Deparments

    • Inside/Outside HCM
    • On Screen
    • Letters to the Editor
    • HCM Review Criteria
    • Contents
    • HCM Product News
    • Program Listing Contents
    • Program Typing Guide
    • Industry Watch
    • Group Grapevine
    • DeBugs on Display
    • Index to Advertisers
    • HCM Classifieds
    • Home Computer Tech Notes:
      • TI
      • IBM
      • Apple
      • Commodore

    …and more!


    📂This entry was posted in Apple ][ Commodore 64 Computer Arcana DOS 📎and tagged

  • TI-99/4A

    Posted on by Azrael Comment

    Source: Home Computer Weekly – Issue Number 15 – June 14-22, 1983



    I’m not sure what the popularity of the TI-99/4A in the U.K was (my guess is not very) but that is where the above ad is from. Here in the U.S., it had a very brief period of popularity. This ad appeared in the June 14-22, 1983 issue of Home Computer Weekly. By this time, Texas Instruments had pretty much already lost the price war with Commodore and the TI-99/4A would be officially discontinued the following year.

    The TI-99/4A was an early home computer designed by Texas Instruments. It was introduced in 1981 and competed with the Apple II, Atari 8-bit computers, VIC-20 and later the Commodore 64. It was technically the first 16-bit personal computer (the processor was a TMS9900) but this provided limited benefits as the 16-bit processor was basically shoehorned into a system that had originally been designed for an 8-bit processor that TI failed to successfully produce. The TI-99/4A was superior to the VIC-20 in many ways but it could not compete on price. Commodore manufactured its own chips giving it a cost advantage. A little more than a year after the TI/99-4A was introduced, the Commodore 64 was released, which while arguably having a weaker CPU, had much better sound and graphics capabilities. The TI/99-4A did have a brief period of popularity and had up to a 35% market share for a short amount of time.

    Texas Instruments was one of several victims of the price wars initiated by Commodore and the TI/99-4A was discontinued in 1984. Their marketing strategy was pretty poor and having Bill Cosby as a spokesman could only help so much. To compete, their plan was to sell the hardware at a loss and then make up the loss by selling software and peripherals that had higher profit margins. Unfortunately, for this plan to work they had to monopolize these markets and they prevented third party development. This had the predictable result of limiting software and hardware availability and quality. Other home computers of the time, particularly the Commodore 64, VIC-20 and Apple II enjoyed significant third party support.

    While some of the games produced by TI were decent, there were too few and most were clones of more popular games. Application software did not fare much better. There were some interesting peripherals produced, including the voice synthesizer which many games supported.

    The above ad is from the June 14-22, 1983 issue of Home Computer Weekly.


    📂This entry was posted in Computer Arcana 📎and tagged