Re: Apple IIgs Gaming Questions

["Bryan Parkoff" <nospam@nospam.com>]

Mitchell,

    Thank you very much for the information.  I am surprised that original 
software like Moon Patrol is incompatible to Apple IIgs because of Disk II 
controller card design.  Is there only one possibility that it may be bank 
$E0 and $E1?  If shadow memory is enabled, it causes Apple II 8-bit software 
to run at 1 MHz in bank $E0 and $E1 when the original software does not like 
bank $E0 and $E1 and prefer to stick with bank $00 and $01.  I am curious.

Bryan Parkoff

"Mitchell Spector" <mitch2gs@hotmail.com> wrote in message 
1l32911m57bfsjdcf93vilfpt087tcnajq@4ax.com">news:1l32911m57bfsjdcf93vilfpt087tcnajq@4ax.com...
> "Tempest" <tempest@atariprotos.com> wrote:
>
>>1. How compatible is the IIgs with Apple II games? I've been searching
>>for answers, but so far I can't find any pages that mention game
>>incompatibilites. However so far I've run into at least three games
>>that won't work (all originals):
>
>    I would say about _99%_ backwards compatible with the 8-bit Apple II.
> Some of the incompatibilities you may run into are not Apple IIGS-specific
> issues, but simply it mimicking the same behavior you'd encounter on an
> Apple IIc or late model IIe.
>
>    Good examples are programs hard coded to use a Disk II controller
> card that break with the IIc and IIgs built-in diskport, or programs that
> don't like the presence of a CMOS based 6502 (i.e. 65C02 or higher).
>
>>Stargate
>>Gremlins
>>Moon Patrol
>
>    I pulled out the deprotected/cracked versions from my old collection
> just now (nice to know 20+ years later they still work!) and Stargate,
> Gremlins and Moon Patrol all run fine on my ROM 3 IIgs. I suppose
> the originals have copy protection schemes which are incompatible,
> but not the games themselves.
>
>    I made a short list of 8-bit games I had trouble with on the IIgs some
> years ago, though looking at it now in retrospect, I can tell you quite a
> few DO run if you use a Disk II controller (e.g. Karateka, Drole and
> Hardball). In some cases it's the cracked versions at fault, the originals
> work fine.
>
> -Karateka
> -Drole
> -Hardball
> -Lode Runner
> -One on One
> -Minit Man
> -Serpentine
> -Ultima III
> -Randamn
>
>    Incidentally, there's a small program called "Pre-Boot" that allows you
> to emulate booting from a Disk II controller. I know it helps with 
> Hardball.
>
>>I'm using a ROM 03 IIgs, could that be the problem?  I've heard of
>>issues with the 03 ROM vs. the 01 ROM.
>
>    The issues with the ROM 3 incompatibilities mostly affect IIGS-specific
> software (typically games and demos) and the vast majority of them have
> been patched years ago.
>
>    As a matter of fact, the ROM 3 IIgs is actually more backwards 
> compatible
> with 8-bit Apple II software than the ROM 00 and 01. Games that require 
> you
> enable 'Alternate Display Mode' (where you see a screen filled with '2's) 
> is
> done automatically using hardware shadowing of text page 2. And looking
> up my old postings in Google groups, I can see, interestingly, there were 
> a
> few programs that worked on the ROM 3 (Dazzle Draw Slide Show, Lode
> Runner) yet would lock-up instantly booting up on my ROM 01.
>
>>Is there any advantage to using ROM 03 other than the extra memory (which 
>>I honestly
>>don't care about)? The reason I ask is that I have a ROM 01 IIgs that I 
>>was thinking
>>about take the board out of, and putting it into my current IIgs.
>
>    Several actually. Rather than repost them, I'll refer you to a posting 
> I
> made to comp.sys.apple2 a couple of years back:
>
> http://groups-beta.google.com/group/comp.sys.apple2/msg/17d9a8ef6d780f05?dmode=source&hl=en
>
>>2. How good is the IIgs RGB montior for Apple II games? I know IIe
>>games were written with a composite monitor in mind, but they should
>>work on the RGB monitor. However I've been told that the RGB monitor
>>doesn't do a decent job with the double hi-res mode, which makes me
>>nervous. I thought I noticed some odd color problems now and then, but
>>it might be my imagination.
>
>    It's respectable overall, but really too sharp and pure for its own 
> good.
> The effects of dithering in 8-bit Apple II games look less "impressive",
> especially where the intent was for composite video to blur things.
>
>    It should be noted that even though there's a composite-out port on
> the IIgs, its color composite video is _slightly_ different looking than
> what an Apple IIe produces. We're talking about a subtle difference
> here, but enough where there was even an article with side-by-side
> comparisons shown in an early (circa 1986) issue of inCider magazine.
>
>    I've also noticed a bit of a glitch when displaying Hi-Res graphics
> on the IIgs's AppleColor RGB. Sometimes you'll see some stray pixels
> (a kind of fringing affect) using the Double-Hi-Res color palette which
> obviously have no place in a Hi-Res graphic image. Nothing THAT
> major mind you, you really have to look and stare. I had moved from
> an Apple II Plus to the IIgs in the 80's and had no complaints overall.
>
>>On a side note, I wish the IIgs montior wasn't so small compared to my
>>IIe monitor.  Not to mention the inch boarder around the viewable
>>screen, what is the reason for that?  Is there a way to get the picture
>>to stretch to the edges of the monitor?
>
>    Unfortunately, there's nothing you can do to extend regular video
> outside the border area. Connecting up to a 27-52" television and
> setting the border color to 'black' helps. :)
>
>    One final bit of advice, even if obvious. If you're using a IIgs to
> emulate 8-bit II software go into the Control Panel; under 'Display'
> set the border to "Black", under 'System Speed' set it to "Normal"
> and under 'Slots' set Startup Slot to "6". And if you have a Second
> Sight video card, _pull it out_ if you plan to run any Double-Hi-Res
> games.
>
> Mitchell Spector