Re: Commodore 64 kills APPLE II

[Rubywand <rubywand@swbell.net>]

Stede Troisi writes ...
> 
> Is it me or does the APPLE II's graphic and sounds stink compared to the
> lower priced C64? I was playing around with the AppleWin emulator and the
> graphics and sounds are terrible.
> 


     Via the major for-PC emulators, you get a good sampling of 8-bit A2
displays but, at best, a 'just fair' sampling of 8-bit A2 sound. 

     Even so, sure, C-64 has much better sound than the built-in 'old Apple II'
sound of 8-bit Apple II's. (C-64 had better sound than the IBM PC, too.) The
musical intro for "Alternate Reality- The Dungeon" is a real treat on the C-64;
not even sure there is one for the A2 version.

     Around 1982, A2 users could plug in a Mockingboard and get better sound
and speech than C-64. The catch is that the game or whatever has to include
Mockingboard support. Ultima III-V, Thunder bombs, etc. sound very good; but,
the board doesn't affect use of most 8-bit A2 software. 

     When it comes to graphics, there's not that much difference between the
usual C-64 color display for games-- multi-color bit map mode-- (160 x 200) and
//e color double-hires (140 x 192). Both let you put 16 colors on the screen.
C-64 gives a bit better resolution; whereas, //e offers more freedom in
individual dot coloring.

     Games like "Into the Eagle's Nest" demonstrate that //e double-hires works
as well as C-64's usual color display for most action games. Getting games
released in double-hires was not always easy, though. Game makers knew that
many Apple II users still had II's and II+'s which do not display double-hires. 

     A lot of the put-down of the Apple II came from comparing arcade games
done in 6-color hires with games on C-64 in 16 colors. The C-64 action games
are usually more attractive.

     The big problem with C-64 color game displays is that they always look
kind of blocky. Apple II hires may offer just a few dot colors; but, you have
280 x 192 resolution. Even with restrictions on colored dot placement, you can
display more detailed, less blocky figures, better looking character/monster
pics, and more attractive Text.

     Many games, including most of the major adventures, look better on an
Apple II series computer. And, when you go to 16 colors, //e versions of King's
Quest, Might and Magic II, ... look and play better.

     As mentioned by Martin, C-64 was seriously hobbled by a cumbersome DOS and
slow disk I/O. With years of Apple II technology to study, it's a mystery how
C-64's designers managed to come up with a more complex, more costly, slower
disk drive.

     There are lots of other places-- printer I/O, serial I/O, standardization
around non-analog joysticks, ... where C-64/128 design dropped the ball.

     Overall, C-64/128 was a better deal for users who wanted to play arcade
style games. And up until the competition ended in 1986, C-64/128 users could
always boast of having better built-in sound.



Rubywand