Re: Apple IIgs Gaming Questions

[heuser.marcus@freenet.de]

>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.  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.

There are several differences between the 01 and the 03 - but they
mostly affect the IIgs-mode and therefore IIgs-games (and -demos). The
CSA2-FAQ lists the exact differences and a small number of programs
that don't work on a 03 - IMHO not worth changing back to the older
board revision but your mileage may vary.

http://home.swbell.net/rubywand/Csa2HDWHACK.html#020
and
http://home.swbell.net/rubywand/Csa2GAMES.html#005

You should probably skim the whole FAQ (expecially the gaming related
part) because a lot of questions you will have are already answered
there.
http://home.swbell.net/rubywand/A2FAQs2CONTENT.html


>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.

The RGB-monitor itself is not the "problem" - its the graphics hardware
in the IIgs.
It has its limitations when "emulating" double-hires-mode *and*
displaying it on RGB-out (I didn't test the composite output as it is
not very usable in the IIgs-Super-HiRes-mode).
For example hi-res-text (in white color) gets colorized which makes it
less readable. In my opinion the picture on the RGB-monitor looks a bit
like the output of the AppleWin-emulator. But the IIgs has a nearly
correct aspect ratio (when compared to a genuine IIe).

In my opinion a IIe gives a better color picture when displaying double
hi-res, but it can have problems, too - depending on the exact
IIe-motherboard and the type of monitor you use.

The GS emulates the "normal" hi-res mode (280x192 pixels, 6 "real"
colors) fairly well, however.
There are for example some strange color effects every 14th column
depending on the setting of certain bits - and this is emulated well,
too. When googling this group I found a test program which nicely
demonstrates this on both IIe and IIgs with the exact same results.

One thing might "disturb" you: The IIgs-picture looks very "clean".
Take for example the 40-column text in the four bottom rows in a hi-res
screen: On a IIe parts of the characters are *tinted* in either green
or magenta (depending on the column). On a IIgs these parts are *solid*
green or magenta - which is as accurate as it can be with its hardware.
But it does not "feel genuine", imho.
(If you have a PAL IIe then these 4 rows don't have this
tinting-problem at all - which makes the IIgs even less genuine in this
respect ;-)

The bottom line is:
Try the software you want to run on the IIgs - the chances are that you
are indeed satisfied with the display (if the program runs, that
is...).
If you are not satisfied you have to go the route of getting a IIe (or
maybe a IIc) and connecting it to either your TV (preferably with
composite out - not with a UHF-modulator!), a Composite-monitor or
getting a RGB-card and connecting it to a fitting RGB-Monitor (the
IIgs-RGB-monitor probably won't work).

I will probably write an exhaustive post called "Adventures in Apple II
Graphics (When building the optimal Apple II for games)" to tell some
of my experiences when I'm done with it ;-)


>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?

The border is that big on all monitors and tv sets I've connected to my
IIgs. The IIe is not that different from it and the PAL IIe is a lot
worse as the picture is vertically "compressed" (nearly a fifth of the
height is unused).

I don't know the reason of this since I'm no expert in this area but I
think it has to do with the timing of the display generation.

AFAIK the only solution is to connect a monitor with a larger display
area, such as an old Amiga monitor for example. You need an adapter, of
course, but this is doable and works well ;-)