Why was Putty Squad cancelled in Amiga format?

[leirbag28]

@AmiVeteran

 The thing is that when you disply NTSC in your country, it probably doesnt look the same as when someone is viewing it here in 60Hz on an NTSC TV, the same goes for us when we use PAL, it basically looks horrible andd flickers like crazy, and the colors get distorted even on an RGB monitor.......so thats not really a good way of telling. Philip makes special TV's here in the USA that disply both NTSC an PAL...they even Auto adjust when displaying PAL and shrink the image to fit the screen and display all the lines. I suspect that the PHILIPS RGB monitors that they made for Amiga over there in UK probably do the same exept they expand for NTSC...............I suspect it because I have a MAGNOVOX (Same as PHILIPS in UK) that is the American Version of that PHILIPS CM888K or whatever that monitor is called...its a neat monitor and is better than the 1084s...............so try using NTSC on those monitors as that may be a good way of telling what NTSC looks like here in USA, unless the colors get distorted, then its not.

 Th reason MegaDrive games were not Overscan is probably because they were ported from NTSC versions............Video Games companies Prioritize the USA and JAPAN for creating Video games, so other countries get leftovers I suspect.

 As far as I see it, all PAL is the same as NTSC but with more lines to fill the black borders for PAL countries and runs at 50hz which will flicker more because when in interlace mode, since its a slower hz you will see the 2 fields of an interlaced screen flashing more because its slower............on NTSC I suspect they flash faster between the 2 fields and the flickering is less noticable.

 Oh one question I wanted to ask you............you said something about running PAL in 60Hz?  how do you do that?  and can NTSC also be rn in 50hz as oppsoed to 60hz?  Degrader seems to allow for this but it never works for me............the reason I ask is because I want to run PAL games in NTSC mode or actually run PAL in 60Hz so that maybe a game like Ruff N Tumble may work in USA TV's (currently it doesnt even with WHDLoad)  There is a game called OUTFALL that ddoes this wonderfull trick of switching from PAL to NTSC without the speed of the music changing, or without the image shifting or shrinking........Absolutely amazing! I want to be able to do this with every game that is PAL, so that I can play them on huge American TV's

[x56h34]

PAL60 and NTSC50 are uncommon standards which only get displayed properly if you own a multi-system TV or an Amiga RGB monitor, or of course some other expensive device capable of it.

When you run a PAL game through WHDLoad on your NTSC Amiga with a PAL tooltype set, this is exactly what happens with the display. It becomes NTSC50. You force 50hz through NTSC. Try and watch this on a standard NTSC TV and you'll get a black and white picture. Composite or S-vhs do not cope with PAL60/NTSC50 well, unlike RGB which is totally unaffected.

The same goes for when playing an NTSC game on a PAL Amiga through WHDLoad with NTSC tooltype. You force 60hz on PAL.

This was a HUUUGE problem when CD32 came out in N. America. Commodore expected the average joe console gamers to cope with PAL/NTSC issues and TV sets. Many games were released in PAL version only, yet they were sold on the store shelves in N. America and when ran on NTSC CD32 units, the usual issues started to occur. Later on, the users learned that in order to display PAL properly they needed an Amiga mouse in order to hold two mouse buttons and select PAL from the early-boot-menu, however, only to end up with black and white display, since they now forced NTSC50 in effect. What was the next move? Buy an expensive multi-system TV and end the problem....right. Stupid Commodore.

Just do a google usenet search and see how many people were confused about this. NTSC CD32 was doomed right from the start. Is there a TRUE NTSC CD32 game out there?

[leirbag28]

@x56h34
"Try and watch this on a standard NTSC TV and you'll get a black and white picture"

This is not true actually, it may ho;d true with other imported electronic devices but I have never seen this problem with the CD32. I mostly use TV's with my Amigas..........in PAL mode i the TV Does Not support it, what happens is that the Vertical hold on the TV starts flipping, but its stuill in color.............if your tv has a Vertical hold control, you can make it display PAL. since Monitors for Commodore were made by PHILIPS, they support PAL as well.

As for any True NTSC CD32 games...........I have quite a few..I make it a goal to collect ALL NTSC games if possible. Defender of The Crown 2 for one, is NTSC, there was supposed to be an NTSC version of Video Creator (wich I want badly) Liberation Captive 2 is NTSC and Insight Technology (there is also a PAL version)
other games I have that are CD32 NTSC:

Rise of The Robots
Simon The Sorceror (cant confirm this at the moment)
The Chaos Engine
CD32 Sports Football
MicroCosm
Pinball Fantasies/ SleepWalker
and some others.

[x56h34]

@leirbag28:

If NTSC50 is in effect you WILL get black and white picture on a standard NTSC TV.

Don't forget that there are a lot of PAL games out there that even if booted in NTSC simply force PAL (true PAL) regardless.

[Minuous]

It's common knowledge that NTSC is rubbish so I won't comment further on that subject...

How do we know that the Putty Squad screenshots in the magazines were actually from the full Amiga version, rather than, eg. the SNES version? It has been known in the past for Amiga magazines to use IBM-PC screenshots and suchlike on occasion. So I would be somewhat dubious about it, I'm not really sure whether it was ever finished or not, for the two reasons of (a) surely it would have been more profitable to release it than to cancel after already completing the writing of the game, even now, let alone back then, and (b) surely a copy would have leaked out by now.

[Ilwrath]

If NTSC50 is in effect you WILL get black and white picture on a standard NTSC TV.

Maybe the Amiga doesn't use this NTSC50, after all?  (Or maybe you've got it backwards, and NTSC50 is wny the color is preserved?)  

For as much as people have talked about color problems, I've never seen it happen, either.  When you flip an Amiga to PAL mode, you get a color display with a different VHOLD setting.  Some standard NTSC TVs are able to compensate (manual or overridable digital vhold), some aren't (most automatic vhold TVs).  All that I've seen show a normally colored display, though (just for some, that display is rolling).

[leirbag28]

 I have never gotten a Black and white image on a TV when in PAL mode, NTSC mode, All the Amiga Games that I have that are PAL are in color on a standartd TV, the only thing like I said is that the image rolls, which you can adjust if your TV has V-HOLD (usually only old TV's have this)

The only Time I have seen a Black and White image from PAL is when I buy one of those portable VideoCD Players in ChinaTown here in NYC. When you play a VideoCD that was meant for PAL (China is PAL) then the CD plays in Black and white on an American TV..........BUT, when I play that same VideoCD on my CD32/FMV..........both in PAL and NTSC, they both play in color!  so conclusion?  the Amiga displays True PAL even here on American TV's I suppose, unless True PAL is black and White :-)

[x56h34]

@leirbag28:

I disagree, and I would need to make some tests to prove you wrong, for which I don't really have the time.

[The_Power_of_the_Ginger]

The magazine you knew that used PC screenshots was Amiga Action. I have a copy of that issue (although I'm not sure why) and all the screenshots were from the first 8 levels.

Another Amiga magaine, Amiga Power, wouldn't be so hypocritical to use PC screenshots, having pointed out that Amiga Action did precisely that in reviews of subwar 2050 and Colonization.

Of course, it isn't the only game in the world that has been canned just before release. Pizza Tycoon was never released for the Amiga, but it was reviewed in some magazines. Thankfully, though, that game was dull and poor.

[leirbag28]

@x56h34

How can you possibly prove me wrong, when I am telling you I have seen it with my own eyes? hehe

 Really, I have a Full Motion Video Cartridge for my CD32, and I always buy PAL VideoCD's from China Town..as you may be aware, China uses PAL...........so what happens when I play them on my CD32 is that the image is stretched (playing it without setting it for PAL)   then when I set it for PAL, it plays at 50hz in full color on an American TV, and any TV that I have tried for the past 10 or 11 years that I have owned this card.

 Also the Game ZOOL CD32 is absolutely PAL, I have never seen an NTSC version....and of course when I run this game, it runs in Color. the reasson I know is because the game will not boot at all in NTSC mode on a CD32...............you have to  force it to PAL......and when I do, it runs in Color. :-)

Maybe the Amiga Fakes it? I don't know..............but one thing I know for sure, is that my CD32 is running in a different mode that is definitely NOT NTSC when I set it to PAL. But yet its in color and the image is stretched............people look elongated in movies......probably because PAL has more lines.  I also have a special monitor made by PHILIPS, that fits the whole PAL image into an NTSC sized screen so that you dont miss anything.............many TV's made by Philips also have this feature.

Also must note........that there is a Projector I have tested made by SHARP, that says it supports PAL, but when I connect an Amiga and select PAL ( I do this by holding both mouse buttons down at startup, and then just tapping a key, which sets it to PAL) The image is distorted and in black and white............yet the projector says it supports PAL..............I then tried this on a Sony Projector in the same store which also supports PAL, and it worked fine and in Full color..............................My conclusion.........the SHARP has fake PAL, or real PAL is in Black and white, and the Sony Projector fakes it as well as my Amiga fakes it...all in color.

 So I don't know what to tell you........This has been my eperience.:-)

[lempkee]

pizza tycoon was AND is available for AMIGA.

it came in germany and its fully playable for thoose who
understands german, and UK /english version was planned but was canned before it was even started.

another game, TEEN AGENT was also abandoned before the UK version came, it comes in polish version only on amiga but there is one upside atleast, get the pc english version and replace the amiga speech/text files with the polish ones and there u go....an AMIGA English version.

Putty squad was leaked according to alive mediasoft and the author of the game claims he doesnt have the disks anymore (it was handed over to alive in 1999).
Crystal clearwater interactive bought the liscense after alive dropped it, though it wasnt paid for and they never got the floppys/cd... (u know...it WAS ALIVE MEDIASOFT...grr)

there was MANY games that was abandoned even if they where finished, commodore went bankrupt, escom didnt make money and the mainstream market wanted DOOM and quake....and amiga couldnt do 3d....the companies (except for t17 and ocean left...amiga)

the game i miss the most is infact NOT putty squad (though id really love it if it came) is the motorcross game by the guys behind Elfmania , it was completed but their publisher left amiga and so did the team (and later on joined with Super stardust team to found - REMEDY - (well known for their PC hit game - MAX PAYNE - .

another game was the rally game by the guys behind LOTUS trilogy + super cars and so on, they worked on this game for over 3 years , it was released for pc but abandoned for amiga and atari falcon just before release date.

Legend of kyrandia 2 was also abandoned ,,

Reunion cd32 was finished but not released due to a twist between the programmer and grandslam regarding sales of the ecs and aga versions......

Turbo trax cd32 and rally championship cd32 (flair) was also both finished and fully reviewed with playable demos (that wasnt just an A1200 demo version) but was left in the corner just days before it was supposed to be released.


Games that was abandoned BUT did get released:

Surf Ninja's (flair) , it was abandoned (not finished) but was released as a full price game anyway....(and it shows)

Pinochio CDTV was abandoned a year before the cd32 came, but when the cd32 came they just slapped on an intro and released the game as a cd32 game, its really ugly and buggy.

there is alot more but too many to mention...


anyway even if a game is finished it doesnt mean they will make money on selling it! , it costs money to use channels for distrobution and marketing and ofcourse it cost to print the boxes/cdss/floppys etc and aswell as u need to print a "huge" number to make it profitable, 1000 copies would have sold if alive had put out puttysquad but if they had only produced 1000 and was to be sold out then it would have costed them alot more money just to print another 1000 copies later on....  


cheers