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Offline orb85750Topic starter

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CD32 opinions wanted
« on: September 26, 2010, 03:47:34 PM »
Do you have a CD32?  Is it a worthwhile unit to own?  Is the controller good?  Do the games load up quickly?  Is it well-built and reliable?  and are NTSC games difficult to find?  Thanks.
 

Offline amiga92570

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Re: CD32 opinions wanted
« Reply #1 on: September 26, 2010, 03:53:15 PM »
Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, and Yes. Your welcome
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Offline Crom00

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Re: CD32 opinions wanted
« Reply #2 on: September 26, 2010, 04:00:33 PM »
The controller.. I like the design but the directional pad has an internal ABS plastic frame that will eventually break. Get a competition Pro CD32 controller as that is patterened of a more robust SegaGensis controller with a better designed DPAD.
The ABS plastic part that breaks can be repaired but it's a pain.
 

Offline TakeShad

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Re: CD32 opinions wanted
« Reply #3 on: September 26, 2010, 08:11:48 PM »
As much as I like and respect Commodore, I don't know what the f were they thinking while making CD32. It's such a bad console and it even looks cheap - the plastic is so lame that just looking at it hurts.

That reminds about this auction with a CD32 with SX32 add-on:

http://allegro.pl/amiga-cd32-sx32-8mb-fast-hdd-fdd-od-kolekcjonera-i1238672046.html
 

Offline runequester

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Re: CD32 opinions wanted
« Reply #4 on: September 26, 2010, 08:46:53 PM »
I know a few people who've enjoyed them. I think the intention was very much as a quick cash injection for Commodore. THey seem to have sold pretty well in the UK for a short while.
 

Offline pwermonger

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Re: CD32 opinions wanted
« Reply #5 on: September 26, 2010, 08:58:19 PM »
Quote from: TakeShad;581381
As much as I like and respect Commodore, I don't know what the f were they thinking while making CD32. It's such a bad console and it even looks cheap - the plastic is so lame that just looking at it hurts.

 
What were they thinking was, we need to make something that isnt too expensive so hopefully we can sell enough to stay in business.
 
All in all, it's not bad. most game systems from that time are hard to look at.
 
So, to the original questions.
Is it worth owning one? Yes, depending on the price.
Is the controller good? Yes, the Commodore controller actually feels good in the hand. If you arent an animal and take care of your stuff, it shouldnt break. The Competition Pro is okay, but what it uses as contacts for the buttons is crap and will require opening it at some point to clean them or bend them to make them work well.
Do games load up quickly? Not really. It's not slow but it's not a speed deamon by todays standards. Remember, it's from an early era where CDs were just starting out.
Is it well built? Yes and no. Plastic is cheap but at least wont yellow. Usually you find them missing the back panel over the expansion connector. This is because companies like Scala used them in the rack mount video equipment they sold and had an SX-1 connected there. The door mechanism feels flimsy and was an obvious problem. Older systems have the door flat in the back, later ones add plastic over the hinge to make it stronger so I suspect the flat versions (along the back of the CD door) could have an issue cracking along that due to the springload of the door hinge. Therefore a unit with the extra plastic (seen as a raised area along the back) is preferable.
Are NTCS games hard to find? Yes. Since Commodore was so in the hole they never managed to get enough into the US so most sales were in Europe therefore games companies made most money with PAL versions.
 

Offline tone007

Re: CD32 opinions wanted
« Reply #6 on: September 26, 2010, 09:29:17 PM »
Having to plug in a mouse to select PAL mode on the NTSC unit I had to get some games to run killed the "console" feel for me.  I was happier just using the CD32 joypad on my 1200.
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Offline Cammy

Re: CD32 opinions wanted
« Reply #7 on: September 26, 2010, 09:35:17 PM »
I think the CD32 is a beautiful machine. It is the smallest classic Amiga motherboard, and the most advanced. It has Akiko and 1MB of ROM! Of course if Commodore had the forethought they obviously lacked, they would have included a 030 and FastRAM as standard, just as the A4000 had (and the A1200 should have), but that's in the past and we can only work with what we were given.

With a plain CD32 you can play not only CD32 games but hundreds of Amiga games through WHDLoad. The CD drive is 2x speed, so it's slow. Games take a little while to load, especially from burned CDs. The controller is alright while the D-pad is still working (especially if you have the additional + pad for it), but it's best replaced with something better eventually. The Competition Pro/Honeybee CD32 controller is great, but it's been the rarest and most sought-after Amiga peripheral for many years now, so you'd have to be very lucky to find one that doesn't get snapped up by wealthy collectors. You would be really better off asking AmigaManiac how much longer their Playstation2-CD32 adapters are going to take before they come out. These ones are based on Paul Willingham's design so they're the most advanced program around, allowing you to use the analogue sticks as joysticks or mice, programming extra buttons, and it lets you use a guitar controller in Tracker Hero.

All PAL CD32s need at least one large capacitor changed around, it was put in backwards in the factory. Most NTSC CD32s don't suffer the same problem. Unfortunately many people have problems running PAL games on NTSC CD32s. The only real solution to this anyone has come up with is to install an Indivision and output your CD32 through a VGA monitor. Unfortunately no one in the world seems to have installed the Indivision in an NTSC CD32 and reported back if PAL games work or not.
« Last Edit: September 26, 2010, 09:40:17 PM by Cammy »
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Offline amiga_3k

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Re: CD32 opinions wanted
« Reply #8 on: September 26, 2010, 10:06:55 PM »
The CD32 is a nice little machine. I had one and loved it. I got me a CD32 Communicator to be able to use it as an (slow) external CD drive for my A3000 desktop and it also enabled me to use an A2000 keyboard and a mouse to make it an A1200 without floppy-drive and harddisk but with CD-drive. Had some great fun with it playing Pinball Illusions and some other games. As a matter of fact, I liked it being able to hook a mouse and keyboard to it.
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Offline kedawa

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Re: CD32 opinions wanted
« Reply #9 on: September 26, 2010, 10:08:43 PM »
I bought one this past summer for CDN$75, and I'm pretty happy with it.  It came with the original box and instructions, a CD32 gamepad, a competition pro gamepad, and a mouse.  The original owner broke the edge of the hinge, so the CD door doesn't hold itself up when open.  From the looks of it, the plastic is just very brittle.
Most games need to be played in PAL mode, and with some games on the WHDload multigame CDs, I have to actually access the display menu again after choosing a game, otherwise it'll revert to NTSC mode.  Luckily, I have a 1084s that can display the PAL video.
For the multigame discs and most of the native cd32 games, any one-button joystick will do, but I actually like both of the controllers I have.  The pack-in controller is nowhere near as bad as I was led to believe.
 

Offline Tripitaka

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Re: CD32 opinions wanted
« Reply #10 on: September 27, 2010, 12:32:59 AM »
Quote from: pwermonger;581397
What were they thinking was, we need to make something that isnt too expensive so hopefully we can sell enough to stay in business.



I disagree with this comment bigtime. £350 at launch? Cheap, I think not.
The reason for the CD32 was clearly stated at the time. Commodore saw the CD era was dawning and an A1200 with CD ROM was required, they thought the console market was a good viable in-road and with hopes for FMV and the ability to add a keyboard/mouse it seemed a winning idea. It was, for a short while the CD32 rocked the CD-ROM sales chart outselling the PC CD-ROM market of the day (I still remember CD32 sales being 76% of all CD-ROM software for the month at one point). Many people seem to have forgotten just what an impact this machine had and it's a shame. The CD32 was a strong contender for a short while, sadly bankruptcy killed it off. Oh, before anyone points out the lack of forsight regarding 3D Chips in the CD32, Sonys PSX (original playstation name) caught everyone out. Sega only just shoe-horned in the powerVR chip into the Saturn (another under-rated machine) at last minute. It was generally considered by all the video game companies of the day that 3D would wait 'til the next gen. Sony upset the proverbial apple cart and jumped in early. The game playing public rejoiced and the other companies of the day cried foul.
Anyway, all that aside, if I only owned one classic Amiga I would choose the CD32 with an SX32 Pro module. It's a lovely system and a pleasure to use. Buying the competition pro pad is a good idea and one I most emphatically support, no, thinking about it, don't buy one, buy two of them and invite a friend to join you. :)
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Offline orb85750Topic starter

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Re: CD32 opinions wanted
« Reply #11 on: September 27, 2010, 12:47:51 AM »
Quote from: kedawa;581421
I bought one this past summer for CDN$75, and I'm pretty happy with it.  It came with the original box and instructions, a CD32 gamepad, a competition pro gamepad, and a mouse.  The original owner broke the edge of the hinge, so the CD door doesn't hold itself up when open.  From the looks of it, the plastic is just very brittle.
Most games need to be played in PAL mode, and with some games on the WHDload multigame CDs, I have to actually access the display menu again after choosing a game, otherwise it'll revert to NTSC mode.  Luckily, I have a 1084s that can display the PAL video.
For the multigame discs and most of the native cd32 games, any one-button joystick will do, but I actually like both of the controllers I have.  The pack-in controller is nowhere near as bad as I was led to believe.

OK, I was not aware that the 1084 monitor displays in PAL mode.  So virtually all CD32 games are playable if you have a 1084?  (Is that really true?) My biggest concern is being stuck with a game system and struggling to find any games that I can play seamlessly.
 

Offline amiga92570

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Re: CD32 opinions wanted
« Reply #12 on: September 27, 2010, 01:10:33 AM »
yeah, the 1084 works great. Problem is finding a cable to use it, they do not make one. You need an expansion to use 1084.
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Offline amiga92570

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Re: CD32 opinions wanted
« Reply #13 on: September 27, 2010, 01:12:21 AM »
Actually you can connect the 1084 to svideo, but I think it is grey scale output. At least it is with pal version, I do not have any NTSC cd32's left to try.
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Offline Pyromania

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Re: CD32 opinions wanted
« Reply #14 on: September 27, 2010, 03:42:36 AM »
CD32's are very cool and fun to own.