I want an Amiga gaming system!

[mugenakuma]

O.k. so they both look like good setups but what is the most I should pay for either?

The A500?

The A1200?

Just wondering if I should prepare to rack up my credit card bill on the 1200, and if so how much to spend.

thanks

G

[x56h34]

Hehe, that's my auction (A1200) one. Obviously, you should bid on it. ;-)

[mugenakuma]

yea it just dawned on me that you and other members on this forum could be selling these systems.

I guess I'll just have to decide how much Im willing to pay.

[mepmepmep]

@mugenakuma
It's really up to how much you want to pay... And if you can get your own software? If you have no idea about how to obtain your own software, I would go for the 1200 package. Because there seems to be truckloads of software included!!! And quite a few gems too!
If you know how to find your games and do not bother about the software included. Go for the 500 because it's much cheaper.
If you go for the 1200, make sure that the games included actually WORKS for the machine that you will get!!!
If everything included in the 1200 package works for that machine, and If I was a newbie, and I had no idea about where to get some games for my system, I believe I would go for the A1200 in this exceptional case;-) It certainly looks set to give you an Amiga Kickstart :-D

[mugenakuma]

well mepmepmep I have already found quite a few 1200 compatible games on ebay!

[mepmepmep]

@mugenakuma
Yes, yes... But finding 1200 compatible games, and finding games compatible with THAT 1200 system is two different things. You know, add an 030 accelerator, suddenlys many games stop working. Add an scsi interface a few more drops out.. and so on. Some games expect to find 2 megs of memory and find 128 and then totally freaks out ;-) Man, I'm caring about your gaming health here!!! But if the dude that sells that 1200 states that all the software include works for that particular machine. Well, then... It's a gem!!
Your main problem seems to be software, and you certainly get some nice software with the 1200. The software that comes with the 500 is not bad but... ....compared to what comes with the 1200, it is;-)

[mepmepmep]

@mugenakuma
The A1200 is DEFINATELY not a bad system. I have one myself. And ofcourse one or two A500:s too :-D

1200 strengths: Much nicer overall system. Has HD included very often. Faster. More colors. More modern. Supports AGA games (only one or two good of those however;)). PAL/NTSC Selection.

1200 weakness: Many old games just wont run out of the box. Many does.... But many do not. With a lot of tweaking, know-how and general effort many more willl run however.

A500 strengths: For old games, nothing can beat it. It is compatible with 99% of the worthwile Amiga-games because those games were made for this machine quite simply;-)

A500 weakness: For anything but games. It's not a system I would recommend. Slow, old hardware, old software. Not compatible with modern software.

[mepmepmep]

If you go for the 1200 you just have to get your hands on Slamtilt. It's not just because it's a swedish game :-D  Promise! This game is simply the best computer pinball game I have ever played, on any machine. This game is the only really good game that is only for the 1200 and not the 500! Next to that... Get Worms Directors Cut.. Also 1200 only and brilliant.

[HopperJF]

THe followlng I would recommend for games:

Amiga 500 1 Meg - although later games require Kickstart 2.0
Amiga 500 Plus - these have 1 meg AND Kickstart 2.0, which is very useful indeed, and is similar to the A600, but a lot biggger
Amiga 600 - 1 meg, and kickstart 2.0, like 500 PLUS but smaller, cooler and more modern looking.

[Minuous]

Don't buy an Atari, they suck of course!!

Lionheart surely rules...

[blakespot]

Everyone keeps suggesting WHDLoad.  WHDLoad is the answer.  Avoid floppies with WHDLoad.  But you need original disks to run WHDLoad.

I am not advocating piracy in the Amiga scene by suggesting that you should have a chestfull of Amiga games on "non-original" disks...but looking at how eBay auctions go for used Amigas - many come with a large sac of games / apps that are just on unmarked disks.  And people sell sacs of these "blankable" Amiga disks by the hundred for $20 on eBay and I am sure many people get lots of Amiga apps this way.

I am just saying - it is probably not worth taking for granted that everyone who posts looking to setup a game system is looking to throw away the 100 disks that came with the used A500 they just grabbed and go out and try to find original games - so a qualifier to the WHDLoad suggesting might be wise to mention: that you need original disks (that is, un"broken" verrsions).

I just use my Amigas for demos - so I get to avoid even such temptation into the dark realms that I discuss here!


$.02.




blakespot

[jjans]

@mepmepmep

mepmepmep wrote:
@jjans

I'd love to see a screen shot of an A520 in action

Look, see here.

Hey Thanks for the link! I'm impressed and have learned something new!

[mugenakuma]

This is honestly crazy! One second I want a 1200 then someone says something to convince me to get a 500, not that it's anyones fault. I guess that's what's great about a forum.

Well I was looking at games like Alien Breed II and Exile which looked BEAUTIFUL when playing the AGA versions. From what I have read the 500 is NOT capable of playing this AGA versions, while the 1200 is. Right?

To me it seemed like there were quite a bit of AGA games.

Would it really be that hard to get games running on the 1200? What kinds of things would I have to do?

As far as game demos go, I prefer original disks with boxes, manuals, etc. Call me strange but there's just something about having the original games that I like. That's exactly why I want an actual Amiga sytem and not just the emulator.

[jjans]

Yes it is crazy, because most Amigans are nuts about their Amigas!

I'll say it again, no matter WHICH Amiga you choose, You will not be disappointed. The Amiga 500 will not play AGA Games.  In regards to backwards compatibility question with the lots of older games and the A1200, I do not believe this is a difficult issue either, considering the WHDLoad option. As a registered user, I use it to install many of my NONDOS games to HD on my old beast to great result.

I think the AGA graphics are awesome too!  If I were to upgrade,  I would choose an A3000. But I haven't because I'm content with the old girl 500.

[blakespot]

I think the AGA graphics are awesome too! If I were to upgrade, I would choose an A3000.

...but the A3000 is not an AGA machine.



blakespot

[jjans]

...but the A3000 is not an AGA machine.
blakespot

True, alas, but I like monitor support it has. Also does it not have  flippable 1.3 or 2.0 AmigaOS Roms ?