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Conference hydra::amiga_v1

Title:AMIGA NOTES
Notice:Join us in the *NEW* conference - HYDRA::AMIGA_V2
Moderator:HYDRA::MOORE
Created:Sat Apr 26 1986
Last Modified:Wed Feb 05 1992
Last Successful Update:Fri Jun 06 1997
Number of topics:5378
Total number of notes:38326

959.0. "Interceptor Demo" by LEDS::ACCIARDI () Wed Dec 09 1987 08:37

    I pulled a rather large demo of a soon-to-be-released jet combat
    simulator from Electronic Arts called "Interceptor".
    
    It was a huge download, something like 384K.  Took over an hour
    @ 1200 baud using WXmodem.
    
    Anyway, this self-running demo is a real mind-blower.  Remember
    the opening scenes from Top Gun?  You're on the deck of a carrier.
    The roar of afterburners shakes the room.  You can almost smell
    the jet fuel.  The F-14 takes off, and the view switches to a rear
    view of the carrier receding in the distance.  A snap roll later,
    and you're airborne.                    
    
    Cruising along, the cockpit view is very realistic.  An alert comes
    on; an enemy fighter has been spotted.  The view changes to reveal
    the underside of your fighter.  An air-to-air missile drops, ignites,
    and races away from your plane.  The view switches back to the cockpit,
    where you watch your missile lock onto and destroy the enemy.
    
    The scrolling, solid 3D graphics are far superior to those in FS][.
    The sound effects are, of course, real digitized jet turbines.  This
    game should make JET! look like bush league stuff.
    
    The demo lasts about 5 minutes, and then repeats the loop.  It requires
    a bit of wierdness to get the demo running.  The startup file checks
    the configuration of your Amiga.  A 512K, one-drive system will
    get a short, silent version.  A 1 meg machine with two drives gets
    the full demo with sound.
    
    I could upload it here, but a Kermit download will probably take
    four hours or so.  Any interest?
    
    Ed.
    
    
    
T.RTitleUserPersonal
Name
DateLines
959.1MAADIS::WICKERTMAA DIS ConsultantWed Dec 09 1987 09:036
    
    I'd love to see it! Would you rather a disk in the mail instead
    of the upload?
    
    -Ray
    
959.2I can smell the jet fumes already!HPSTEK::SENNAWed Dec 09 1987 09:123
    Sounds great!!! I'd rather download it. Its not so bad at 2400!
    
    Thanks!
959.3CSC32::J_PARSONSWed Dec 09 1987 09:172
    I'd love to see it! As .2 said, downloading's not so bad at 2400.
    
959.4...LEDS::ACCIARDIWed Dec 09 1987 10:0512
    Tell you what;  I'll post it here, but for those who are faint of
    heart, send me a blank in the mail and I'll get a copy out to you.
    
    The mail address is
    
    
    Ed Acciardi
    NKS1-1/E3
    
    The directory is LEDS3::USER6:[ACCIARDI.AMIGA]CEPTOR.ARC
                
    
959.5BAGELS::BRANNONDave BrannonWed Dec 09 1987 17:425
    4 hours for kermit vs. 1 hour for Wxmodem?
    
    Anybody have Wxmodem for VMS?
    
    -dave
959.6Come and get it!LEDS::ACCIARDIWed Dec 09 1987 19:5413
    WXmodem (Windowed XMODEM) is currently only supported by PLINK and
    Comm or ACO.  It runs up to twice as fast as Vanilla XMODEM.
                  
    The file is now in my directory.  Do a directory listing of 
    LEDS3::USER6:[ACCIARDI.AMIGA].
    
    You will notice a CEPTOR.ARC and a CEPTOR.TXT file.  Be sure to
    read the CEPTOR.TXT file.  Then read it again.  Do exactly as it
    instructs, or you'll have a hell of a time getting this thing running.
    
    Enjoy it, it's well worth the effort.
    
    Ed.
959.7Wait a minute HOUSE::FRACTALWed Dec 09 1987 22:515
    
    When this thing comes out...Will we need two drives? I can handle
    the meg part but 2 drives?
    
    
959.8exHPSTEK::SENNAThu Dec 10 1987 00:437
    I followed the intructions to the letter, but to no avail! Has anyone
    tried this on an Amiga 500??? Its seems like its going to work.
    But thats just a tease! I shows some numbers then gives some config
    information, hesitates, then the screen goes blank! 
    
    	Tom "not cruising" Senna
    
959.9...LEDS::ACCIARDIThu Dec 10 1987 08:0323
    The way I got it to work was as follows:
    
    De-arc'ed the ARChive to RAM:
    
    EXECUTED the 'create.me' batch file
    
    Copied the whole mess to a fresh floppy
    The file structure on the new disk should look like this:
    
    create.me
    Interceptor Demo
    Interceptor Demo.info
       Pics (dir)	
       s (dir)
       Text (dir)
                 
    Then, using a virgin WB1.2 disk (absolutely virgin, not even a color
    change), I reboot.  Use CTRL-D to interrupt the startup-sequence,
    place the fresh floppy in df0: and type df0:"interceptor demo".
    
    I put my WB1.2 disk in DF1: and it works fine every time for me.
    Are you putting the WB disk in the external drive?
    
959.10Worked for me....CSC32::J_PARSONS10 LATHER 20 RINSE 30 GOTO 10Thu Dec 10 1987 09:098
    I also got it to run successfully. I de-arced to a blank disk in
    df1:, then rebooted with a virgin (the original, actually) wb 1.2.
    I cntl-d'ed as soon as the blue screen came up. I then did a cd
    ceptor: (name of the disk I de-arced to) and *replaced* my wb floppy
    with the ceptor: disk in df0:. I then just did a "interceptor demo"
    and the demo worked great for me. I only have a 512K machine with
    2 drives, but I still got sound, which I wasn't expecting.
    
959.11The case of the missing df1...HPSTEK::SENNAThu Dec 10 1987 09:346
    I did everything exactly the way you did!!! But alas I have no df1!!!
    
    			:^( pout pout!
    
    Life can be a drag sometimes...Santa better get here quick!!
    
959.12when When WHEN???LRGFMT::COLLUMThu Dec 10 1987 13:0512
    
        ok, ok.  Now that we've been teased, WHEN'S IT BEING RELEASED!!!
	It beats the F15 Flight Simulator on my Atari 800.  Its a good
    	thing I don't live overseas, I understand that F15 was banned
    	in Germany for being too violent.  This will probably follow
    	suit.
    
    					Jim
    
    	Hope they add remote player support via modem!!!
    
959.13Works with one driveEVER11::EKLOFWe're everywhere.Thu Dec 10 1987 13:188
	You don't need two drives.  We got it working last night on a one
drive system.  Just followed the instructions exactly.
	
	Great demo, bizzare startup procedure.

Mark

959.14HPSTEK::SENNAThu Dec 10 1987 14:568
    re.13
    	
    	What is your config? I have a 500 with A501 module! And I followed
    them exactly also!!! Actually, the only thing I didn't follow exactly
    was to read it more than the required two times :^)
    
    Tom
    
959.15EVER11::EKLOFWe're everywhere.Thu Dec 10 1987 18:398
re: .14 (re: .13)

	This was on an Amiga 1000 with one drive, 2.5 megs of ram, and a hard
disk that the system couldn't see because it doesn't auto-config, and wasn't
mounted.

Mark

959.16I wonder if Santa.......MAADIS::WICKERTMAA DIS ConsultantThu Dec 10 1987 22:209
    
    I want this game! This is what an Amiga is all about!
    
    The smoothness is fantastic!
    
    -Ray
    
    btw, it's an F-18, not an F-14 but who's counting?
    
959.17Self-booting versionLEDS::ACCIARDIFri Dec 11 1987 06:2726
    I got this demo to boot and run from a single floppy.  Here's how:
    
    De-arc and execute 'create.me' in RAM: and copy the whole mess to
    a fresh floppy.
    
    Make the following directories on the CEPTOR disk:
    
    Devs
    L
    Libs
        
    Using a virgin WB 1.2 disk, copy DEVS/SYSTEM-CONFIGURATION to
    CEPTOR:DEVS.
    
    Copy the contents of the L and LIBS directories to the L and LIBS
    directories of the CEPTOR DISK.
    
    INSTALL the CEPTOR disk.
    
    You should now have a self booting demo.  Apparently the demo wants
    to see the EXACT system-configuration of a standard WB disk.
    
    Think I'll call EA and force them to release this game immediately.
    
    Ed.
    
959.18No WB needed ... and no filesVENERE::ZABOTMarco Zabot-Adv.Tech.mgr-Turin ACTFri Dec 11 1987 10:3016
    This way is even better !!!
    Config.: A500 1MB 1drive
    My procedure.
    Take a used disk and delete all files (or initializa a new one).
    Be sure to have the boot sector on it ! ( INSTALL it)
    Copy on it Ceptor.arc
    De-ARC it on the same disk ( just put ARC in RAM )
    EXECUTE CREATE.ME [ it requires some commands in ram: (makedir,
    	rename , run, execute,cd ) and PATH ADD RAM: ]
    Now you can boot with this disk and nothing else.
    At the  1> prompt you just ..
    	1> "interceptor demo"
    A piece of cake.
  
    BTW : To  ED:  THANK YOU VERY MUCH !  ( did you hear it ?)
    
959.19exVENERE::ZABOTMarco Zabot-Adv.Tech.mgr-Turin ACTFri Dec 11 1987 10:358
    ... sorry I didn't think of it before.
    
    Add a  STARTUP-SEQUENCE under S directory with the following content:
    
	    "interceptor demo"
    
    and it will AUTO BOOT. TOOooo EASY ! Too many times we follow the hard
    way for unknown reasons !! 
959.20TortureHOUSE::FRACTALFri Dec 11 1987 22:465
    
    Ed, did it say anything on PLINK about when/where it will be released?
    We're dying out here...
    
    
959.21???LEDS::ACCIARDISat Dec 12 1987 00:355
    You guys know as much as I know.  I'm dying too.  Between waiting
    for Interceptor and Gunship, I don't know if I'll make it to Christmas.
    
    For what it's worth, I'd heard rumors of Interceptor over a year
    ago.
959.22HELP - can't make single disk workCIMNET::KYZIVATPaul KyzivatSun Dec 13 1987 21:4918
I have succeeded in getting CEPTOR to work, but only in the two disk form, using
WB33.59. I have tried the instructions above to no avail.  Building a disk from
scratch didn't work, so I tried pruning down a copy of WB33.59.  This didn't
work, so I assumed I was taking out too much.  In an effort to figure out which
file was the problem, I started just renaming files so they wouldn't be found
and running the resulting disk in a two disk configuration.  (I figured that
once I had found the right combination I could just delete all the renamed files
and put interceptor on the disk.)  What I discovered was that just the act of
renaming an irrelevant file would make the disk unable of running CEPTOR, even
if I subsequently renamed the file back to its original name. 

I get the feeling that even on this freely distributed demo there are rudiments
of some wierd copy protection scheme which depends on the contents of the disk
independent of the file system.

Am I the only one having this difficulty?

	Paul
959.23WJG::GUINEAUW. John Guineau IIIMon Dec 14 1987 09:0319


Works fine for me. (A500 1 Floppy 1 Meg)

But you really must follow the directions well - It's a very touchy demo.

Use an UNALTERED workbench disk (like the blue one that came with the 
machine - You know, the one you quickly copied and then hid in a safe place :-)


Boot it And hit ^D as soon as the blue workbench screen comes up.

When the CLI says BREAK (actually when it DISPLAYS break - gotta be carefull
in terminology with a talking computer!) pop out the boot disk, pop in
the interceptor demo and type "INTERCEPTOR DEMO" and return - should take
over from there.


959.24worked...but I want moreSAUTER::SAUTERJohn SauterMon Dec 14 1987 17:0214
    Worked fine for me, too (A2000, 2 floppies, 3 meg)
    
    I did just what the instructions said, except I used a copy
    of my original (non-HD) Workbench 1.2 floppy.  I hadn't
    customized it at all, so I suppose that's why it worked.
    
    My son was very impressed with the demo--he wants to try
    the program now.  This is a great way to advertise!
    
    However, the pictures are disappointing after looking at
    Kahnankas.  I want hi-res HAM pictures.  Yes, I know Kahnankas
    took 6 hours per frame on a 68020, and that isn't fast enough
    for a flight simulator.  Maybe next generation.
        John Sauter
959.25that's not the problemCIMNET::KYZIVATPaul KyzivatMon Dec 14 1987 17:438
Re .23, .24

I was able to get it to work this way also.  What I haven't been able to do is
build a functional disk containing the demo and WB.  I am prepared to believe
this isn't possible, but earlier replies implied that others have succeeded in
doing so.

	Paul
959.26BAGELS::BRANNONDave BrannonMon Dec 14 1987 18:186
    I followed the instructions exactly, it worked fine for me.  Then
    converted it to a boot disk.  It still worked fine (extremely lucky).
    Then I diskcopied it.  Original works fine, copy does not.  There
    is something extremely weird going on with that demo.
    
    -dave
959.27...LEDS::ACCIARDIMon Dec 14 1987 18:3619
    This very topic came up in conference on PLINK last night.  The
    consensus was that there is some remnant insidious copy protection
    at work here.
    
    While in conference, Jez San of Starglider reknown dropped in. 
    He had seen the Interceptor demo, and was pretty impressed.  He
    did boast a bit... he is working on a project similar to Inteceptor
    that he claims will run 2-3 x faster.  
    
    Speaking of Jez, did anyone read the interview with him in Amazing
    Computing?  He's an interesting fellow... claims that anyone over
    25 years old is 'over the hill' as a programmer.
    
    He also pooh-poohed the use of C as the language of choice for advanced
    systems like the ST and Amiga.  He claimed that using C to write
    games on a 68000 machine crippled them to the point where they merely
    compared with assembler versions on the 8-bit machines.  Sometimes
    I think he's right.  Anyone remember 'Raid on Bungling Bay' for
    the C'64?  I've yet to see as good a game on the Amiga.
959.28RumorsHOUSE::FRACTALMon Dec 14 1987 21:094
    
    Re: .21 Speaking of rumors, anyone remember soemthing from EA about
    	a pinball game from the view of the ball?!?
    
959.29One drive is bestPUERTO::ALVAREZMiguel,from sunny Puerto RicoTue Dec 15 1987 08:1015
    A tip for those with 512K and two drives when running the demo.
    	I was able to do a bootable disk as described by Marco some
    replies ago. I put the disk on df0: and rebooted. The demo would
    come up with some text at the start and I noticed a couple of 
    error messages and system configuration info.. The demo would run
    only a few seconds and then stopped.
    	But the text at the start mentioned that a 512K with one drive
    would run with sounds. So I turned off my machine, disconnected
    the external drive and rebooted again. This time the demo would
    run to the end and sound was included !. My kids were fascinated !
    
    Thanks Ed !
    
    Miguel A. Alvarez
    
959.30CSC32::J_PARSONS10 LATHER 20 RINSE 30 GOTO 10Tue Dec 15 1987 08:343
    I have 2 drives, 512K and I got the sounds. Did you get any sound
    at all with both drives hooked up? I thought the sound was great
    but maybe it's better with only 1 drive there???
959.31re soundPOLAR::GOSLINGKANATA MFG I.S.Tue Dec 15 1987 09:3810
       Regarding sound, is there a significant difference in the sound
       quality if you have 1 meg or greater vs 512k (which I have - I
       know, sell the wife, kids, etc., etc.).  Even my wife commented
       that the screech of the tires (which sounds more like "pfffft"
       than "screeeeeeech") left much to be desired in comparison to the
       sounds of the jet itself.
       
       Art
       
959.32I did get sound with two drives,thoughPUERTO::ALVAREZMiguel,from sunny Puerto RicoTue Dec 15 1987 14:406
    	The difference for me, between two drives or one drive was being
    able to run the demo completely, with sound. With two drives, I
    got sound, but the demo stopped just when the jet is ready to take
    off from the carrier.
    
    Miguel A. Alvarez
959.33CSC32::J_PARSONSBruno...Is that you?Tue Dec 15 1987 14:587
    Again, I have 512K and 2 drives, both of which were hooked up when
    I ran the demo. The demo ran for about 5 minutes and concluded with
    the plane landing on an airstrip with a sign saying 'coming soon'
    or something like that nearby. I had what I consider to be very
    good sound for the duration of the demo.
    
    What more would I get with 1 meg and/or only 1 drive?
959.34LEDS::ACCIARDITue Dec 15 1987 15:343
    Sounds like you got the full demo.  I got a swell screeching of
    wheels when the F18 landed in front of the billboard.
         
959.35More, more, MORE!SOFTY::HEFFELFINGERGive my body to science fiction.Wed Dec 16 1987 21:5127
    Fantastic stuff!  Shame that EA is distributing it, though.  Since
    most of us have seen it by now, I'd like to make a few comments
    which might be considered spoilers to those who haven't seen it.
    
    Note that I have no experience with any other fighter simulators,
    just many hours in front of Flight Simulator II by subLOGIC.
        
    Did anyone else get a kick out of the jet flying *under* the Golden
    Gate Bridge?  I laughed out loud.  Just try it with FSII.  It was
    a nice little jab at subLOGIC's product.
    
    Shadows on the ground.  Yeah!  One nice touch that FSII should've
    had.
    
    The Sun!!??  (Or was it the moon?)  Great stuff!
    
    I liked the fact that the sound volume diminished as you got farther from
    the jet.  And that the inside engine sound was different from the
    outside sound.

    
    Sure wish they'd tell us more about this beauty.  I'd love to know
    how many scenery areas we'll have.  Can we raid Libya, or bomb the
    Pentagon, or....

    Gary
959.36Yager?KIRK::KYZIVATPaul KyzivatThu Dec 17 1987 08:084
Is this the flight simulator which was developed with the consultation of Chuck
Yager?

	Paul
959.37yNOBHIL::BODINE_CHSun Jan 10 1988 02:036
    Does anyone still have this in their directory. I looked on leds3::,
    Ed, but you must have needed the space. I had it for a while, but
    before I could download it I had to delete it to make 
    room DEC work. I hate disk quotas....
    
    Chris
959.38CRVAX1""::DUA4:[ANDREWS.AMIGA]CEPTOR.ARCDDMAIL::ANDREWSHow come nobody told *ME*?Sun Jan 10 1988 06:371
    
959.39-|-NOBHIL::BODINE_CHSun Jan 10 1988 21:151
    Thanks!!