Is Amiga CD32 one of the most interesting and worthwhile retro systems today?

The amiga scene has always been gigantic and the amiga CD32 scene has resulted in recent years in some tremendous improved re releases of many awesome games like the heart of the alien compilation. turrican anthology, sensible soccer anthology and tons more and besides that it can play pretty much every amiga 500 game and a lot of amiga 1200 games, meaning thousands of games in it's library! and many compilations have been released: http://unofficial-cd32-ports.blogspot.nl/

also just last year did the amiga scene find out about the power of the mysterious and legendary akiko chip (no commercial game ever made use of it) which has resulted in more than double the performance of the console, meaning many more improved releases could be coming. add to that that the system is region free and plays back-up cd's like a charm and you have a lot of bang for your buck imo.

It's called the Amiga CD32, not just 32. that's like saying Sega 32 without the X.

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Originally Posted by NeoVamp

It's called the Amiga CD32, not just 32. that's like saying Sega 32 without the X.

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I've changed it :)

Back in the day it was a worthless piece of crap, though the compilations make it one of the coolest ways to experience Amiga games these days. How times change...

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Originally Posted by Kamahl

Back in the day it was a worthless piece of crap, though the compilations make it one of the coolest ways to experience Amiga games these days. How times change...

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exactly. It couldn't be any more ironic or paradoxal.

No,not in the least.

I'm glad I spend some time 2 years ago putting a complete CD32 together, now I just need the RGB cable and I'm set.

But all in all its a rather lousy machine to collect for, the games cost a fortune and the laser even after replacing with a brand new one isn't the best at reading backups.
(yes I was using Taiyo Yuden CDRs burned at lowest speed)

This is interesting, I think the US never really saw it. In the 80's, NES was amazing, and the only other system I saw was Atari, which seemed a dinosaur, even as a 5-yr-old lol.

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Originally Posted by NeoVamp

and the laser even after replacing with a brand new one isn't the best at reading backups.
(yes I was using Taiyo Yuden CDRs burned at lowest speed)

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This is true. They do eventually load, though. :p

BTW, which controller are you using for it? That boomerang thing wouldn't be too bad if it weren't for that crappy d-pad.

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Originally Posted by NeoVamp

I'm glad I spend some time 2 years ago putting a complete CD32 together, now I just need the RGB cable and I'm set.

But all in all its a rather lousy machine to collect for, the games cost a fortune and the laser even after replacing with a brand new one isn't the best at reading backups.
(yes I was using Taiyo Yuden CDRs burned at lowest speed)

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you can twitch the cd-rom drive speed, similar to the dreamcast, with a small screwdriver. imo philips cd's are by far the best cd-r's. I'd stay away from anything else.

I don't think amiga 32 games are that expensive though. which ones are?

still, it's the compilations and re-releases where this game is at. I also have a mouse and keyboard for it.

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Originally Posted by Thierry Henry

This is true. They do eventually load, though. :p

BTW, which controller are you using for it? That boomerang thing wouldn't be too bad if it weren't for that crappy d-pad.

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yes the d-pad is pretty bad. the rest of the controller is amazingly comfortable though. I need to get that third party one though.

I really need to buy an Amiga, but I'd rather get 1200

the 1200 with whdload is indeed the best way to go, but as a console, the amiga 32 holds up surprisingly well and better than ever.

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Originally Posted by bultje112

also just last year did the amiga scene find out about the power of the mysterious and legendary akiko chip (no commercial game ever made use of it) which has resulted in more than double the performance of the console, meaning many more improved releases could be coming.

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This is complete bullshit.

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Originally Posted by Barone

This is complete bullshit.

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http://www.amiga.org/forums/showthre...t=51616&page=7

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Originally Posted by bultje112

http://www.amiga.org/forums/showthre...t=51616&page=7

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Have you actually read that thread or anything about the Akiko chip? 'Cause I have.

It's pretty much a chunky to planar graphics converter. It's mostly useful for FPS games but that's about it. And it's not like every game can simply switch it on and enjoy the benefits.
It will not double the performance of the console either. The performance increase is usually very small and fast RAM is much more relevant than Akiko-optimized games.
And both Microcosm (intro) and Wing Commander made use of it to some extent; those are commercial games. Some people claim that Nick Faldo's Championship Golf also uses it but maybe that's just wishful thinking.

The very few compilations/recent re-releases which managed to improve the performance of the games are related to other things, not Akiko.
Microprose Formula One Grand Prix compilation released in 2014, for an example, had the hardcoded frame rate limit removed and that's why it can run 50% faster on the CD32 than it ran on the Amiga 500.

It appears you didn't read the topic. they only found out about the power of that chip last year, so what does formula 1 2014 gave to do with that? they are currently working on getting doom on it. they also didn't believe it would make much of a difference like you did, but it ended up making a tremendous difference. just read the topic.

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Originally Posted by bultje112

yes the d-pad is pretty bad. the rest of the controller is amazingly comfortable though. I need to get that third party one though.

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You can also go the cheaper route and get an adapter (with various button mapping options) to hook up a PSX/PS2 controller.

Like here,



https://i.imgur.com/KIad1pV.jpg

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Originally Posted by bultje112

I don't think amiga 32 games are that expensive though. which ones are?

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Everything is, extremely shitty games are 50 bucks, okay games are 100 bucks, good games are 150, complete in box are 500.

You want a scratched up copy of pirates with a box eaten by bugs? meh.. 20.
you want International Karate in CD case? meh 150.

I'm just not the kinda guy who's willing to pay 50 bucks for a decent copy of Chucky Chicken Joins the Parade, I'd rather use that money for an A list game on another system.

Honestly when it comes to old computers I find it's more cost effective and interesting to put time into putting together old PC builds. They can be very affordable and you can easily put together a couple different ideal builds for different eras of DOS/Windows Gaming. For example you can build a 286/386/486 DOS build which will cover just about any pre-Doom game just fine. You can put together a Pentium/2/3 build for a mid to late 90's Windows machine for anything Post Doom. Heck you can even put together a nice Pentium 4 or Athlon 64 build for an early to mid-2000's build that can still handle most DOS and early windows games you throw at it.

You can then have quite a bit of fun trying out different sound cards and graphics accelerators to get something you like. It's a lot more affordable and tailored to your liking than say jumping into Amiga collecting. The Amiga and Atari computers might have some nice exclusives, but I'd say the bulk of the good stuff is available on DOS/Windows platforms as well and is a lot more cost effective.

Probably the only old computers beyond PCs that I have any interest in whatsoever would be the MSX line, the X68000, and possibly the Commodore 64.

Forget the 286 hardware, it was way inferior to what the Amiga had to offer. Maybe start at the 386sx hardware.

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Originally Posted by TrekkiesUnite118

and possibly the Commodore 64.

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I regret selling my C64 to buy my Genesis. Not that I regret buying the Genesis, of course, but I was a poor kid so I sold my C64 to raise funds. I sure wish I had kept it now though.

And how come they never made Formula 1 from the Amiga over to Genesis or something? Never really got to play it but it looks fantastic!

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Originally Posted by gamevet

Forget the 286 hardware, it was way inferior to what the Amiga had to offer. Maybe start at the 386sx hardware.

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Well the 286 is just the CPU it really depends what else you put in it. The 286 machine I have has 9MB of RAM and VGA graphics. The only thing I need to get for it is a decent sound card and it should be just fine for most 80s and a decent amount of early 90s DOS games. It's run just about everything I've thrown at it including Wolfenstein 3D. The biggest problem I have is that it's Microchannel instead of ISA which makes getting a sound card difficult.

But if you're just starting out then yeah, a 386 or 486 would probably be a better starting point. Or even an early Pentium.

I'd say the Amiga CD32 is probably one of the least interesting as it has very little that makes it unique and nearly all it's library can be found on the normal Amiga.

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Originally Posted by Epyx

I'd say the Amiga CD32 is probably one of the least interesting as it has very little that makes it unique and nearly all it's library can be found on the normal Amiga.

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If you have a proper whdload amiga 1200, yes.

No. Absolutely not. Library looks generic and some of the big name titles you can get on NES, SNES, Genesis, and/or Sega CD.

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Originally Posted by sull56ivan2010

No. Absolutely not. Library looks generic and some of the big name titles you can get on NES, SNES, Genesis, and/or Sega CD.

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Agreed,I owned a CD32 when they were first released in Canada,worst console I ever owned,ended up giving it away.

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Originally Posted by NeoVamp

Everything is, extremely shitty games are 50 bucks, okay games are 100 bucks, good games are 150, complete in box are 500.

You want a scratched up copy of pirates with a box eaten by bugs? meh.. 20.
you want International Karate in CD case? meh 150.

I'm just not the kinda guy who's willing to pay 50 bucks for a decent copy of Chucky Chicken Joins the Parade, I'd rather use that money for an A list game on another system.

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I recently was at a convention in germany and bought 3 amiga 32 games: sensible soccer, alfred chicken and alien breed for 30 euros total. I've never seen any amiga 32 game being sold for 100. I also have pirates! gold, which is actually an amazing game but bought it for 25 I think, worth getting an amiga 32 for imo, it's better than the genesis version.

Not even sure amiga existed in the US. So there is likely almost no retro market for it here outside of diehards which can't be very many. People mainly get into collect what they grew up with and here you would be hard-pressed to find anyone who grew up with a system not released here. So I don't see how it's all that interesting. I guess maybe in the UK or something? But then again I thought that would be ZX Spectrum or SEGA Wondermega or something SEGA at least.

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Originally Posted by SegataS

Not even sure amiga existed in the US. So there is likely almost no retro market for it here outside of diehards which can't be very many. People mainly get into collect what they grew up with and here you would be hard-pressed to find anyone who grew up with a system not released here. So I don't see how it's all that interesting. I guess maybe in the UK or something? But then again I thought that would be ZX Spectrum or SEGA Wondermega or something SEGA at least.

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I always wanted a Sega Multi Mega console (Sega CDX in the US) just because of how damn sexy it looks. An amazing looking piece of kit. I will get one eventually, but to get one boxed and in excellent condition would set me back somewhere between £500-£600, based on todays Ebay price listings, so I'll live without one for now!

I got a boxed Amiga CD32 from a secondhand shop during the late 90's. I really wanted to try it out, but never found any software during the several years I kept.

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Originally Posted by SegataS

Not even sure amiga existed in the US.

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The ones in the US were technically Canadian imports. There was a legal issue delaying the US release so instead of doing the usual simultaneous North American launch, the NTSC version was only officially released in Canada. I remember it being sold at EB. My local credit union, VanCity, loaned them out for online banking. If you see one in the wild on the West coast, it might have "Property of VanCity Credit Union" on it.

The amiga 32 just got even more interesting and imo better for your gaming needs than the amiga 1200.

Here is why:




whdload on your amiga cd32 with added fast ram! with extra output for rgb and a keyboard (I already own an amiga 2000 keyboard). the fast ram also improved the amiga 32 games.

it's now the ultimate amiga gaming machine and all in one console. you can now play all amiga games ever released by the click of a button and also still play amiga 32 games.

I ordered one immediately. the guy also sells them with entire library on a flashcart inserted so it's plug and play. I'm incredibly hyped to spend this summer replaying all the games that colored my youth.

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Originally Posted by SegataS

Not even sure amiga existed in the US. So there is likely almost no retro market for it here outside of diehards which can't be very many. People mainly get into collect what they grew up with and here you would be hard-pressed to find anyone who grew up with a system not released here. So I don't see how it's all that interesting. I guess maybe in the UK or something? But then again I thought that would be ZX Spectrum or SEGA Wondermega or something SEGA at least.

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What do you mean by that comment?

I've had my Amiga 500 since 1989, and had several Amiga dedicated stores in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area for many years. My 1st experience with the Amiga, was seeing it in action at a dedicated electronics store in Phoenix during the mid 80's.

There was no Amiga around here and of all the retro forums I been on the last 20+ years only within the last 10 years have I heard people mention it and all of them have been from across the pond. I live in the capital city and growing up all the major US retailers here never carried it and no one ever once aroundme mentioned it nor did the gaming mags I read. It may as well have no existed.

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Originally Posted by SegataS

and of all the retro forums I been on the last 20+ years only within the last 10 years have I heard people mention it

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You can't fault the system for the poor forums you've been to.
Amiga discussions and comparisons have been common here since the first days; they're also very common in Atari-centric communities as well as in old PC ones.

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Originally Posted by gamevet

What do you mean by that comment?

I've had my Amiga 500 since 1989, and had several Amiga dedicated stores in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area for many years. My 1st experience with the Amiga, was seeing it in action at a dedicated electronics store in Phoenix during the mid 80's.

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according to all round amiga sales, it didn't do to badly in the us. a combined of 2 million amiga's were sold (mostly 500 I guess) in the us. nowhere near europe, but also nothing horrible. perhaps us sales of amiga were also more a regional thing and it sold much better in texas than in other places?

^ That sounds pretty likely. Like TurboGrafx wasn't very popular in the US but here I played a bunch of one in 6th grade and saw them at KB Toys. Saturn and Virtual Boy had a demo unit at Toys R Us but some people even here mentioned they didn't know of the Saturn until much more recently.

Could a moderator perhaps change the thread title to "Is Amiga CD32 one of the most interesting and worthwhile retro systems today?"
I find the mistake very triggering and I'm about to dye my hair pink and bitch on Twitter until this site gets taken down for #metoo reasons.

And I need a mod to fix my birthday from August 22 to 26.