Castle adventure, alley cat and double dragon

In 1990 I still had an XT-class machine like this one. Translation from Google:

Another well-known and good computer brand that overwhelmed the Greek market was ACER. This particular machine with NEC V20 processor with operating frequencies at 4.77MHz and 8MHz, 640Kb memory, CGA graphics card and composite out and two Disk Drives of 5 ¼ 360Kb.

However mine had Hercules graphics instead.

I played Prince of Persia which has already been mentioned, but I found that on level 3 I couldn't run from right to left across the top of the map from the pressure plate to the gate before the gate closed, even though that was easy on a friend's PC and I had no trouble with it once I upgraded to a 386SX, so I assume the game just ran too slow on that machine or something. I'm not sure if I was running CGA emulation for that game as I believe it supported Hercules natively. I mention that because I imagine CGA emulation could have slowed things down.

Some titles I played on it which I don't think have been mentioned (some of these I only remembered from going through my floppies, hopefully I haven't mentioned any that I didn't actually play on that old machine):

Balance of Power, which included a runtime version of Windows 1 or 2 (I found Windows more interesting than the game!)
DONKEY.BAS
Destroyer
Falcon
Flight Simulator 4
Microprose F-19 Stealth Fighter
Moria
Operation Wolf
Q*bert
Race!
Sim Earth
Snipes
Sublogic Jet v2
The Ancient Art of War
The Ancient Art of War at Sea
Wheel of Fortune
Where in Time is Carmen Sandiego
Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego

Still? I wasn't born back then 😁

I'd probably play SimCity and Arcade Volleyball... the only games I've played from that era..

doshea wrote on 2023-04-30, 09:55:

However mine had Hercules graphics instead.

Hi, that's well possible, yes. 🙂
CGA and Hercules used the same video chip/character generator.
That's why many clone cards had the whole 64KB of video memory installed and could be configured for either mode (COLOR/MONO).

That way, graphics could be configured for either home/games use (CGA) or serious business use (Hercules+MDA).

That was handy, because PC/XT platform in itself knew merely COLOR (CGA) and MONO (MDA; Hercules was a compatible superset) settings:
There used to be a jumper on the PC/XT motherboard to select between them, to determine primary video.

Some rare Hercules/CGA combo cards apparently even supported Hercules mode over analogue RCA/Cinch connector, I heard.
Not sure about the details, though. Technically, 720x348 as such would still within PAL resolution, though.
Those 18 KHz of Hercules were a minor problem, at least, though. Not sure how this was implemented.

Edit: I was just thinking out loud, I didn't mean to annoy or to educate anyone here.
What also comes to mind is the Graphics Gremlin, though.
https://github.com/schlae/graphics-gremlin

It's a modern Hercules/CGA/Tandy compatible graphics board with Composite/TTL/VGA output.

Maybe that is good to know for those who want to re-build an 1990 era XT PC as mentioned in this thread.
Because, TTL monitors are getting rare and it can handle three different monitor types.

(I'm not affiliated with the project in any way.
Just saw it at hackaday.com once and remembered it).

Edit:

Ahrle wrote on 2023-04-30, 11:21:

Still? I wasn't born back then 😁

I'd probably play SimCity and Arcade Volleyball... the only games I've played from that era..

Sim City was/is a classic. 😄

The less know Sim games are worth a try, too, though.
Sim Ant, for example. It has Covox Speech Thing support.

Jo22 wrote on 2023-05-01, 06:15:

Some rare Hercules/CGA combo cards apparently even supported Hercules mode over analogue RCA/Cinch connector, I heard.

Not rare, the rather common ATi Graphics Solution/Small Wonder can do that.
It supports both Hercules and CGA modes, and it can output CGA on MDA/Hercules monitors (without needing any kind of SIMCGA software) or MDA/Hercules on CGA monitors (including composite output, on cards that have the connector).
Manual can be found here: https://minuszerodegrees.net/manuals/ATI%20Gr … er%20manual.pdf

Jo22 wrote on 2023-05-01, 06:15:

Not sure about the details, though. Technically, 720x348 as such would still within PAL resolution, though.

It outputs the screen as a standard interlaced NTSC screen, so you get 480 scanlines in total.
The horizontal resolution is 'squished' into NTSC timings (720 pixels on NTSC/PAL is full overscan, so it won't fit 1:1 in the active area, needs to be scaled down a bit, so effectively the screen appears more or less like a 640-pixel CGA screen would).
So it's not exactly the sharpest screen ever, but it does the job.

Jo22 wrote on 2023-05-01, 06:15:

doshea wrote on 2023-04-30, 09:55:

However mine had Hercules graphics instead.

Hi, that's well possible, yes. 🙂

It's not just possible, but a fact. Perhaps I had a clone rather than a genuine Hercules card, but it was almost certainly not secretly Hercules plus CGA, as I spent so much time wishing I had colour that I'm sure I would have noticed if there was a mysterious switch on it, and I tried using other video modes on it plenty of times out of wishful thinking.

Scali wrote on 2023-05-01, 08:33:

Not rare, the rather common ATi Graphics Solution/Small Wonder can do that. It supports both Hercules and CGA modes, and it can […]
Show full quote

Jo22 wrote on 2023-05-01, 06:15:

Some rare Hercules/CGA combo cards apparently even supported Hercules mode over analogue RCA/Cinch connector, I heard.

Not rare, the rather common ATi Graphics Solution/Small Wonder can do that.
It supports both Hercules and CGA modes, and it can output CGA on MDA/Hercules monitors (without needing any kind of SIMCGA software)
or MDA/Hercules on CGA monitors (including composite output, on cards that have the connector).
Manual can be found here: https://minuszerodegrees.net/manuals/ATI%20Gr … er%20manual.pdf

Um, the ATI Small Wonder was exactly that one card I had in mind (as a notable exception, I mean).
Personally, I know of no other vintage card which can do that.
And I've seen plenty of HGC/CGA clones in the wild, but never a single Small Wonder.

Scali wrote on 2023-05-01, 08:33:

It outputs the screen as a standard interlaced NTSC screen, so you get 480 scanlines in total. The horizontal resolution is 'squ […]
Show full quote

Jo22 wrote on 2023-05-01, 06:15:

Not sure about the details, though. Technically, 720x348 as such would still within PAL resolution, though.

It outputs the screen as a standard interlaced NTSC screen, so you get 480 scanlines in total.
The horizontal resolution is 'squished' into NTSC timings (720 pixels on NTSC/PAL is full overscan, so it won't fit 1:1 in the active area,
needs to be scaled down a bit, so effectively the screen appears more or less like a 640-pixel CGA screen would).
So it's not exactly the sharpest screen ever, but it does the job.

I didn't know that, thanks for the information ! 😀

doshea wrote on 2023-05-01, 11:24:

Jo22 wrote on 2023-05-01, 06:15:

doshea wrote on 2023-04-30, 09:55:

However mine had Hercules graphics instead.

Hi, that's well possible, yes. 🙂

It's not just possible, but a fact. [..]

Um, okay ? 🤷

I didn't mean to question your statement, I'm sorry if it did sound that way. "That's well possible, yes" simply was a direct translation of "Ja, gut möglich".
Which more or less means that someone nods the head and acknowledges/believes the statement.

doshea wrote on 2023-05-01, 11:24:

Perhaps I had a clone rather than a genuine Hercules card, but it was almost certainly not secretly Hercules plus CGA,
as I spent so much time wishing I had colour that I'm sure I would have noticed if there was a mysterious switch on it,
and I tried using other video modes on it plenty of times out of wishful thinking.

Um, combo CGA / Hercules cards were quite common. Lots of no-name models, too.. And not seldomly they had a jumper on the component side to select MONO/COL.
These combo cards were among the first to be sold as single-chip solutions, with about two or four separate RAM chips, and a ROM socket (character ROM).
Sometimes, they also had an integrated LPT port. Because, the original Hercules Monochrome added a printer port (available at i/o port 3BCh, the first LPT address).
This made sense back in the days, because video and printer were the only optional devices an XT owner had to install himself to get the up and PC running.
With that setup, he/she could enter ROM BASIC, at least. A floppy controller/drive was recommend, though.

doshea wrote on 2023-05-01, 11:24:

[..]
as I spent so much time wishing I had colour that I'm sure I would have noticed if there was a mysterious switch on it,
and I tried using other video modes on it plenty of times out of wishful thinking.

Trust me, you you weren't. After a while, once the novelty fades, the CGA would simply hurt your eyes. 🙁
Composite CGA excluded, since it looked more like Apple II graphics.
Monochrome CGA (TV out) also was kind of okay, albeit being.. Well, monochrome. 😉

Unfortunately, CGA over RCA/Cinch output was often monochrome only, so no Composite CGA. At least here in Europe/PAL countries.
The color-burst circuit was missing, I believe. We had no NTSC, after all, so it made sense and Luma+Sync signal alone was cleaner (VBS).

To get colour on CGA in Europe, an RGB/RGBI connection was needed (that DE-9 connector).
Back in the late 80s, some people here made themselves SCART cables with a sync-combiner inside, to use RGB input on SCART.
Some also used the later Commodore monitors with their RGB inputs (1084S), or so I heard.

Or alternatively, someone could use an american CGA card that's wired to an external device with a transcoder chip (NTSC to PAL) connected to a 60 Hz capable PAL TV.
- Some later Apple II / IIe models had such a chip or circuit built-in, I vaguely remember.

Jo22 wrote on 2023-05-01, 14:56:

And I've seen plenty of HGC/CGA clones in the wild, but never a single Small Wonder.

My Philips P3105 came with one as standard.

Jo22 wrote on 2023-05-01, 14:56:

Unfortunately, CGA over RCA/Cinch output was often monochrome only, so no Composite CGA. At least here in Europe/PAL countries.
The color-burst circuit was missing, I believe. We had no NTSC, after all, so it made sense and Luma+Sync signal alone was cleaner (VBS).

On my Commodore PC10-III, there was a jumper to enable/disable color composite, on the onboard Paradise PVC4 circuit.
On my Small Wonder, the whole circuit for the composite output was missing (a number of resistors and a transistor, funny enough the RCA connector was soldered on), so it didn't output anything, not even monochrome. I soldered them on myself, and it worked.

Aside from the obvious advantage of CGA having colour over Hercules is that you also had larger screens available (MDA/Hercules monitors were always 12", where colour screens were 14" standard, and there were larger ones available, especially if you went the TV-route), and you didn't have the extreme ghosting of a monochrome screen, which made playing action games nearly impossible.
Games generally also ran faster in CGA than in Hercules, because of the lower resolution, and not requiring any kind of emulation.

We didn't get our first PC (a 486) till '95 yet I know quite a few of these games, either as we had them on the Apple IIe that we had before upgrading or even in '95 games like POP and Simcity were still must have.
Games lasted alot longer back then!

Anyway missing from the list is Street Rod. It's now officially freeware AND an alternate version with different cars was discovered few years ago.
https://www.streetrodonline.com/2013/01/14/st … er-abandonware/

If its 1990 and I'm gaming on an XT (8088 or 8086?), my go to is:

Wasteland

Perry Mason: The Case of the Mandarin Murder

Other Telarium games are also worth a look, such as Fahrenheit 451 or Rendezvous with Rama.
They're so modest in terms of requirements they play in PC-Ditto on Atari ST! 😁

A little known gem is Mindfighter.

PS: There's also a classic French game, Reisende im Wind. A second part exists, too.

PS/2: Maupiti Island is one of these French games, too. It optionally supports PC1512 and has Sound Blaster support.

Edit: The racing game Paris Dakar 90 is an odball game that features Intersound MDO (Covox) support and slightly nsfw graphics. 😉

Ones I played on my old Tandy were as well
Burgertime, conquest, Bruce Lee, flightmare, kings quest,
Evolution, zaxxon, borrowed time, lode runner, buck rodgers, digger and boulder dash spent many ours playing

I started on an XT with EGA which survived across 1990 until we upgraded to a 386DX 33. I enjoyed a lot of games and programs on the XT. Here are some I remember I played well enough and they were all great. Amazing how many great titles played on the XT...

* Dangerous Dave
* Keen 1
* Prince of Persia
* Bad Dudes
* TMNT
* Maniac Mansion
* Digger
* J-Bird
* Sinbad
* DuckTales Quest for Gold
* Challenge of The Ancient Empires
* Test Drive 1 & 2
* Battle Chess
* Chess Master
* Rockford
* Karateka
* Xenon 2
* Arkanoid
* Rescue Rover
* Ninja
* Thexder
* Double Dragon 2
* Hard Hat Mack
* Roboman
* Stunts, but it was a slide show 😅

And some more programs like:
* Bannermania
* Fantavision

A few more obscure CGA games that come to mind..

- The Light Corridor, a 3D ball game
- Profession Detective (Ubi Soft), a rare French game using 640x200 mono hi-res graphics
- The King of Chicago, a 320x200 4c game with big, realistic portrait graphics

- Lombard RAC Rally, a 4 colour racing game with dashboard view
- DragonStrike, a 4 colour game about riding a dragon for fighting, 3D first-person view, a bit like Panzer Dragoon
- Flight of the Intruder, a 3D flight sim

- Space Rogue, space exploration
- Kristor, another French game, space exploration w/ probes, various visuals/graphics modes, includes tape
- Uninvited, a classic mystery horror

- Who Framed Roger Rabbit, an okay game, has nice title screen and a few graphics of Jessica 😉
- Manhattan Dealers, a drug fighting game, it takes fighting literally,
unwillingly funny (the boss talks about destroying a nicotine ring, while he has a big cigar in his snout!)

Edit: Also interesting is the air traffic controller genre. It's the counterpart to flight simulator genre.
Some can interact with MS Flight Simulator 4 and 5, even.

- Tracon and Tracon II, support CGA but VGA is such a lief
- Tracon for Windows, for Windows 3.0 (SVGA recommended), has Sound Blaster support (via sndblst.dll), real-mode compatible ?
- ATC: Air Traffic Controller, DOS and Windows 3.0 (SVGA recommended), supports various sound devices, even Covox

- RAPCON: Military Air Traffic Control Simulator, has graphics and specs of vehicles, VGA recommended

Edit: I've remembered another old game with good CGA graphics, Twilight's Ransom.
It also has a Macintosh version with fine monochrome graphics, that's why it came to mind.
Both versions make good use of dithering. The picture with the bridge has turned out quite well, I think. Especially on CRT display.

https://pixelatedarcade.com/games/twilight-s- … som/screenshots

Edit: J.B. Harold Series #1: Murder Club is interesting, too! It's a multi platform crime-solving game, with CGA support for DOS version.

https://www.mobygames.com/game/9703/murder-club/

I had my Apco (VX88 badge brother) XT fired up last month and I did a few rounds of Antix (Anti-Xonix, xonix clone) and digger, and Outrun ran better than I expected. It was in uncomfortable, half twist to see the monitor on the bench setup so didn't play much for long.

Anyway, when that gets a proper set up, gonna have to try some stuff from this thread. Though this is a good thread for that also, Best CGA & Hercules monochrome games as most CGA and Herc stuff is not gonna need 32bits and megabytes.

Pondering whether I am going to use it's onboard CGA/Herc, I just realised it may have dual settings for graphics and monitor, so will have to try CGA set onboard with mono switch set on the back into a mono monitor, and see if I get shaded CGA on mono. I was testing it on an EGA monitor, in CGA, that will "belong" with something else, so it's getting it's mono monitor back. I am unsure how gracefully the onboard graphics disable, think I managed it with one card. Then I could put an ATI in there with CGA and EGA on mono, AND get composite out in color. Or I could put my WDC 8bit VGA in there and give it a boring old VGA toob.

Anyhoo, back in the day, early 90s, the Amstrad PC1640 and PC1512s in the house, rebuilt from junk, we'd play Antix, Tetris, and we had a spectrum emulator, JPP I think that would just about work on the 1640 for some games... depending on colors and speed, it was a bit hit and miss.

Battletech: The Cresent Hawks Inception

La Abadia del Crimen, a spanish videoadventure.

mannycalavera wrote on 2024-11-20, 22:26:

La Abadia del Crimen, a spanish videoadventure.

A Spanish one? 😃 That reminds me of La Aventura Espacial, which has outstanding EGA graphics by the way! 🙂
https://pixelatedarcade.com/games/la-aventura-espacial

Apparently, Dráscula is also a good one. Needs VGA, though.
https://sndirsch.github.io/scummvm/2022/06/06/drascula.html

Recently I've gotten interested in 80s era PC games, but my 486 can't run that slow, so speed is an issue with some of them.
Most games I remember from back then I used to play on Apple II or saw them on Commodore etc - I had very little exposure to IBM PCs back then.
The one game I did actually play on an IBM was "Jumpman".
Anyway, I'm at the point where I wouldn't mind having all those old ~80s games running on an IBM, regardless of what system I originally played them on.

Jumpman
Karateka
Wings of Fury
Infiltrator
Lode Runner
Ultima 1-4
Might and Magic 1-2
SimCity
Zork series, other Infocom games (I've only played 2 of them ever)
Spy Hunter
Robot Odyssey
Risk
Battle Chess (with a slow CPU, maybe it wouldn't stomp me)
Oregon Trail
Archon

some games I don't know the name of, like a future dystopia graphical adventure I saw on Apple II
..probably countless console/arcade game ports
..and the fun of discovering all the games I don't know from back then

Nice thing about IBM is almost everything got ported to it, even if Commodore/Atari versions were usually better.
IBM also has analog joysticks which is at least good for a few games.

shamino wrote on 2024-11-21, 03:38:

Recently I've gotten interested in 80s era PC games, but my 486 can't run that slow, so speed is an issue with some of them.

You want it slow? QB8086 can emulate an PC/XT on a 286! 😃
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mFGcL26ECGY

Alternatively, there's Tand-Em, the Tandy 1000 emulator.
http://www.oldskool.org/guides/tvdog/emulators.html

shamino wrote on 2024-11-21, 03:38:

Most games I remember from back then I used to play on Apple II or saw them on Commodore etc - I had very little exposure to IBM PCs back then.

A 486? You're lucky, it can run quite a few emulators for other systems.

Amiga: Fellow (DOS), Atari ST: Tosbox, MSX: NO$MSX, Apple2Win: Apple II, DOS PC: QB8086, Tandy 1k: Tand-em etc

It may seem pointless at first, but if you have a CRT monitor or a clicky keyboard on your 486 PC,
then it might be nice to play emulated games just there.

The Windows 3.1 based emulators are over there in my emulation thread.
A few might run on a fast 486, but I don't mean to promise too much. 😟