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General Category => Games => Longplays, reviews and other gaming vids => Topic started by: chinnyhill10 on 17:41, 23 September 16

Title: ChinnyVision : Pitfighter
Post by: chinnyhill10 on 17:41, 23 September 16
I'd hoped at least one of the systems had a decent port. But the CPC really got a poor deal here. A slow Speccy port of a game that stank to high heaven.


Title: Re: ChinnyVision : Pitfighter
Post by: Puresox on 18:05, 23 September 16
AKA Sh*t fighter
Title: Re: ChinnyVision : Pitfighter
Post by: CraigsBar on 19:11, 23 September 16
The arcade game was great for a blast in the pub between college lectures. So glad I never bought it tho!
Title: Re: ChinnyVision : Pitfighter
Post by: Puresox on 19:36, 23 September 16
I didn't mind it when I saw it in the Arcade , it was ok, and it was a new style . So I respect it for that much . As a long term game it hasn't fared well. With Mortal Combat using that style it grabbed the lime light for that style . And I personally didn't care much for the game it had limited moves and wasn't a patch on Street Fighter 2. The thing that makes Mortal Combat special was the Death Moves and the different scenario's people were intrigued in seeing or doing. So pretty clever concept .
The Ports to the 8-Bits was an instant --'Do Not Buy'-- for me because the idea of bringing it to the machines does not compute, pun intended. I thought the C64 version was the only version worth taking a look at , because they made a realistic interpretation of the games concept. The only reason people may have considered buying the Speccy version would be to see a presentation of digitised graphics and be wowed visually oh and the sonics were good too.
Title: Re: ChinnyVision : Pitfighter
Post by: ivarf on 16:58, 24 September 16
Quote from: Puresox on 19:36, 23 September 16
The only reason people may have considered buying the Speccy version would be to see a presentation of digitised graphics and be wowed visually oh and the sonics were good too.

:laugh: :laugh: :laugh: and you are not even joking.   :)
Title: Re: ChinnyVision : Pitfighter
Post by: chinnyhill10 on 01:05, 25 September 16
Quote from: CraigsBar on 19:11, 23 September 16
The arcade game was great for a blast in the pub between college lectures. So glad I never bought it tho!


I imagine there's limited fun to be had on the 16 bits (didn't appeal to me) but goodness the CPC version is slow. It's bad enough on the Speccy but the poor old CPC is struggling with shoddy code trying to scale bitmapped sprites. It's so rubbish it hurts.


Should have gone down the C64 route and dispensed with the digitised graphics and just tried to do a conventional fighter but where you can move up and down the play field instead of just left and right.
Title: Re: ChinnyVision : Pitfighter
Post by: zeropolis79 on 09:17, 25 September 16
The ST version was reasonable...
Title: Re: ChinnyVision : Pitfighter
Post by: Shaun M. Neary on 13:06, 25 September 16
Megadrive version was a lot of fun. Wasted countless days on it.


Then we got Streets of Rage and that was that for Pit Fighter.


8bit version was pretty much done out of obligation I reckon, to honour contacts with the arcade licence and the software house. They heaved out all sorts of shit in 1990-1991 (E-Swat, anyone?) and people bought it.
Title: Re: ChinnyVision : Pitfighter
Post by: rk last on 18:45, 25 September 16
By the time that this game came out I was a AMIGA & MEGADRIVE owner.  I never found the game appealing and after watching the vid here I`m glad I never wasted my money on it.
Title: Re: ChinnyVision : Pitfighter
Post by: Puresox on 19:08, 25 September 16
Quote from: ivarf on 16:58, 24 September 16
:laugh: :laugh: :laugh: and you are not even joking.   :)
I'm being generous I know , but considering digitised graphics showing Atheletes training in a slideshow along with the music is about all you could say for the game . I wouldn't have bought it ,but that would be about all its worth for on ZX Speccy
Title: Re: ChinnyVision : Pitfighter
Post by: sigh on 21:13, 25 September 16
The game wasn't the greatest but it had some interesting gameplay elements, such as picking up weapons and using background objects to hit your opponent with. This wasn't seen in 1 vs 1 beatem ups as these type of gameplay elements were left for scrolling beat em ups.
The crowd could also damage you too by hitting you with a weapon.

It almost felt like a hybrid of scrolling beat em up and a vs beat em up as it also had simultaneous 3 player mode on some arcade cabinets.
Playing this game felt very different from playing Streetfighter, Fatal Fury and it probably struggled more against the scrolling beat em up genre than the Vs genre.

The only other game that I have seen like this was Aggressors of dark kombat by Neo Geo. This is the same gameplay style as Pit Fighter, but with more characters to choose, more supermoves and MMA style take downs.

PitFighter - not a great game, but there were attempts at some innovation.

Title: Re: ChinnyVision : Pitfighter
Post by: chinnyhill10 on 01:05, 26 September 16
Quote from: Shaun M. Neary on 13:06, 25 September 16


8bit version was pretty much done out of obligation I reckon, to honour contacts with the arcade licence and the software house. T


Domark were never known for putting any budget behind their arcade conversions on the 8 bits. It was always about fleecing customers and making a fast few quid. How many CPC versions of their games were just lazy Speccy ports?
Title: Re: ChinnyVision : Pitfighter
Post by: chinnyhill10 on 01:06, 26 September 16
Quote from: Puresox on 19:08, 25 September 16
I'm being generous I know , but considering digitised graphics showing Atheletes training in a slideshow along with the music is about all you could say for the game . I wouldn't have bought it ,but that would be about all its worth for on ZX Speccy


CPC and Spectrum do have a nice tune + the training shots. That's about it.
Title: Re: ChinnyVision : Pitfighter
Post by: Shaun M. Neary on 02:02, 26 September 16
Quote from: chinnyhill10 on 01:05, 26 September 16

Domark were never known for putting any budget behind their arcade conversions on the 8 bits. It was always about fleecing customers and making a fast few quid. How many CPC versions of their games were just lazy Speccy ports?


It was about 50/50. Xybots, Toobin and Hard Drivin were butt ugly, but there were some nice outings from them too.


Action Fighter, Escape from The Planet Of Robot Monsters, Klax, Dragon Spirit and APB come to mind as the stand out.
If you compare them to the US Gold/GO! Capcom deal, they came out the better end.
Title: Re: ChinnyVision : Pitfighter
Post by: Puresox on 11:28, 26 September 16
Yes Domark had 50/50 I'd say. And I think they relied a lot on good presentation over content. They did occasionally get it right though. But also they got it very wrong --Super Space Invaders?!
Title: Re: ChinnyVision : Pitfighter
Post by: Shaun M. Neary on 15:48, 26 September 16
Quote from: Puresox on 11:28, 26 September 16
Yes Domark had 50/50 I'd say. And I think they relied a lot on good presentation over content. They did occasionally get it right though. But also they got it very wrong --Super Space Invaders?!


I will still take Super Space Invaders over 1943 and it's two levels on repeat. xD


Bad as the Tengen/Domark rep was, US Gold/Capcom was more of a shambles. I also forgot to put Vindicators on the Tengen/Domark list which was also done very nicely too on the CPC.


But look at USG/Capcom shambles. 1943, Street Fighter, Bionic Commando, Last Duel, LED Storm, and Dynasty Wars! Strider and Forgotten Worlds were the only two good games out of that entire batch from recollection.
Title: Re: ChinnyVision : Pitfighter
Post by: sigh on 19:50, 26 September 16
@ChinnyVision; Is it possible that when you review arcade ports - to show the actual arcade version at the beginning?

I would also like to know from the programmers out there, with all the sprite scaling involved, was the game at all doable to achieve a respectable level of enjoyment?



Title: Re: ChinnyVision : Pitfighter
Post by: Puresox on 19:56, 26 September 16
Quote from: Shaun M. Neary on 15:48, 26 September 16

I will still take Super Space Invaders over 1943 and it's two levels on repeat. xD


Bad as the Tengen/Domark rep was, US Gold/Capcom was more of a shambles. I also forgot to put Vindicators on the Tengen/Domark list which was also done very nicely too on the CPC.


But look at USG/Capcom shambles. 1943, Street Fighter, Bionic Commando, Last Duel, LED Storm, and Dynasty Wars! Strider and Forgotten Worlds were the only two good games out of that entire batch from recollection.


Oh man , Super Space Invaders over 1943!? well You can take SSpaceInvaders, and I'll take 1943 on that one . I agree the 2 levels are somewhat of a shortchange , but at least it plays and looks sweet. Is it 2 Levels or 4levels I will have to give it a run through? Isn't it a crying shame that they dropped the ball with that one , All that impressive coding that could have been turned into probably the best vertical shootemup on the CPC.
Title: Re: ChinnyVision : Pitfighter
Post by: Shaun M. Neary on 17:39, 27 September 16
Quote from: Puresox on 19:56, 26 September 16

Oh man , Super Space Invaders over 1943!? well You can take SSpaceInvaders, and I'll take 1943 on that one . I agree the 2 levels are somewhat of a shortchange , but at least it plays and looks sweet. Is it 2 Levels or 4levels I will have to give it a run through? Isn't it a crying shame that they dropped the ball with that one , All that impressive coding that could have been turned into probably the best vertical shootemup on the CPC.


Wasn't it two levels and a plane? A game can look shit hot, but without gameplay, it's not worth shit. Look at Strider 2! I think I finished that game on first attempt! I don't think it even looked as good as the original either. Mode 0 wasn't kind to it at all.
Title: Re: ChinnyVision : Pitfighter
Post by: Puresox on 18:36, 27 September 16
True , 1943 was very easy , which made the fact that they made it very short very daft tbh , they should have made it brutally hard so no one could have found out the game was so short .
Title: Re: ChinnyVision : Pitfighter
Post by: chinnyhill10 on 18:39, 27 September 16
Quote from: sigh on 19:50, 26 September 16
@ChinnyVision; Is it possible that when you review arcade ports - to show the actual arcade version at the beginning?



I usually do but it's not always possible to get a game running. Pit Fighter I tried every image I could get my hands on and it wasn't playing ball. On a weekly release schedule you just have to know the point where you have to quit and move on. Same reason no ST version. Just wouldn't run on my ST no matter what I tried.
Title: Re: ChinnyVision : Pitfighter
Post by: zeropolis79 on 00:26, 28 September 16
Works on my expanded 520STE...
Title: Re: ChinnyVision : Pitfighter
Post by: MacDeath on 01:21, 28 September 16
QuoteSame reason no ST version. Just wouldn't run on my ST no matter what I tried.
what is the config/model of your ST ?
have you tried different ROMs ?
what CRTC do you have ? oops wrong machine.
;D

QuoteWorks on my expanded 520STE...
what do you call expanded ? which config ?
I mean, the only difference between 520STe and 1040STe is a sticker and extra RAM sticks



I should use my STe more often.


Wasn't Pit fighter universally bad on every formats ?
even arcade ?

cool video as usual.


"Z80" Pit fighter has actually some massive sprites.
I suppose the CPC version uses 1bpp coded graphics and convert them into Mode1 as usual.
seems it also uses another 1bpp mask...
can't be more poorly ported.


QuoteDomark were never known for putting any budget behind their arcade conversions on the 8 bits. It was always about fleecing customers and making a fast few quid. How many CPC versions of their games were just lazy Speccy ports?

CPC-POWER, sauvegarde du patrimoine de l'Amstrad CPC (http://www.cpc-power.com/index.php?page=staff&lenom=Domark)

the Speccy port aspect was cross/jointed Z80 dev in many case, same engine but mode0 graphics. This was the standard process in UK I guess.

Domark actually also had some decent CPC versions here and there.

Klax, actually, despite small sized screen.
Dragon spirit doesn't look too bad.
Escape From The Planet Of The Robot Monsters looked nice.

Don't know about the baseball game but doesn't look too bad.
Vindicator as well.

APB was quite fun.

actually Domark games were half lazy mode1 portshytes, half nice Mode0.

xybots manages to be the best 8bit version compaired to C64 or Speccy because the sprites have different colours from background actually.

Toobin is a massive disgrace.

Most of their games suffered from the classic "464" limitation...
No proper quantity of graphics/content, no nice cinematics or whatever.


wasn't the game and many actually deved by "Teque" ?
CPC-POWER, sauvegarde du patrimoine de l'Amstrad CPC (http://www.cpc-power.com/index.php?page=staff&lenom=Teque)

Title: Re: ChinnyVision : Pitfighter
Post by: Shaun M. Neary on 03:45, 28 September 16
Quote from: Puresox on 18:36, 27 September 16
True , 1943 was very easy , which made the fact that they made it very short very daft tbh , they should have made it brutally hard so no one could have found out the game was so short .


I think here was a legit reason for it's shortness. Capcom wanted it for the Christmas market (Capcom and Go! had only brokered the deal at the end of the summer from what I remember reading old C+VG's religiously), but Probe were nowhere near finished in time (shocker!). By the time October/November came around, Capcom were asking where their game was, and Probe were only on 3 levels and a plane, but they ordered them to wrap it up and get it ready for distribution, as Go!/Capcom wanted to have a rake load of titles ready for Christmas.


Street Fighter, 1943, Bionic Commando, Forgotten Worlds, Tiger Road and others were the first wave of licences I think. Most of which sold moderately well on their names alone, but they were far from impressive except for Forgotten Worlds.


Sorry for going off track. Just basically pointing out that as bad as the Tengen/Domark releases were, the Capcom/Go! ones were a lot worse in most cases.
Title: Re: ChinnyVision : Pitfighter
Post by: kawickboy on 07:47, 28 September 16
Don't forget u.n squadron and strider 2, quite good. And the mega twins demo looks awesome. And after activision crashed they bought sega rights.

Anybody played thunderjaws and skull&crossbones ? the last one went on the market 3 years after target renegade and is a failure.
Title: Re: ChinnyVision : Pitfighter
Post by: chinnyhill10 on 07:49, 28 September 16
Quote from: MacDeath on 01:21, 28 September 16
what is the config/model of your ST ?
have you tried different ROMs ?



It's a vanilla 520 STFM. I only have the option of copying to floppy which limits me to .st files. Tried all the ones I could fine, all crashed.


Not the end of the world. It happens from time to time. Just been doing a recording for Rasterscan and nothing would get it running on my PC2086, I suspect because I have upgraded it to a V30 (the PPC640 wouldn't run it either). This stuff happens. Not as simple as changing the config in an emulator when you use the real kit.
Title: Re: ChinnyVision : Pitfighter
Post by: Shaun M. Neary on 09:27, 28 September 16
Quote from: kawickboy on 07:47, 28 September 16
Don't forget u.n squadron and strider 2, quite good. And the mega twins demo looks awesome. And after activision crashed they bought sega rights.

Anybody played thunderjaws and skull&crossbones ? the last one went on the market 3 years after target renegade and is a failure.


Yeah, those two were in the second or third wave of releases and the developers had gotten their shit together at that point.


Although I don't get the love for Strider 2. It can be finished blindfolded and it looks kinda clunky. And it was really only the character that Capcom licenced for that one anyway cos it's not really an arcade conversion. U.N Squadron was awesome on the CPC. Probably one of the last really good games I had played on the CPC before I migrated over to the Mega Drive.
Title: Re: ChinnyVision : Pitfighter
Post by: zeropolis79 on 10:03, 28 September 16
In reality, Domark's Tengen games bar Pit Fighter, Xybots and Hard Drivin weren't Speccy ports but in the case of Hard Drivin, they did have an excuse..

But I still say that they had no quality control on their later 8-bit titles - look at Hard Drivin on the C64! STUN Runner stank to high heaven. So did Hydra and Thunderjaws. To me, Klax was their last GOOD title. (I'm still trying to find a Speccy version of Thunderjaws - that's missing in action)

Skull and Crossbones actually wasn't too bad.

I finished Strider 2 on my first go!

My 520STE was expanded to 1meg memory...
Title: Re: ChinnyVision : Pitfighter
Post by: kawickboy on 10:10, 28 September 16
Strider 2 is funny, has a REAL ending and although it's a tiertex speccy dev, a lot of efforts have been made to color the game. But yes, this is not a capcom creation. Don't forget that the 1st strider is a far incomplete conversion.

U.n squadron: great release. Even the super nes port can't afford 2 players...
Title: Re: ChinnyVision : Pitfighter
Post by: Shaun M. Neary on 10:44, 28 September 16
Quote from: kawickboy on 10:10, 28 September 16
Strider 2 is funny, has a REAL ending and although it's a tiertex speccy dev, a lot of efforts have been made to color the game. But yes, this is not a capcom creation. Don't forget that the 1st strider is a far incomplete conversion.

U.n squadron: great release. Even the super nes port can't afford 2 players...



Yeah, but what's the point in a real ending when you'll finish it effortlessly in 20 minutes and never go back to it?
I was stunned when I finished the game on my first attempt.
Title: Re: ChinnyVision : Pitfighter
Post by: kawickboy on 11:14, 28 September 16
I like its replay value. In opposition with double dragon 3, i like when a sequel is technically more accomplished than the previous episode.
Title: Re: ChinnyVision : Pitfighter
Post by: zeropolis79 on 18:36, 28 September 16
DD3 is that slow....
Title: Re: ChinnyVision : Pitfighter
Post by: Shaun M. Neary on 18:55, 28 September 16
Quote from: zeropolis79 on 18:36, 28 September 16
DD3 is that slow....


I didn't wanna say anything, but yeah, Double Dragon 3 is probably the worst comparison that @kawickboy could have used in that case.  :laugh:
Title: Re: ChinnyVision : Pitfighter
Post by: zeropolis79 on 19:39, 28 September 16
Makes Pitfighter look like a stroll in the park...
Title: Re: ChinnyVision : Pitfighter
Post by: Puresox on 22:03, 28 September 16
Thunderjaws was a decent port of a crap game imo , Sorry this thread should be called Domark summary
Title: Re: ChinnyVision : Pitfighter
Post by: chinnyhill10 on 22:20, 28 September 16
I have to record something of Badlands on the CPC in a few days. If it is as I remember a direct Speccy port it stinks badly.
Title: Re: ChinnyVision : Pitfighter
Post by: zeropolis79 on 22:39, 28 September 16
It is and it's complete crap
Title: Re: ChinnyVision : Pitfighter
Post by: Puresox on 22:46, 28 September 16
Quote from: zeropolis79 on 22:39, 28 September 16
It is and it's complete crap
I concur!
I did enjoy it more than the Sprint ports , because it played a bit faster seemed more enjoyable , if you ignored the horrible graphics. Super Sprint did look the part, just was so slow. I mean come-on, Grand Prix Simulater 1+2 had no problems and that was a budget release.
Title: Re: ChinnyVision : Pitfighter
Post by: MacDeath on 23:50, 28 September 16
QuoteI don't get the love for Strider 2.
Basically Tiertex did some proper Mode0 for once...
Else it was quite the same engine as Strider1 on CPC.

Seems Tiertex got so shat on them after utter shytes such as BlackTiger or strider ports that they did more mode0 after.

QuoteIn reality, Domark's Tengen games bar Pit Fighter, Xybots and Hard Drivin weren't Speccy ports but in the case of Hard Drivin, they did have an excuse..
Quoteweren't
what ?
Those are pixel perfect from the speccy (minus the "colours") or few mode0 menu parts for hardDrivin'

Xybot is perhaps the more re-worked of the 3 on CPC.

If the list from CPcpower is proper, it really is a 50/50 range of games... like actually most devs.

Be it domark or Teque as well (they did some great games as well for different Labels)

Had to remember that the devs and the Labels/distributrs were two different things.

QuoteI have to record something of Badlands on the CPC in a few days. If it is as I remember a direct Speccy port it stinks badly.
Funnily, it would have some CPC arrangements such as ditherings in different colours that speccy couldn't do, yet also still have some "colour/attribute" clashes as well... really how could they manage to do that ?
:doh:

Supersprint was the way to go.
or van 'Ironman' Stewart's Super Off Road was also quite better despite being a somewhat straight Mode1 port as well.

Would be nice to have a video compairing all those sort of "1 screener+minisprites" race games... was actually a popular genre with lots of games in the same vein.
(oliver Twins made quite a lot of variant, I guess they reused some engine basis...)
what else ?

Grand Prix Simulator 1&2.
Championship Jet Ski Simulator.
BMX simulator 1&2
Professional BMX Simulator
Championship Sprint
Rally Cross Challenge


Title: Re: ChinnyVision : Pitfighter
Post by: Puresox on 16:34, 29 September 16
Ivan's 4x4 was pretty decent , if the controls were a little tighter it would have been an excellent game
Title: Re: ChinnyVision : Pitfighter
Post by: chinnyhill10 on 18:41, 29 September 16
Quote from: Puresox on 16:34, 29 September 16
Ivan's 4x4 was pretty decent , if the controls were a little tighter it would have been an excellent game


IIRC came out the same month as Badlands as well. Certainly ACE and possibly AA reviewed it in the same issues.
Title: Re: ChinnyVision : Pitfighter
Post by: zeropolis79 on 21:37, 29 September 16
AA reviewed both in the same issue
Title: Re: ChinnyVision : Pitfighter
Post by: chinnyhill10 on 23:00, 29 September 16
Quote from: zeropolis79 on 21:37, 29 September 16
AA reviewed both in the same issue


Thought so. Although Iron Man wasn't great it made Badlands look even worse.
Title: Re: ChinnyVision : Pitfighter
Post by: zeropolis79 on 23:01, 29 September 16
Sure my 7 year old goddaughter could code a better Badlands conversion..
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