I've managed to track down former AA editor Steve Carey - living in Melbourne, Victoria.
I've been in touch with him and he is suitably impressed with the CPC Wiki and the continued global love for the Amstrad!
He's happy for a bit of an 'interview' of sorts, based on the old days as editor ...so I'm asking is there anything anyone wants me to ask him specifically? (plus I may not think of everything)!
I'll compile a list and email it to him and then update the Steve Carey wiki page once all done...
Sound good?
Thanks!
Awesome! I'll come up with some questions later!
One springs to mind...
Was there pressure to give games from certain companies better reviews because of their advertising spend in the magazine? Did any companies kick up a fuss when you gave a bad review and threaten to withdraw advertising?
Ohhh fantastic news indeed, this will be very interesting :) I'm sure we'll think of a few... What period was he in AA?
@Xyphoe (http://www.cpcwiki.eu/forum/index.php?action=profile;u=109) : a classic one ;)
Here's another: did he review any titles that didn't get a release?
Did you have much direct contact with Amstrad themselves and Alan Sugar?
What impression did you get from Amstrad in relation to the CPC? Were they proud of it? Forgotten about it and moving on? Did they really care that much about their user base?
Who were the best and worst game publishing companies to deal with?
And did any of them deliberately not send you review copies of games?
And why did some games form other countries get so few point, even they were awesome?
Did they use CPCs to write the magazine to begin with I read somewhere years ago that they did.
Quote from: Gryzor on 14:42, 22 October 14
Ohhh fantastic news indeed, this will be very interesting :) I'm sure we'll think of a few... What period was he in AA?
@Xyphoe (http://www.cpcwiki.eu/forum/index.php?action=profile;u=109) : a classic one ;)
Here's another: did he review any titles that didn't get a release?
He was editor from AA35 (Aug 1988) to AA50 (Nov 1989) - He was preceded by Bob Wade / succeeded by Rod Lawton.
and yeah - just throw your questions in here, I'll scoop them all out in a few days and get them over to Dr Carey.
Quote from: Xyphoe on 08:54, 22 October 14
Awesome! I'll come up with some questions later!
One springs to mind...
Was there pressure to give games from certain companies better reviews because of their advertising spend in the magazine? Did any companies kick up a fuss when you gave a bad review and threaten to withdraw advertising?
While you're at it, ask him about #gamergate because this is the exact same thing its trying to stop. Nothing has changed in 30 years of gaming journalism and its all coming to a head now.
Quote from: EgoTrip on 16:25, 24 October 14
While you're at it, ask him about #gamergate because this is the exact same thing its trying to stop. Nothing has changed in 30 years of gaming journalism and its all coming to a head now.
AA slagged rotten games off. Remember Count Duckula 2? Sister magazine Amiga Power got in an awful lot of hot water for telling the truth.
what happened to the games they reviewed? did they have to give them back, or did they keep them?
and did they skip any or take any home?
were the games given to them in a finished form with boxes and instructions or a disc with the name scribbled on it?
how long did it take for a typical review? i.e. how long did they play for before they reviewed it?
Hey Border_7!
Excellent Job!! Thank you for pushing the info!
Here are some other questions that come to my mind:
- Were they involved in any kind of NDA with some editors while testing some beta games to report feedback before the official review?
- How often would they get unprotected beta versions of software?
- Were there any cases where reviewers would leak games to hacker groups?
- Did they test all their type-ins?
- How often did the get to the conclusion "this type-in is crap! - Who cares?!"
Keep us posted!!
Cheers,
Roland
Wonder if the cover of AA40 still haunts Steve?
Thanks for all the questions so far... by about Wednesday/Thursday I'll reconcile them all and send them off...
Being only Monday morning here in Sydney, that give us a few more days.
Keep them coming - I'm looking forward to seeing his responses!
Amstrad Action survived until June 1995, although by the end it was just 24 pages and a shadow of it's former self. As someone who was at Future for a while, any thoughts on what the bosses thinking might have been dragging it out and then dropping it without saying anything rather than letting the mag go out with a big final issue like Your Sinclair, Amiga Power, Amiga Format etc?
What did you think of Amstrad Computer Users rather shabby habit of reviewing non CPC versions of games and not even disguising this in the screenshots just to get an exclusive?
Ok - 24 hours left and I'll email questions over to Steve.
Any one else have anything they want to ask him?
Here's a question: If the CPC Plus range had been 16-bit with a hardware emulator card for backward compatibility (something akin to how the PS3 handled PS2 games), could that have saved the CPC, or was it dead in the water already?
The 6128 Plus has a great concept (even if people always bitch at the one or other detail). IMHO the marketing was the problem.
And yes, a Z280 o Z380 would have been helpful. IMHO the main problem was that software companies made very few games for the CPC itself. There were too much speccy ports.
Sorry, just hat to add my 2 Cents.
Let's keep this on topic... :)
I'm sure his answers will beget more questions, any way we could do a come back?
We are on topic. :)
I really would like to know if he / AA people would think it's a good idea to have been using a Z280.
QuoteIf the CPC Plus range had been 16-bit with a hardware emulator card for backward compatibility (something akin to how the PS3 handled PS2 games), could that have saved the CPC, or was it dead in the water already?
actually I believe Amstrad should have released a PC/PC1512 compliant video+sound card that would be able to emulate CPC...
Such card would have a Z80, and an AY and so on. woudl also emulate most CGA video modes or even "low vertical rez" EGA video modes.
Could have worked well.
Then get a 3" disk drive option on those PCs and there you are.
Amstrad's PC were limited by the IBM video standards.
They tried to go their own way with the PC1512's 640x200x16 mode but were bitched at because they failed to stand strictly into the sh***tty CGA standard.
(Alo because they had no fans... WTF ?)
Even EGA is sh***tty due to its obligation to stick to CGA compliant modes and monitor. The 64 colour palette couldn't be actually used unless the odd 640x350x16 mode that needed specific and expensive monitor and was compatible with nothing resolution wise.
Had Amstrad provided a cool Graphic+sound card able to emulate most of CGA and low-rez EGA but also able to use CPC monitors and emulate CPC and PCW with help of the PC's Hardware... able to use cheap RGB CPC screens... do fullscreen/overscan as well.. emulate the Amstrad's 8bit computers as well... this could really have done great.
An Ms-Dos / GEM compatible Amstrad PC with 640x200x16 (choosen from 64) video mode + AY... could actually ruin an Atari ST.
Also put this into a PC20/PC200 casing and there you are... nice release in 1987.
Quote from: Gryzor on 18:09, 29 October 14
Let's keep this on topic... :)
I'm sure his answers will beget more questions, any way we could do a come back?
Oh yeah - I think so, he seems pretty laid back about it all :D
will there be a link to follow, or are you posting the q&a in this thread?
I'll post a link to the Steve Carey wiki page...
Quote from: MacDeath on 22:01, 29 October 14
actually I believe Amstrad should have released a PC/PC1512 compliant video+sound card that would be able to emulate CPC...
Such card would have a Z80, and an AY and so on. woudl also emulate most CGA video modes or even "low vertical rez" EGA video modes.
Could have worked well.
Then get a 3" disk drive option on those PCs and there you are.
Amstrad's PC were limited by the IBM video standards.
They tried to go their own way with the PC1512's 640x200x16 mode but were bitched at because they failed to stand strictly into the sh***tty CGA standard.
(Alo because they had no fans... WTF ?)
Even EGA is sh***tty due to its obligation to stick to CGA compliant modes and monitor. The 64 colour palette couldn't be actually used unless the odd 640x350x16 mode that needed specific and expensive monitor and was compatible with nothing resolution wise.
Had Amstrad provided a cool Graphic+sound card able to emulate most of CGA and low-rez EGA but also able to use CPC monitors and emulate CPC and PCW with help of the PC's Hardware... able to use cheap RGB CPC screens... do fullscreen/overscan as well.. emulate the Amstrad's 8bit computers as well... this could really have done great.
An Ms-Dos / GEM compatible Amstrad PC with 640x200x16 (choosen from 64) video mode + AY... could actually ruin an Atari ST.
Also put this into a PC20/PC200 casing and there you are... nice release in 1987.
I don't remember much about the Amstrad PC 1512 I was playing with, but it came with GEM /3 system disks (5.25") with specific Device Drivers for the Video, I tried running it on a standard Video Card, but it wouldn't work. You also got Version 2 of Locomotive BASIC which was a much different beast to what we've got on the CPC(s).
Don't recall noticing any provisions for the low-screen-resolution on that machine, though it would of made a nice addition to make it more comparable to a CPC.
I think Steve has been in Melbourne for a while now, back when they had Issue 100 of AA, I'm pretty sure he was in Australia then as well, unless he comes and goes I suppose.
PC1512 was mostly a CGA aka the 4 colours of death (could have Hercules models as well).
But with PC1512 it had a custom 640x200x16 mode that could do for 320x200x16 like an EGA, yet less standard software compatibility speaking.
Some games were PC1512 compliant and would enable the 16 colours modes... most games would only be in normal CGA and suck.
Also power supply was inside the monitor.
Sorry it was a bit out of topic.
Quote from: AMSDOS on 09:18, 02 November 14
I think Steve has been in Melbourne for a while now, back when they had Issue 100 of AA, I'm pretty sure he was in Australia then as well, unless he comes and goes I suppose.
Indeed he has... It was mentioned in the AA Tribute magazine... he provided some info back then too...
I've posted off a load of questions to him, so we will see how he goes with it all!!
yes a good question that, if Amstrad had made a 16 bit machine with a CPC emulator in it does he think it would have been a winner?
Sorry, but a 16 Bit system has not the power to emulate a CPC in 100% speed.
Didn't the Amiga 1200 manage it? Although strictly that was 32 bit
Did it?
Quote from: TFM on 22:18, 04 November 14
Sorry, but a 16 Bit system has not the power to emulate a CPC in 100% speed.
Which is why my question posited a hardware compatibility layer like the original PS3's hardware emulation of the PS2 (which basically came down to it having a "PS2 card" in it that ran the PS2 software.
Quote from: CraigsBar on 22:27, 04 November 14
Didn't the Amiga 1200 manage it? Although strictly that was 32 bit
There was a CPC emulator? I had a Spectrum emulator on my A1200. Can't remember exactly why. I think I was bulk buying a bunch of Public Domain software and just needed to fill up the order for the discount delivery or something. Still it was interesting.
Perhaps some 16/32 bit system could provided they have some co-CPU.
I'm thinking about the Sega Megadrive with its auxiliary Z80.
Some Atari ST may also work as the soundchip wouldn't really be emulated and this could perhaps help, but to emulate a 4mhz system with only 8mhz may still be quite tricky.
Also the CPC and its video circuit able of great fullscreens may not be too easy on most older systems.
I emulated a CPC on my Amiga back in the day.
I had an A1200 with an overclocked 68060 running at 66Mhz.
Emu-CPC 0.7 ran CPC emulation at 85 to 90% of full speed, if memory serves me correctly (though it was a long time ago).
It was actually what got me back into the CPC, after a long hiatus!
Quote from: Zoe Robinson on 00:17, 05 November 14
Which is why my question posited a hardware compatibility layer like the original PS3's hardware emulation of the PS2 (which basically came down to it having a "PS2 card" in it that ran the PS2 software.
Right, and it would make sense here too. I remember there were computers with a Z80 and an 8088/8086 to be able to run CP/M and MS-DOS back the day. :)
Quote from: Zoe Robinson on 00:17, 05 November 14
Which is why my question posited a hardware compatibility layer like the original PS3's hardware emulation of the PS2 (which basically came down to it having a "PS2 card" in it that ran the PS2 software.
Anything extra like that is considered an unnecessary luxury of sorts and is why it was one of the first things to get taken away early on in the PS3's lifespan. I was annoyed when it happened and the PS3 I bought lacked the PS2 playback but eventually the PS2 games I still wanted to keep ended up on the online store and I sold my useless disc versions and went with the digital (like I do with almost everything these days anyways). Is nice having a lil PS2 folder of games on my PS3 (and got a folder of PS1 on there too).
Quote from: ervin on 06:01, 05 November 14
I emulated a CPC on my Amiga back in the day.
I had an A1200 with an overclocked 68060 running at 66Mhz.
Emu-CPC 0.7 ran CPC emulation at 85 to 90% of full speed, if memory serves me correctly (though it was a long time ago).
It was actually what got me back into the CPC, after a long hiatus!
That's about a factor of 1:20. And that makes sense. :)
Quote from: Carnivac on 16:13, 05 November 14
Anything extra like that is considered an unnecessary luxury of sorts and is why it was one of the first things to get taken away early on in the PS3's lifespan.
Yes it's a luxury but Amstrad has form on adding in extra cards to pull in extra capabilities on their computers. Remember the Amstrad Mega-PC? It was a 386 SX/25 (a system that was hilariously out of date when the Mega-PC launched but hell, I bought one anyway) with an entire Mega Drive built into it.
Quote from: Zoe Robinson on 18:23, 05 November 14
Yes it's a luxury but Amstrad has form on adding in extra cards to pull in extra capabilities on their computers. Remember the Amstrad Mega-PC? It was a 386 SX/25 (a system that was hilariously out of date when the Mega-PC launched but hell, I bought one anyway) with an entire Mega Drive built into it.
Yeah but the Mega Drive was still a hugely popular and money-making machine at the time. Losing ground to the slightly more recent SNES but still doing big business. They likely thought of playing Sega exclusive games such as Sonic the Hedgehog on a 'PC' was gonna be a big draw.
Quick update - Steve has the list of questions and is working through it, should have answers and everything very soon... should be a good read!!!
Drumroll.............................................................
Steve Carey - CPCWiki (http://www.cpcwiki.eu/index.php/Steve_Carey)
Interview up! 8)
Amazing work!
The interview is nice, thank you very much!
No worries! :D
Unsure if Pat McDonald had any other programs besides the Sprite Editor, Typewriter & Module Designer, though people with nice enough to improve things like the Spite Editor or correct the bug in Typewriter :) The Module Designer was more of a case of missing some lines which was corrected in AA49, don't know why I haven't check that program out yet since I like his Sprite Editor & Typewriter is useful, even though it's not ROM friendly, which is probably why it was replaced with Typecheck by Simon Forrester(?) in later issues.
How could you not like a bit of code like WHILE AAFOLDED=0
Quote from: Border_7 on 23:53, 09 December 14
Drumroll.............................................................
Steve Carey - CPCWiki (http://www.cpcwiki.eu/index.php/Steve_Carey)
Interview up! 8)
Brilliant interview. He dodged my question ( :'(
[size=78%]) but it was brilliant nevertheless. Thank you for sharing it. [/size]
Quote from: Zoe Robinson on 18:23, 05 November 14
Yes it's a luxury but Amstrad has form on adding in extra cards to pull in extra capabilities on their computers. Remember the Amstrad Mega-PC? It was a 386 SX/25 (a system that was hilariously out of date when the Mega-PC launched but hell, I bought one anyway) with an entire Mega Drive built into it.
Lucky you, at the time it was a dream for me! (even if i totally agree with you about the spec, but it was a few month before my 486DX266, i was on a PC3086, on a 86 processor (yeah not even a 286) at a blasting 8mhz).
Quote from: Zoe Robinson on 20:30, 10 December 14
Brilliant interview. He dodged my question ( :'( [size=78%]) but it was brilliant nevertheless. Thank you for sharing it. [/size]
:)
He's a bit of a cheeky bugger! Then again, aren't all Brits?
Quote from: Border_7 on 23:01, 10 December 14
:)
He's a bit of a cheeky bugger! Then again, aren't all Brits?
I got the impression he was an Aussie.
Should of asked for an Photo of him now just in case I bumped into him on the Street! :D
I think he thinks he's an aussie now! He will always be a British import!
If you google image Dr Steve Carey...
He's written books too:
How to Get a Job in Publishing: A Really Practical Guide to Careers in Books and Magazines by Alison Baverstock, Steve Carey and Susannah Bowen (Apr 1, 2008)
How to Save Your Life: Sack Your Boss, Start Your Own Business, Find Your Passion by Steve Carey and Susannah Bowen (Oct 31, 2009)
Quote from: Border_7 on 23:52, 10 December 14
I think he thinks he's an aussie now! He will always be a British import!
If you google image Dr Steve Carey...
He's writing books too now:
How to Get a Job in Publishing: A Really Practical Guide to Careers in Books and Magazines by Alison Baverstock, Steve Carey and Susannah Bowen (Apr 1, 2008)
How to Save Your Life: Sack Your Boss, Start Your Own Business, Find Your Passion by Steve Carey and Susannah Bowen (Oct 31, 2009)
That's him alright :D
I would probably be out of my area if I bumped into him on the street, unless he's in the area.
He's in Elsternwick. He could be much further away I suppose??
Quote from: Border_7 on 02:51, 11 December 14
He's in Elsternwick. He could be much further away I suppose??
Well I have been known to go to Fawkner Park, Prahan which is close to Elsternwick, even took a bunch of Picturesque photos from around there, which could probably be transformed into CPC Screenshots?