From: Achim_Wilhelm@m4.maus.de (Achim Wilhelm)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.atari.st
Subject: Re: Falcon030 -- Truth not Fiction
Date: 23 Dec 92 09:38:00 GMT
Article-I.D.: M4.A6622
Organization: MausNet (Mitglied im IN e.V.)
X-Gateway: MausGate/News 1.14D/hb

a>IS the Falcon030 with a Motorola 68030 16 MHz CPU powerful enough
a>to produce games that require scaling, rotation, scrolling, and 3-D imaging?
a>I'm talking WITHOUT a blitter and DSP chip.

My opinion: No.

a>Is the Falcon030 with a 68030 16 MHz CPU and Blitter 16 MHz powerful
a>enough to produce games that require scaling, rotation, scrolling, and
a>3-D imaging?

My opinion: Yes.

a>If so, what does the Blitter do to help?  And how did Atari manage
a>to make the Blitter faster?

Fast bitblock-transfer. It's new designed and layouted. Old Blitter runs only
with 8 Mhz, the new Blitter with 16 MHz.

a>And WHY did Atari make the Blitter faster?

Because the old one was buggy. The removed the bugs, and because the FALCON
runs with 16 MHz, the blitter runs with 16 MHz, too.

a>Can the DSP help at ALL in video games such as flight simulators?

My opinion: Yes.

a>I was told that since the DSP can only transfer information at the
a>rate of 1 Mb/sec, it would not help much.  Is this true?

No. I calculated a fraktal with CPU (38 seconds) and with DSP (8 seconds).
Iterations: 32. About 70x70 pixels.

a>How much slower would a game such as "Sonic" run in TRUE color video
a>vs. 256 color video?

I don't know.

a>How many people believe that 1 Megabyte should be the lowest amount
a>of memory Atari should include with the Falcon030?

Me not.

a>How many people believe that 2 Megabytes should be the lowest amount
a>of memory Atari should include with the Falcon030?

FALCON has only 1, 4 or 14 MBytes.

a>How many people believe that 4 Megabytes should be the lowest amount
a>of memory Atari should include with the Falcon030?

Me.

a>Also explain WHY you believe it should be sold with this minimum
a>instead of the others.

I think, 4 Megs should be the delivered minimum, because the graphics-memory
is about 200 kBytes on 256 colors. Multiplied by 2 for logical and physical
screenmemory makes abot 400 kBytes. Good sound (for DMA and CODEC) and good
graphics will cost about 300 kBytes of memory. So there will be not enough
memory for the game.

Other case: You do DTP or CAD. One Meg is really not enough.

Next case: You like MultiTOS (if it's available).

a>Should the Falcon030 have had a graphics coprocessor in it?

Why not?

a>How much of an advantage would the Falcon030 have with a graphics
a>coprocessor in video games?

I don't know.

a>How much of an advantage would the Falcon030 have with a graphics
a>coprocessor in video production?

I don't know.

a>There is a rumor that the Jaguar will be similar to the Falcon030
a>with a Motorola 68030 16 MHz CPU, but with a 64-bit graphics coprocessor.
a>How many of you believe that this could be possible.  Why or why not?

??

a>If it was possible for Atari to redesign the Falcon030 and incorporate
a>this graphics processor and then slip it into the production line
a>in the middle of next year, do you think it would be a good idea,
a>why or why not?

No good idea. Better idea is to deliver a add-on-graphic-card for the expansion
slot. Normen Kowalewski from ATARI Germany gave us on the MausNet some rumors.

a>How many of you feel that a graphics coprocessor is so important to
a>the success of the Falcon030 that it would be worth delaying the machine
a>another 2 months to include one?

Me not. I bought one 4 days ago.

a>There will be flickering in interlace video mode on TV, how noticeable
a>will this be?

Very noticable. It's really awfull to work with this flickering.

a>Translation:  Will it give you headaches if playing video games on TV
a>              in interlace mode?

Shure.

a>How many people believe that Atari should concentrate on music with
a>the Falcon030?

Me.

a>How many people believe that Atari should concentrate on entertainment
a>with the Falcon030?

No comment.

a>How many people believe that Atari should concentrate on multi-media
a>with the Falcon030?

Me.

a>How many people believe that Atari should concentrate on video production
a>with the Falcon030?

No comment.

a>Is there any other market that you believe Atari should be going
a>after with the Falcon030?

No.

a>How many people believe that the Falcon030 will be WAY underpowered
a>as a home computer in Fall, 1993?  And why?

Me not.

a>How many people believe that the Falcon030 will be WAY underpowered
a>as a home computer in Fall, 1994?  And why?

No comment.

a>How many people feel that they will be using a Falcon030 in 1995?

Me.

a>How many of you believe that Atari's present keyboard in the Falcon030
a>should be replaced with a better quality keyboard?

ME!!

a>What is your greatest disappointment with the Falcon030?

No Comment.

a>What do you feel Atari should have included with the Falcon030
a>that they left out?

No idea.

a>What do you think is the greatest advantage that the Falcon030
a>has?

DSP and CODEC.

a>Do you think Atari will still have this advantage in 1994?

No.

a>Are you going to buy a Falcon030?

No.

a>If not, WHY?

I have one.

a>Do you have a Falcon030 computer already?

Yes. :-)

regards, Jimmy