Playing's A Joy With The Latest Software

Sydney Morning Herald

Sunday July 28, 1991

By PHIL CAMPBELL

THE growing pile of IBM-compatible games in the corner of my office convinced me that I had to take action. Either get a bigger office, or get a new PC.

Quite simply, my old machine could no longer cope. With the huge US market calling the shots, PC-style games are getting better and better - and sadly, an 8-MHz EGA PC-XT can no longer take the pace. The graphics look crusty, and animation hops along like a broken-down kangaroo.

So here's a quick rundown on my new IBM-compatible games machine - the system I paid real money for in an effort to keep you up-to-date on the latest software. It's a tough job, but I guess someone has to do it.

Start with the CPU. My advice is simple. If you're going to play games, you need the fastest machine your bank balance can bear. I chose an OCT 386-25 from Optima Computer Technology, a well-built and well-priced machine running a full 386 chip-set at 25MHz. At this clock speed, animation is silky smooth, even in graphic-intensive mode like Jetfighter II.

Most new games feature VGA graphics, and it's a shame to miss them - the difference between VGA and the lower EGA standard is dramatic. So naturally, don't settle for anything less. I chose a 512K Super VGA card capable of painting 256 colours on a 1024 by 768 pixel screen. Which means, in essence, game graphics are big, bright and beautiful.

Sound has always been the downfall of PC games - effects are limited to the squeaks and squawks that can be generated through the tiny internal speaker.

No matter what system you buy, you will be faced by the same limitation and the only answer is an add-on sound card. Gareth Powell has recently been singing the praises of the Sound Blaster board - not a bad option.

But Questor has just added the Ad-Lib card to its range, and a review sample arrived on the day I was setting up my system. What could I do? The Ad-Lib is now firmly seated in slot 1, and producing superb music and sound effects.

Using FM-synthesis, the card can play up to 11 different instrument sounds at once. The Juke Box program packaged with the card demonstrates them well.

A white noise generator handles explosions and jet engines very nicely, too- the results with Jet Fighter II are ear-boggling, and add immensely to the realism of the game. Audio output requires an external speaker, or better still an amplifier and hi-fi system.

Finally, you will need a game controller. A joystick. Something to waggle to make things move. And you won't do any better than the innovative Starcursor Analog LDR 501. The name is a mouthful, so ignore everything except the LDR. For the technophiles, that's Light Dependent Resistor - the basis of a whole new approach to joystick design.

Rather than using traditional potentiometers to register your position, the Starcursor uses light - a specially-shaped shutter slides between a Light Emitting Diode and the LDR, producing a smoothly varying signal. No friction, no wear, no fuss. And great to play with, too.

Best of all, the Starcursor Analog LDR 501 is a local innovation, designed and manufactured by Multicoin Australia.

So that's the system. Great for playing games, and by coincidence it's not a bad business system, either. Windows 3 runs fine, as will anything else you care to throw at it. After all, games have always been at the leading edge of software technology.

For more information on OCT computers, contact Optima on (02)6381222.

Questor can tell you more about the AD-LIB sound card on (02)6627944, and Multicoin Australia will be happy to boast about their amazing joystick on(075)375711.