Amiga News Central

Amiga News Central: The latest Amiga news & rumours

8th December to 15th December 1997

By Paul Morabito

Computer97 News

Computer97, the largest annual Amiga exhibition held in Germany last month promised a lot but provided little in the way of hard facts for Amiga users. It was largely believed Amiga International would finally reveal detailed plans for the future of the Amiga but instead users were once again left in the dark. Petro T., president of Amiga International in his speech highlighted the importance of leveraging the Amiga technology and promised more would be revealed when possible. Petro's speech can be read at the Amiga Web Directory while a comprehensive show report is available at Amiga.Org.

While on another note it was reported in some quarters Petro T. was supporting the idea of further advancing the 68k processors instead of moving to a new architecture like the PPC. While it has received some support, notably from Carl Sassenrath, it has largely been dismissed as heresay and it is highly unlikely Motorola could be convinced to restart development on the 68k line.

Newtek Continue Support

Amidst a lot of rumours and speculation Newtek have reaffirmed their commitment to the Amiga. It was believed that due to the stoppage of development on the Amiga version of Lightwave and the suspension of Flyer development that Newtek were preparing to leave the Amiga scene. But according to Tim Jenison, co-founder of Newtek, they have merely suspended development pending clarification of Gateway's plans for the Amiga. Currently they are in discussions with Amiga Inc. And despite reports to the contrary Newtek are very excited about PlayableTV and especially happy at QuikPak being granted a license to produce Amiga's. The full speech can be found at Amiga.Org.

On another note, it has been rumoured Phase5 have done their bit to entice Newtek back into the fray by offering to make a special multiprocessor PPC board especially for use with Lightwave. The board would essentially be identical to current PPC boards except it will feature 4 or possibly more PPC processors to give optimum speed when rendering. It has even been reported that a very small amount of these boards have been produced with some being sent to Newtek.

Infoseek have also recently covered Newtek and their future plans in which the Amiga is prominently positioned. The full text can be found at Infoseek.

New WWW Browser?

BrowserWatch in it's access stats page shows the existence of a mysterious new web browser titled ARexx Browser, presumably written in ARexx for the Amiga. At the time of writing the browser has a mere 76 hits which would indicate it is used by very few people possibly being beta or alpha tested. Searches of the WWW and newsgroups show no reference to an "Arexx Browser" on any platform and there has been no reference to an "Arexx Browser" in any Amiga news item in the past 12 months. Research indicates a web browser written totally in ARexx is possible if used with certain extensions (such as MUIRexx) but unless compiled it would be very slow. More information when I receive it.

Regular Columns

Editorial:
Welcome to the first edition of the restructured and revamped Amiga News Central. A big hello and a warm welcome to everybody reading this, hopefully with this new format I can increase readership and continue to provide comprehensive coverage of the Amiga. This, the first update covers all news that has appeared since the suspension of Amiga News Central back in early November. The SoapBox discussion forum will appear in next weeks update. Finally there may still be a few small problems viewing this site with IBrowse, they are being worked on and will hopefully be rectified soon.

Aminet Watch:
All Monopoly fans should check out International Monopoly which has just been uploaded to Aminet. The game is by far the best freely available Monopoly game. Click here to download the file from the wustl.edu Aminet site (207k).

Upcoming Amiga Events

IPISA '98
7th March 1998, Italy.
Gateway Computer Show
March 14-15 1998, St Louis, USA.
Australian Amiga Gathering MKII
'98, Melbourne, Australia.
International Amiga '98
May 29-30 1998, Toronto, Canada.
AmiWest Convention
July 10-12 1998, Sacramento, California, USA.

Site News:

Amiga Central Reviews
Uropa2 review online.
Amiga Update Newsletter
new issue online.
Amiga Central FAQ
updated.
AmigaMonitor
November-December issue online.

PowerUP News

The PowerUP Homepage reports that despite reports to the contrary, pOS from ProDAD will be ported to PowerUP and should be available in Spring '98. Previously it was rumoured Phase5 were very keen on using pOS in the A/Box but there appears to have been a fallout between the two companies maybe caused by ProDAD wishing to make pOS multiplatform. This put the planned port in jeopardy. So far pOS is being ported to Amiga m68k, Intel, PowerUP and A/Box (???). Further information can be found at the PowerUP Homepage.

In other PowerUP news, the next PPC CD-ROM update will have AGA drivers for CyberGraphics. The drivers will provide owners of AGA Amiga's with access to all 8bit CyberGFX modes and thus allow them to use LWShow, Isis and any other CyberGFX program.

At Computer97, Haage & Partner held a seminar about their PPC programming tools including StormC and StormASM. To highlight the speed of the compiler and the PPC cards they showed a Quake engine running on a PPC equipped Amiga which reportedly produced quite remarkable results. For all this and more PowerUP news please visit the PowerUP HomePage.

User Group Network Formed

In keeping with the philosophy of supporting current Amiga users Amiga International in association with Amiga.Org have formed the Official Amiga User Group Network. A global registry of Amiga user groups will be kept so as news can be easily broadcast to all members. The cornerstone of this will be a regular e-magazine distributed to all members. Currently the UGN is in discussion with the ICOA as to the best way in which it can serve the Amiga community. The official press release can be found at Amiga International.

New Clone Manufacturers

It was announced at Computer97 that DCE Computer, a long time supporter of the Amiga had been granted approval to produce Amiga based clones. Their first model, the A5000 aims to be the new standard in high end Amiga's and is based around the A4000 motherboard. It will initially be based around a 68030@50mhz. The machine will ship with a large IDE hard drive, CD-ROM and MPEG-1 support as standard, all in a mini tower case. And due out in Spring '98 is the Power A6000 which will include many new features including an 060 processor. Power Computing has been appointed world wide distributor. More information can be found at Power Computing.

Not to be outdone, Index Information has announced the immediate availability of their first Amiga clone, the Access. The machine is built specifically for corporate applications and represents two years of research and development. The Access is a completely new design and is 2.3 times faster than a standard A1200. The full press release can be found at the Amiga Web Directory.

In other licensing news, Quikpak has been granted a license to produce Amiga computers. Newtek are reportedly very pleased at this. It is unknown if Quikpak will produce their previously designed portable Amiga, specialist A4000 machine with built in bridgeboard or the mysterious A1630 which they touted earlier in the year while bidding for Amiga Technologies.

To keep track of all the latest Amiga licensees Amiga International has created a page dedicated to listing current and prospective licensees, it can be found at http://www.amiga.de/diary/license/licensees.html

Myst finished!

The long awaited Myst has finally been completed by ClickBOOM and should be available now. The game achieved record breaking sales on both the PC and Mac and ClickBOOM hope to do the same with the Amiga port. Interestingly Myst has just become available on the Amiga while the sequel to Myst, Riven has just appeared on the PC and Mac. This is the first Amiga port by ClickBOOM with many more planned (see Quake story). For information on the game and purchasing it please visit ClickBOOM.

Amiga Quake?

ClickBOOM have confirmed one of the Amiga's worst kept secrets, that they are negotiating with ID Software with the hope of officially releasing an Amiga version of Quake. Earlier in the year an illegitimate version appeared from Digital Corruption compiled from stolen source code. While the game required mammoth resources it confirmed the Amiga can handle such games. It is thought a "proper" fully Amiga-ized port could see the game running many times faster. ClickBOOM hope to announce the outcome of discussions very soon (positive or negative).

Championship Manager 3

A rather poor port of Championship Manager 2 has just been released for the Amiga but development has already begun on Championship Manager 3, for the PC. The development team responsible for both games are keen on an Amiga port but do not have the resources to port the game themselves. It is thought that the game could be licensed to an Amiga developer to port properly. An online survey is now online here to gauge support for such a game. If you are interested in CM3 for the Amiga, please take the time to fill it in.

Foundation Demo out!

Another long awaited Amiga game is nearing release. This time Foundation from Paul Burkey and Sadeness Software is on the verge of being released. The game which is best described as a mixture between the Settlers, Megalomania, Warcraft II and Populous is set to ignite the Amiga games scene. A demo highlighting the high quality of the game is available from both Aminet and Foundation's web site. Pre orders are currently being taken. A few months back I did an interview with Paul Burkey creator of Foundation in which he candidly spoke about the game and the future, the interview can be found here.

Amiga in Wired

The Amiga is continuing to make headlines in the mainstream media. This time, Wired magazine has covered the Amiga's resurgence in an article titled "Commodore Amiga computer set for comeback". The article appeared in Wired 5.12, December 1997 on page 56 while the full text of the article can be found at Yahoo.

And to further highlight the Amiga's movement back into mainstream publications, WorldVillage have also recently written an article about the Amiga. The article centers on the Amiga games scene and in particular Myst stating, "All in all, the Amiga seems to be the promising platform for any new game". The full article can be found at WorldVillage.

In other Amiga media news, OS News, a website dedicated to news on alternative operating systems including Linux and BeOS will now cover the Amiga. An article is already available which details the resurgence of the Amiga, it can be read at OS News.

New at Ossowski's Schatztruhe

Schatztruhe continue to enthusiastically support the Amiga by announcing version 5 of Turbocalc, the Amiga's premier spreadsheet. There are numerous new features and bug fixes including HTML export and improved Excel import loaders. The full press release is available at the Amiga Web Directory. Schatztruhe have also announced the long awaited availability of Cygnus ED 4, the Amiga's favorite and most powerful text editor. The full press release is available from the Amiga Web Directory. Finally, Schatztruhe have announced the release of Amiga Forever 1.0 from Cloanto (Press Release) and the availability of Myst, Shadow Of The Third Moon and Uropa2 (Press Release).

Other News:

Asimware have release a demo of MasterISO 2.0, a CD-R/RW program for the Amiga. The demo is available from both Aminet and Asimware while the full program should should be available now. The full press release can be found at the Amiga Web Directory. NovaDesign have teamed up with Safe Harbour Computers and Software Hut to bring massive savings on Aladdin 4D 5.0. If you purchase any produce from either of the two dealers you will be elegible for a discount of $130 on Aladdin. The full press release can be found at the Amiga Web Directoey.
Issue 11 of the Amiga Informer will soon be available. This issue includes an interview with Greg Perry of GPSoftware and reviews of all the latest products including Aladdin and AWEB II 3. And as usual there is a roundup of all the recent Amiga news and announcements. For those who havent yet subscribed there is a secure online SSL credit card subscription service. In other Amiga Informer news, Round 3 of the "Amiga Informer University" is now underway. The competition requires you answer various questions relating to the Amiga. Many prizes are up for grabs including an A1200. For more information please visit Amiga Informer.
Legacy Makers Inc have released a tutorial video for NovaDesign's ImageFX titled Catalyzer. VP Of Nova Design Kermit Woodall is reported to have said "It taught me things I didn't know about our own software!". The video is available for $US39.95. For more information see the Catalyzer website.
Amiga Nutta reports that the authors of Fortress Of Fear which is set to be THE Diablo game are in desperate need of assistance. The authors are interested in hearing from any talented graphicians and musicians. Those that contribute will receive a free copy of the game. More information can be found at Amiga Nutta.
Oxyron have announced the sequel to the 3D smash hit, Trapped 2. The game will be called FratzenGeballer and will ship with an improved version of the 3D engine that appeared in Trapped 2. The full game is due in Summer 1998, a demo will be available very soon. More information including screenshots can be found at Amiga Nutta.
In response to a large amount of interest in the Amiga's latest 3D modelling and rendering program, Tornado3D, Haage & Partner have set up a mailing list for all discussion related to the program. The programmers will be available at times on the list. Information on joining the mailing list can be found at Haage & Partner.
Intangible Assets Manufacturing is slashing 50% off the price for both Disksalv 4 and the "Connect your Amiga" book. The new prices are $US20 and $US12 respectively. A further discount is available for user groups wishing to bulk purchase. For more information see IAM.
An interview with World Foundry, the development team responsible for Explorer2260 and Main and Mangle can be found at Amiga Nutta.
An Australian mirror of Amiga.Org is now available at http://amigaorg.aug.org.au courtesy of the Amiga Users Group Of Victoria.
The Amiga RC5 Effort has once again broken the one million block barrier. This time it was achieved in a record 35 days, almost twice as fast as the previous RC5-56 effort. Unfortunately due to the higher profile of the competition and thus more competitors the Amiga is losing ground. If you are not already involved in the effort and would like to participate, instructions and a client are are available at the Amiga RC5 Effort website.
VerkoSoft have two new games, Wheels Of Fire and BeamBender. Wheels Of Fire is a 3D voxel driving sim while Beambender is a puzzler. Demo's and more information is available at VerkoSoft.
Gamasoft are offering Amiga users a special money saving offer. From now until December 31 both NewYork and Voodoo can be purchased together for only $US65. This offer only applies to direct sales. Alternatively anyone who purchases either Voodoo or NewYork from another dealer is elegible for a $US5 discount from GamaSoft on any future purchases. More information can be found at GamaSoft.
Mushroom PD, specialists in Amos software have announced the release of their latest extension, Jotre. Jotre is an AmosPRO extension that can play the new THX 2.x sound format. THX is a freely distributable music program that can create near C-64 quality music. More information can be found at Mushroom PD.
Randomize have a large range of stylish Amiga clothing now available as well as mouse mats, coffee mugs and Boing beach balls. More information can be found at Randomize.
F1 Licenseware titles are now available from two outlets in the United States according to AmigaFlame. Sagitarius Software and MushroomPD are the latest distributors signed up to sell the largest single collection of Amiga licenseware. More information can be found at AmigaFlame.
Alive MediaSoft, the Amiga games mail order firm and publisher now have a website up and running, it can be found at http://www.pureamiga.co.uk/alive/alive.html. All the latest Amiga games are available from them including their own Blade. More information can be found at AmigaFlame.
AmigaFlame has exclusive news on the latest game from development team, Unique called ACSYS. The game is inspired by the classic Turrican series and features stunning graphics and hopefully gameplay. The final game will require 4mb FAST RAM and a 4x speed CD-ROM. The full press release can be found at AmigaFlame.

Breaking Stories:

Last Updated: 8th December 1997