Databiotics: Last Kings of the TI-99/4A Game Cartridge
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- Опубліковано 26 чер 2023
- This is a review of 25 titles from California's Databiotics, released in the late 80s for TI-99/4A, when the days of the TI-99/4A had long since come and gone. There were some TI classics to be newly discovered even in 1987-1989 cartridge production, thanks to DBT. Reviewed here are:
1. Barrage
2. Beyond Parsec
3. Black Hole
4. Boxer
5. Breakthrough!
6. Burger Builder
7. D*Station I
8. D*Station II
9. Dragonflyer/Spot Shot
10. Escape!
11. Face Chase
12. Junkman Jr.
13. Mancala
14. Micro Pinball II
15. Micro Tennis
16. Midnight Mason
17. QMaze
18. Red Baron
19. Sorgan II
20. Space Patrol
21. Spy's Demise
22. Star Runner
23. Star Trap
24. Stargazer 1, 2 & 3
25. TI Toad - Ігри
These late 80s carts were highly anticipated at the time. And the only way to get them was by viewing the pages of a few catalogues like Triton
The Ti-994A was my first computer! It will always be remembered fondly! Tunnels of Doom had a group of my friends over for hour after hour! Loved that machine! And Compute magazine! Such fun times. 😎😎😎😎
Mine too, but i was only 5 when we got it in c. 1983 when TI was pulling out of the market
The 99 was such an underrated machine. Those games look great.
it's such a pity that TI bottlenecked the 16-bit cpu with 256 bytes of RAM and 8 bit slow data bus; and Tramiel revenge campaign on TI put the last nail in the coffin.But it remains a beloved system to all of us who owned 99s back then in early 80s.
2:05 TI was so cart-based that even the memory expansion looks like a giant cart
I was just thinking last week we haven't heard from pixel in a while. And here he is! 😅
I thought so too. But thank God he is back 😊
I disappeared into a software development rabbit hole for a while, but I'm back at it here on UA-cam at last.
@@PixelPedant you ever think about doing dev streams or uploads of you working? Some of my most fun streams were dev streams on a ROMhack I did, lots and lots of rabbit holes 🐇🕳️
I ended up with a TI99/4A after literally waiting months being fobbed off by Sinclair Research waiting for the brand new Spectrum 16K to be shipped, eventually my parents cancelled the order and got a TI99/4A instead, before that I had a ZX81 and before that a ZX80. In my opinion the TI99/4A was considerably superior to the original rubber key Spectrum, especially with it's speech synthesizer which I also had. My favourite games were Parsec and Alpiner, both of which took advantage of speech. A couple of years later I'd moved on to the Commodore 64 followed by the Atari ST and Commodore Amiga so I never got the see these later impressive games.
Hermano que suerte poder haber disfrutado de esas computadoras hogareñas. Yo tuve una ti99/4a hasta principios de los 90, luego pasamos a un clon de PC, pero sigo prendado por estos cahcarros 😂😂😂
It’s a crime that Tom Bodett: TI 99 4/A Edition doesn’t have more subscribers!
Thanks for doing these! (Miss the beard.) I'm wondering if you could do a video on using the TI 99/4A for small-but-satisfying programming projects. For example, running a simulation of the Monty Hall problem to determine the answer. Or the Hawk-Doves game (game theory) or a magic 8-ball, or the Game of Life (John Conway). It seems like the TI 99/4A could still be a great platform for these.
I'll certainly get back to doing a video about TI-99 coding projects and strategies at some point. No doubt about that.
@@PixelPedant I wonder if you would be up to having viewers send in homemade programs for you to review or comment upon. Unfortunately I do not have any of my original programs but you've piqued my interest to program on it again (by emulators).
It's very interesting to explore those old and simple games when trying to learn how to build a game :)
I really enjoyed this video and gives me the "warm and fuzzies" seeing some of my work referenced in the video. I appreciate the trip down memory lane PixelPedant. John Phillips.
Nice! Thanks. Always glad to hear someone who contributed to the TI library himself gets something out of my content :)
Love watching these videos of TI stuff. I have quite the affinity for the hardware. Amusing (to me) side note, the company Soft-Tex that you can see on the right side of the scanned page, when you're talking about Magic Software, is/was about 20 minutes from me growing up.
That is a fun sidenote. A lot of stories lost in those catalogue and magazine pages, that sometimes only live on in the foggy old memories of a few, in the community.
I haven't seen the video yet but Thank you! I have been looking for another from you and I know you have been busy, thanks again!
The TI-99 had a lot of potential. After all, the Colecovision, which had some of the very best arcade conversions for years, is based on almost exactly the same hardware. It's a shame that management made so many mistakes along the way, especially in the beginning.
Brilliant video as always PP, great to see you back with anotther vid.
Oh man, Strong Bad needs to do Star Runner for Disk 4 of 12. Especially since it's very close to the name of his frenemy.
I wish I'd had some of these carts back in the day. They would have kept me playing my TI-99/4A a few more years, at a time when it was really looking long in the tooth and all the other kids had Nintendo.
New Sub! Dryden, Mich.
Almost got my hands on one of these last year, Complete, free: just had to pick it up.... 6 miles away... Wife had the kiddos.
Dad had a heart attack, I had to rush Downtown. Guy threw it out in the trash the next morning.
I recall using one a handful of times growing up in the 80s. Nothing I really remember, Everyone & School had Apple ][ lol
Great to see another one of your videos. I never knew there were interesting games coming from that era. Great content and information as always. Thanks for sharing!
I saved my TI99 4a from the trash, boxed with a few carts and in working order, what a beaut of a machine!
Midnight Mason and Star Runner are my favorite ones in this listing
"take the trackball for a spin"
There is something missing on this video I can't quite picture what ;)
Never had any Databiotics cartridges back in the day as I'd already moved on from my TI99/4A by that point and the cartridges would have been nigh on impossible to find here in the UK. It was hard enough getting any software whatsoever for the machine. I've got a few Databiotics cartridges now though, Munchman 2, Micro Pinball, Micro Tennis, Spy's Demise, Red Baron and Junkman Jnr representing my current haul.
Glad I wasn't the only one disappointed with Beyond Parsec, it truly was a turd of a game. I'd like to get my hands on Barrage though.
Great video as always.....Keep them coming!!!!
Excellent video!
One of my thoughts is that that Tennis game was actually one of the 7 originally planned Imagic titles (5 we know of and another 2 were never announced). Look up Tournament Tennis by Imagic and see what you think. Also, it was programmed for Imagic by some guys in Nice, France. Note that the TI Tennis game says "Nicesoft" on the title screen, at least the pre-DBT version does. The other Imagic title might have been Dragonfire, as according to some Australia Imagic press releases, that one was coming (Imagic took over distribution of TI items in Australia in 1984 FYI).
I also would not be surprised that Junkman Jr (originally Jumpman Jr as shown in an earlier release) was actually the Epyx official conversion planned in 1983. I would not be surprised if DBT got some of the people who had games that never made it out the door and put them out later (renamed)
What a well done video! I wish l knew about Barrage back then! I certainly wouldn't have wasted my $$$ on Parsec ll....what a let down! Munchman ll was pretty good, but l still find myself going back to the original...
It's a curious mix of ambitious and lackluster games in those final 2-3 years! Games like T.I. Toad are actually play very well, but it's like, you couldn't be bothered to make the graphics more interesting? They look like Extended BASIC games.
Can't remember the issue, but 99er Mag (or later incarnation "Home Computer Magazine") have a type-in XB Frogger clone that is outstanding... one of the few type listings that really delivered arcade action without assembler calls. We TI enthusiasts didn't get a speedy game development BASIC, so it was nice when a magazine pushed the limits. Of course Frogger has a lot of 'set-the-sprite-moving-and-forget-about-it' which XB does VERY well.
Definitely have encountered D-Station before, or a clone of it, on a NES-on-a-chip style plug-n-play.
Parsec was such a classic. Way better than Defender or Scramble. Iconic legend for the TI994a. Beyond Parsec may easily be one the greatest disappointments I have ever seen in game sequels. I'm so glad I was smart enough to know by the screenshots at a much younger age that this wasn't going to be Parsec but an abomination instead.
I remember getting all exited when I saw a game called Junkman Jr. because I was familiar with Jumpman for the Atari 800. Never ended up getting the game. In fact I never had any of these late titles for some reason I don't remember. Used to get catalogs in the mail from Texas Instruments and ordered quite a few games. During that time I was getting games I liked but didn't have yet as many were quite cheap. Burger Builder looks disappointing considering that BurgerTime which I owned was such a good port. Honestly I was hoping for better games at this era. The Ti994a had great hardware and I wish more devs took advantage of what could have been. The homebrew community has a a few surprises.
I recently saw a couple ti99/4a computers for sale locally on criagslist (1 black and 1 beige). It's taking a lot of willpower to not pick them up and your videos don't help! But really, keep 'em coming!
damn! I had no idea I owned so many "collector's items" (except Spot Shot - since I remember the stupid price I paid for it with manual and baggie).
Thank you so much for covering the DBT collection (and explaning who Software Specialties is)
I should mention, there actually is a MicroPinball without the II. I have two MicroPinball carts, both labelled "MicroPinball" with no number, but one contains Micro Pinball and the other MicroPinball II. There are missing roll-overs on the path at the right side, no award gutter covers, and 1 says "MicroPinball" on screen and the other "MicroPinball II". Also the flashing of the title when bonuses are achieved only happens in MicroPinball II. It's instantly obvious that 1 is just an unfinished version of 2, but both versions ARE out there. (There is always a possibility that my copy of 1 is a burned eprom from a disc source - I'll have to open it up and see)
There is also a disk version of Junkman Jr, CALLED "Jumpman Jr" which is a far more faithful clone, and includes ALL of the screens, including the "EpyxJumpman" puzzle level. Both versions contain a bug on level 2, where if you accidentally collect one of the pieces out of sequence and then loose a life, a permanent flame will form on the ladder, making it impossible to complete the level. BUT WE GOT Jumpman!!!!!!! The ultimate plaformer of the 1980's, challenged only by LodeRunner which as you point out we got in TI-Runner/Star Runner. Thank You DBT!!!!!
Two interesting collector notes:
Space Patrol is the only DataBiotics cartridge with a black label instead of white.
In playing Spy's Demise, you uncover codewords. as you move through the levels. Back in the day you could send those codewords into the publisher (Penguin Publishing of paperback fame) and get a free Tee-Shirt! Not sure if the DBT cart was an official release and part of the promotion, although I believe it's mentioned in the manual (could be wrong - I AM old and senile after all, and too lazy to get up and look!).
Luckily I'm only missing a few of the DBT cart collection (Escape, BreakThru, Face Chase & Sorgan II)...I say luckily, because I really want to complete the set, but they're often mighty pricey when I find them (I do have an extra copy of The Great Word Race, if someone can offer a trade)
One you missed was "Pro-Typer" which yes, is a typing tutor, but it also includes a little typing game.
(And hey, those covers look mighty familiar!)
Visible mouse pointer?!
Thought I had commented on this (game size vs quality), but some of these were 8K and some were 16 or 32. Red Baron was the largest at 32. Did you put Sorgan under “game” too?
I tend to classify into Entertainment (including games), Education, and Productivity (everything else), myself. Mainly since TI used Entertainment and Education labeling explicitly. So I look at Sorgan as Entertainment software. But these are pretty loose categories, needless to say.
Help! Help! Need new video!!!!!
Indeed, I've got to get on that. Though the script is mostly finished. Sometimes, life just gets in the way.
A to zed?! Canuck?
At least the Breakout clone(and almost surely MicroTennis) is a rip-off from the Atlacatl Home Computer(Same GPU, sound and voice synthetizer, but with a 6502A), the original clone being made by Computer Data Systems, company that unlike Atlacatl(bought by Microstrategy in the late 90s to make payment apps that ended up being vaporware) is still alive to this very day.
The Atlacatl was also licensed to a chinese company named Video Technologies in the very late 70s to make it into a Game Console, but also seems having ended up being vaporware.
When did your younger brother take over the show?
Lol can't believe he cut that beautiful stache
Parsec was decent and one that you could regularly come back to. The others lost my attention pretty quickly
I rather like the Mancala adoption.
They made the mistake of having good carts... That meant fewer peripheral sales I suppose.¯\_(ツ)_/¯
After a couple years watching your videos, it's a bit odd to see you clean-shaven! You look good, but different!
I'm with you on that. It is a bit odd seeing me clean-shaven, still!
@@PixelPedant Separated at birth from Happy Days Richie Cunningham 🤣