Intellivision Amico - Tommy Tallarico introduction + Q&A

5 minutes ago, Tommy Tallarico said:

Our Founder's Edition patches came in this week. Pretty cool!

Who here will be getting one of these??

Yep, getting it - was hovering over the Buy Now button when the Founder's launched!

26 minutes ago, Tommy Tallarico said:

Our Founder's Edition patches came in this week. Pretty cool!

Who here will be getting one of these??

2 hours ago, IntelliMission said:

Wow, that was one of the shortest lived conspiracy theories I've ever seen... Good job, @Tommy Tallarico !

Isn't this a really cool section of video from SmashJT's video from over a month ago.

 

1 hour ago, Tommy Tallarico said:

Our Founder's Edition patches came in this week. Pretty cool!

Who here will be getting one of these??

Yessir, FE and Black coming this way.

Hey Tommy, I've never touched the disc but it looks extremely cool and people who have tried it say it works better than an analog stick.

Do you think it has the potential (not saying it will happen) and deserves to actually replace current analog sticks in modern consoles? I'm not asking from a "could it happen" point of view, but from a "would it work better" one.

Wouldn't it be something if Amico had a power glove controller like the NES did?  Of course the power glove controls were not easy to use and were not very accurate.  But with the Amico controller it would be much better.  Of course having a power glove accessory on Amico probably won't happen.  Unless Tommy got permission from Nintendo.  Anyway, it would cool to see the power glove come back.  By the way, Mattel manufactured the glove for the US.  I never knew that.

1 hour ago, Tommy Tallarico said:

Le nostre patch Founder's Edition sono arrivate questa settimana. Abbastanza bello!

Chi ne riceverà uno qui ??

Very beautifull! I can't wait to have The Founders Edition in my hands.

51 minutes ago, IntelliMission said:

Hey Tommy, I've never touched the disc but it looks extremely cool and people who have tried it say it works better than an analog stick.

 

Do you think it has the potential (not saying it will happen) and deserves to actually replace current analog sticks in modern consoles? I'm not asking from a "could it happen" point of view, but from a "would it work better" one.

We own the patent... so I don't think that would happen... but lets hope so!

12 minutes ago, Crusader71 said:

Very beautifull! I can't wait to have The Founders Edition in my hands.

I can't wait for you to have the Founders Edition in your hands also!!!

Just now, Tommy Tallarico said:

I can't wait for you to have the Founders Edition in your hands also!!!

 

 

I can't wait to have a bunch of Founders Editions in my hands. 😂

4 hours ago, Tommy Tallarico said:

Our Founder's Edition patches came in this week. Pretty cool!

Who here will be getting one of these??

Very nice !!! I’ll be getting 2 😎 and now it has to come out in 2021 because the patch says so 😜

13 minutes ago, Cranker said:

Very nice !!! I’ll be getting 2 😎 and now it has to come out in 2021 because the patch says so 😜

I'm getting one.  Nice observation on the date.

https://youtu.be/QL6wB3sVdtI

This is a Tommy interview coming up on 5/11 at 3pm ET.  

5 hours ago, Tommy Tallarico said:

Our Founder's Edition patches came in this week. Pretty cool!

Who here will be getting one of these??

Meeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!

3 hours ago, Intellivision Master said:

https://youtu.be/QL6wB3sVdtI

 

This is a Tommy interview coming up on 5/11 at 3pm ET.  

This is a group of UK guys who are skeptical about Amico but respectful with their thoughts so it should be a good one!

so how much controller lag was there and how much lag is there now?

6 hours ago, grips03 said:

so how much controller lag was there and how much lag is there now?

When asked directly about gameplay lag using the disc on twitter, the IGN writer said "no lag".  Touchscreen lag was with the controller display.

To add to the above there's a video in the IGN article showing the issue with the controller display, so you can see it for yourself.

I thought the Intellivision folks said there was controller lag and then it was improved.  So I was wondering what the old number was and what is the new improved number is.  Both numbers can't be zero, as most wireless controllers have some lag to them. 

Is there touch screen lag too?  Was that improved as well?  If yes, what is the old and new number?

No precise input latency measurements have been posted.  Comments are based on impressions from people that played it which has been no lag.  The controller display issue in the IGN article video is what IE has said they addressed with newer firmware.

After all the excitement, controversy, we can all just listed to the original vision!
I'm not sure how early it was. Day#1? I didn't hear about Amico until PRGE 2018.

I wonder, @Tommy, have you kept a calendar of how many presentations, hours,
and questions you have answered since May 2018? It could be a World Record! 🏆
 

 
Back then, we lived in an optimistic time, without Covid, and fewer grey hairs!

5 hours ago, mr_me said:

To add to the above there's a video in the IGN article showing the issue with the controller display, so you can see it for yourself.

There was a better video of the controller (when it was resistive, even) last year and it shows it was responsive then on the local screen and joypad, ironically.

Thoughts on Oregon Trail and Amico.

tl;dr: The new Oregon Trail (Apple Arcade), the best looking and sounding Oregon Trail game ever, would benefit from faster game play on Amico and that's doable.

----

I finally came across a full play video of the new Oregon Trail for Apple Arcade. It's very nice. It's a "retro reimagined" version, notably different then prior versions. Modern graphics with 8bit touches around the edges.

My personal favorite Oregon Trail is the 1990 DOS version. It's a port (with improved graphics) of the 1985 Apple II version that is the one most often referenced and remembered. Later versions, like Oregon Trail II, added a lot of complexity and the time to play went up. The 1985/1990 builds do a nice job of combining history, fun, and allocation lessons while not going on for hours.

Here's the full walk through of the new OT. Of special interest is at 2:45:35, when one of the pioneers gets attacked by a bear. There just so happens to be a tree in the way so you can't see the act.
 

Gameloft did The Oregon Trail HD (and Earthworm Jim HD) for mobile about a decade ago, and the game looked like OT more then it played like OT. Redemption has come with this new version (only for Apple Arcade at present... ...boo!).

"But will it Amico?" That's an interesting question. The game play video above goes on for 3.5 hours. That's a long game for Amico, but one could save/resume games to divide it up, and the game play looks pretty overall reasonable. This is the best looking and sounding Oregon Trail game ever.

I think there's a market for a deeper OT game such as this one (and OT II), but it's also nice to have a game where you can make it to the Willamette Valley in half an hour.

Ways to speed up the Apple Arcade OT:
1. This game adds the element of the party members having individual traits, and because of this added depth, a lot of time is spent with who does what. If that element could be turned off, it'd save a lot of time. It could be kept with a lot of time savings by simply having the roles declared at the beginning of the game. Who do you want to pick berries? Who do you want to handle trading? Who should handle the sick? Who should handle sick animals?
2. Get rid of the graphical allocation of supplies part of the game. It's a new thing, takes up time, and seems limited on return.
3. Make the elapsed time per "day" go much faster. A side scrolling day in the new Oregon Trail takes much longer than in 1985/1990 Oregon Trail, and shortening the time between days takes away little from the game play experience, while speeding things up significantly.
4. Maybe reduce the role of wagon maintenance overall. It looks like a reasonable addition to the game, but if it was turned down a little, the game would be quicker.
5. The variable routes between destinations isn't a new thing (1985/1990 OT let you decide between Ft. Bridger and Green River crossing, OT II added more destinations (and starting points), and OT4 had a lot of route options), but they do take time, and having only watched the new OT (I don't own Apple anything), I question the return on time (and historical relevance).

Another obvious way to speed up Oregon Trail on Amico is to have a "Classic" mode where you're playing a 1985/1990 rules version but with modern graphics and maybe a few small upgrades such as displaying individual health levels. I like some of the additions in the new OT, but 1985/1990 OT has a nice flow.

What about Amico OT multi-player modes? That would take some experimentation to figure those out. Being individual party members is certainly a possibility. Be on Ox? Maybe. Two wagon mode? That could work.

However it might happen, I'd love to see Amico OT.