Date:	June 24, 2000
	Location:	Austin, TX
	Hosts:	Tim Wilson & James Garvin of OMC Games

Joe's JagFest Report

There were about 15 people there (if you include the three wackos that just walked in and sat down and started playing games...)

Total Carnage is totally complete, but the "Option" button automatically skips you to the next level. Scott seemed to think that part was incomplete - maybe that's how they were going to leave it?? The game is pretty much arcade perfect, except for the controls, which use the keypad for 8-direction fire. We tried hooking up a pro controller to see if that would help with the fire control issue, but basically the best way to play is to set the controller on a flat surface and have one hand on the D-pad and one hand on the keypad. Scott said that Bally(?) wouldn't get together a contract for anyone to release it, but that Carl was currently trying to negotiate it. Total Carnage is a definite buy if he ends up working out the details - I'm not aware of any other Jaguar game of this genre. For those of you who are not familiar with the game, it is similar in concept to Taito's old arcade game, Front Line. Very impressive with great sound and graphics.

If you look a few posts down, Mark posted the rom image for Phase Zero. After seeing all the stuff available, I'm going to get me a cheap Jag at VGLQ to mod. Phase Zero is VERY smooth and the graphics are quite good. It is not very challenging, though. One of the highlights is being able to shoot at the trees and watch them light up like a torch.

The completed cart version of Brett Hull Hockey was also available for play. The graphics are so-so and the control is good, but not great. Very easy to get penalties. I didn't play it enough to see if there were settings to change to make the penalties less frequent.

Slam Racer was also available to play. I didn't play it, but it looked very similar to Power Drive Rally, only amazingly smoother. Only one level available on that one.

As far as I know, they only got the title screen of Arkanna to show up... I was looking forward to seeing it in action, along with The Assassin, but that didn't happen either.

Scott brought Carl's new games, of which Skyhammer and Hyper Force got the most play time, with Protector running a close third. I played Skyhammer and Protector - I will probably try to pick up Protector as soon as I can hack together a joystick for the Jag... I couldn't see how you could play it effectively without a stick.

Scott also brought Battlesphere, but unfortunately he was the only one with a copy, so there was no networked play. He did, however, bring two Jagmodems which were successfully linked in a game of Ultra Vortek. The voice was not hooked up, so that capability was not demonstrated. The two units were sitting side by side, so it wasn't quite as dramatic demonstration as it could have been, but oh well. The game would periodically slow down to snail speed, apparently because of modem communication problems, but otherwise there was no lag.

There were some great door prizes, including a complete vendor kit for the Jaguar that included: a vinyl banner, IS and AvP posters, bumper stickers, game flyers, brochures, and a cool cardboard table display that had tear-off coupons for a "free controller when you buy a system". Other door prizes included a Club Drive cart with a Jaguar pin, a Dino Dudes cart with a Jaguar pin, a Jaguar keychain, and a complete copy of Missile Command 3D. Joel, the winner of the Ultra Vortek contest (thanks to a cheesy overuse of Lucius' flying hawk move), won the grand prize of a Lynx system with carrying case that included a comlynx cable, AC adaptor, sun shield, battery pack, and a copy of Batman Returns.

The fest was well-planned (Thanks again Tim!) with a room that was very comfortable (even had couches and cushioned chairs!). Having it in the UT Union was a great idea, since there was a Wendy's fast food right down the hall. Chow down on the Biggie fry and get back to playing games! Scott made the day interesting with all of his great protos, and it seems that he's raising his son to be a Jag fanatic too.

I've still got quite a few standard Jag controllers available, and I'm still looking for Atari Karts and Defender 2000 to trade with someone. Missile Command 3D is available to trade!

-Joe