Commodore CDTV and Amiga gaming

[Menegrothx]

I'd like to start Amiga gaming but I don't know which system is my best option. Amiga 500, Amiga 1200, Commodore CDTV or Amiga CD32?
I recently found a guy who's selling a CDTV unit and since it's kinda rare, I'm intrigued. It comes with a floppy disk drive, so can I play regular Amiga games on it? And since they both use CDs, can CDTV play CD32 games and vice versa? If CDTV isnt compatible with Amiga/CD32 stuff, I doubt it's a very good purchase for a new comer?
Edit:
I wasn sure whether to post this in Personal Computers or Other Platforms so I posted it here

[norecess]

Hi,

CDTV is an Amiga 500 to be sit near a TV.
No, CDTV can't play CD32 games.

You best bet for real Amiga gaming is Amiga 1200 first, then Amiga 500 as second choice. I personally have Amiga 600 which I love for its form factor.

To get games on it, you can use floppies but they tend to be slow to load. That's why I registered to WhdLoad and loads floppy disc images directory from Amiga 600's hard drive.

[AgentBurnwood]

Depending on how much your seller is asking for the CDTV, it may be very much in your interests to pick it up. They are indeed very rare and obscure, and are a real collectors item. Even if you don't plan to keep it, it will not go down in value and you may be able to sell it in the (very near) future to acquire other systems of interest to you. Here's a very informative site for the CDTV that may help you with your decision:

http://www.videogameconsolelibrary.com/pg90-cdtv.htm

and, for the CD32:
http://www.videogameconsolelibrary.com/pg90-cd32.htm

Check to make sure that the unit your seller has is at least playable- all the cables, controllers, and a game or so are present. Note that a complete setup also includes the monitor designed for the system, though it works fine on any TV. Perhaps that could help you negotiate a fair price with the seller.

As for games themselves, the CDTV only had a few dozen exclusives, most of the rest are ports from the desktop systems. Games are extremely difficult to find after 20 some years for both the CDTV and the CD32, but especially for the CDTV. Do not pass up a chance to acquire any. Luckily, both the CDTV and the CD32s can play "backups" of all the CD games off of CD-Rs just like most early CD systems without copy protection. And lastly, as somebody who used to have (at different times) both a CDTV setup and a CD32, they games available for the are both unique and well worth playing on average, and you will enjoy the time you spend with them.

[Menegrothx]

Depending on how much your seller is asking for the CDTV, it may be very much in your interests to pick it up. They are indeed very rare and obscure, and are a real collectors item. .

Thanks for the informative post. The guy is asking 260 US dollars for it. The set includes
PAL CDTV
CDTV keyboard
Mouse
CDTV remote controller
Model 1411 disk drive
5 of those loose CD thingies, I dont know what they are

The system works and is pictured with games, but doesnt come with any.


The article talks about FMV card on the CD32. Is it something similiar to the CD-i's digital video cartridge? Are there any notable FMV games on the system? Prey: An Alien Encounter and Psycho Killer on the CDTV both look promising, judging by the screenshots.
It says

The CD-ROM drive supports the Audio CD, Karaoke CD, CD+G and CDTV software formats.

on the CD32 article. Can it play CDTV games then?

Besides the usual Amiga games, I'm intrested in the CD32 because as far as I know, it has some point and click adventure games and other similiar Amiga/MS-DOS titles that werent ported to other consoles in the west, like LucasArts games and Beneath a Steel Sky. Is that true? I dont really care that much about the titles that were also ported to other consoles like 3DO and Jaguar. And playing back up games should be easier since it's a CD based system.

[d123456]

Not a big fan of the Amiga, I played one for years, but if you know what you are getting into I just want to give you a big tip. Get a boot disc (not sure what to call it) that will configure your Amiga to run at 60 Hz. You just put in the floppy, it will load in second and tada, full screen and full speed gaming. For 50 hz pal optimized games the screen will have been cut off top and bottom when running in 60hz, so that might not be best suited for pal optimized games, yet they will run smoother and quicker.

[Ivo]

CD32 can play most CDTV stuff (unless there is some incompatibility, I don't know if you can find a list but I doubt it). You could try emulating the stuff and seeing if it runs though.

There is a Beneath a Steel Sky port for CD32 with voice acting:

but there are also good PC versions of that game.

You don't really need the FMV card for the CD32, I don't think there are any actual games that require it, but you get extra movies in some games (Cannon Fodder for example). You can just check the extra stuff on youtube.

Ivo.

[Menegrothx]

There is a Beneath a Steel Sky port for CD32 with voice acting:

but there are also good PC versions of that game.

I'm intrested in buying console versions of classic computer games like Beneath a Steel sky and Lucas arts adventure games as it's quite hard to find boxed copies of 1990s PC games, and even if you find them, they wont work on a modern computer with out DOSbox. I can play the best available version of on an emulator via downloaded rom and settle for a less optimal console version when it comes to owning the actual physical copy, like Monkey Island on Sega CD. That's a big reason why I want to own a CDTV/CD32.

[Ivo]

There is a Beneath a Steel Sky port for CD32 with voice acting:

but there are also good PC versions of that game.

I'm intrested in buying console versions of classic computer games like Beneath a Steel sky and Lucas arts adventure games as it's quite hard to find boxed copies of 1990s PC games, and even if you find them, they wont work on a modern computer with out DOSbox. I can play the best available version of on an emulator via downloaded rom and settle for a less optimal console version when it comes to owning the actual physical copy, like Monkey Island on Sega CD. That's a big reason why I want to own a CDTV/CD32.

Fair enough, just giving you the info. From memory there aren't that many CD versions of these adventure games on the Amiga, although most will have excellent versions in floppy. Be aware that getting an external floppy drive hooked up to a CD32 to run those in original form will probably be quite expensive, although it is probably possible to get the games running from burned CDs.

Ivo.

[Menegrothx]

Be aware that getting an external floppy drive hooked up to a CD32 to run those in original form will probably be quite expensive, although it is probably possible to get the games running from burned CDs.

Ivo.

I didnt even know you can do that. I guess I'll go for a CD32 first and then get an Amiga 1200, since I want to own a real keyboard Amiga too some day

[Ivo]

Be aware that getting an external floppy drive hooked up to a CD32 to run those in original form will probably be quite expensive, although it is probably possible to get the games running from burned CDs.

Ivo.

I didnt even know you can do that. I guess I'll go for a CD32 first and then get an Amiga 1200, since I want to own a real keyboard Amiga too some day

I'm not sure how easy it is to do it yourself, but it is generally possible. I think you would have to fiddle around with WHDLoad, which is software originally intended to get floppy games to install to a hard drive, and I think somehow it is also doable to get them to boot out of CD.