Both great looking 8bit machines, so unique. Remember playing the arcade machine in Hornsea long ago. I think the atari version sounds brilliant, personally I reckon it's the best version.
Two beautiful machines aren't they, I've always thought the DeLorean TI99 takes some beating for looks. Pole Position was the first ever racing game I played in the arcades I'm pretty sure, such an amazing game. Yep the Atari 800 port is a clear winner here, fantastic port. Cheers Dave😉
@@BowlingForTech cheers Simon, yeah same, the TI99 was out first home computer in the early 80's. We were lucky to have most of the games by the time I bought my Speccy in '87. Some fantastic conversions on the TI. Cheers for watching👍
Man I loved Pole Position on my 800xl. :) I had quite a few cartridges that I bought secondhand from people who bought disk drives. ;) It took a bit for me to save up for one. :)
I didn't know a single person that owned an Atari 400/800 back in the day so it's only in recent years I've got to experience these ports. It certainly had some great ones! Cheers James👍
Very nice video buddy lots of slick crashing chaos in that 2nd version near the end but looked decent overall for sure,🔥 30/30 high praise indeed, well raced.🕹🏎🍀
in the mid '80s I had this game on floppy for my 800XL. I had to be careful not to be too fast as the time remaining is stored as a single byte so overflows at 255.
To be honest mate I didn't think that TI version looked too bad - the stretchy cornering sprite aside 😂 My daughter said the sound was like someone trying to roll their rs 😂 The Atari version does look (and sound) better though. You keep adding games to my C64 list 😅 I've also got it for the VCS somewhere...
haha yes I really am an influencer then, I knew I'd make it some day🤣🤣🤣 Your daughter just cracked me up with that comment btw😆 The Atari version is definitely the superior port here by some margin. Cheers to you and your daughter for watching(or maybe just listening in your daughters case, haha)😊
Yep I really do think the Atari800 port is perfect for an 8bit, absolutely brilliant port. Wish I could have said the same for the TI but not this time😄 Cheers Scott😉
Revs was great, as was the official BBC Micro port of Pole Position which I might cover in a separate vid as I did with Planetoid(although might be pickups this weekend). I just wanted to keep the comparisons to the two systems here, I find it interesting as both computers released the same year, and both retired around the same time aswell although of course the Atari lived on as the 800XL and so on. If only the TI99 could have done similar.
@@RetroClaire yep this particular battle was a no contest. QBert up next, so which system will come out on top there(so happy to have got that working again on the TI).
POLE POSITION is so legendary, i still want to look for the Commodore 64 version of this game 😹. I saw it on a finnish 🇫🇮 website last year, made a bid for it - and lost it to another bidder 😹. At least, i still have the original Arcade version of this game for the PlayStation 2 in a compilation called NAMCO MUSEUM 😺👍🕹️. The TI/99 version of this game looks good 😺👍🕹️. Then again, gotta love the Atari 800XL version 😹😺👍🕹️. Thank you 😸😺👍🕹️.
Hey Arttu, ah hopefully you'll catch that c64 port during your vacation buddy. Both these ports are great fun, but the Atari 800 is the clear winner in this battle for me.🐱👌
Well I think the Atari version is the clear winner here Lee, looks great, the more I see of the 800 the more it looks like a great computer. Obviously wasn't very common or popular here but I wonder if it's actually the best home micro given the support 🤔 That said, if my parents had followed through and bought me the TI-99 I think I'd have loved that version, still looks good I think and the guy in the shop made you miss out I'd say 👍
@@retroimportgamer513 yep I do think I'd have enjoyed the TI version, but tbh we had a fantastic selection of games for it and the amazing racers in the Speccy were waiting for me later on😎 The Atari800 certainly had some incredible ports, think it was probably too expensive here initially abd that's where the later cheaper XL series came in I guess. A well supported system for sure, of course the Speccy would always have been king though😁😉
I'll never forget the dissappointment of getting my copy of TI Atarisoft Pole Position home after weeks of playing on my friends' 800XL's. Yes the car explosions are more true to the arcade than the 800 versions (which uses a pretty standard Atari effect), but it fails in two regards. First, by removing the red/white track shoulders the illusion of speed is destroyed, making the TI version feel quite lethargic. Second, on the 800 (and in the arcade) your car remains dead-centre on the screen, and the track perspective changes, while on the TI-version (and I believe this is ONLY the case on the TI version) the car moves left and right, while the track remains centered. The main disadvantage of this is that individual sprites had to be used for the multi-coloured player vehicle, meaning the other cars were restricted to a single colour to reduce the risk of more than 4 Sprites per scanline (not a concern in the age of F18A's but a real problem on Colecovision's and TI's in the 80'S) Leaving the car stationary center-screen would have allowed the use of bitmaps rather that sprites, making for a much more colourful and arcade-accurate game. The single channel music is an annoyance on all of the Atarisoft TI releases (especially noticeable in Donkey Kong), I attribute this to coders being assigned a system they had little or no prior-familiarity with. Luckily, that still allowed a few truly outstanding ports (Shamus* / Centipede / Donkey Kong /Protector II) along with a couple clunkers (Pole Position / Picnic Paranoia). Atarisoft also included my favourite PacMan and Ms PacMan ports...graphically stunning ports which are as slow as molasses in winter, the perfect speed for my joystick prowess. BUT the Atarisoft titles appeared as TI software was drying up on the retail level, and it was such a treat to walk into my local computer store and see a shelf full of new arcade ports for my system of choice. Haven't had your videos come up in my landing page for awhile, so was thrilled to log in this morning and see a new post from you !!! *(Shamus remains my absolute favourite Atarisoft release. Our sleuth may be a single colour sprite on the the TI, but every screen is there, meaning that generic maps from the internet can be used to beat the game, and the TI ability to display 28 sprites on screen at a time is put to excellent use creating a truly frenetic gameplay.)
hey hello buddy, glad you're still around. Notifications have gone a bit weird lately but this is the third of this series so far(already did Frogger and Defender between these two systems you might like to see). Yes I'm sure they could have done alot better with the TI99 port, would love to see Rasmus work some magic on a behind the car racer on the TI like this, bet he could work some miracles! I always loved Ms Pacman on the TI99, when I was young I never even realised the speed difference, and now like yourself I think it kinda suits my slower reactions so an overall win😁 Shamus was and still is an absolute classic for me too, brilliant that one. Hope you're well my friend.
I prefer the Atari version mate, but bet the controls are quite hard on both versions Lee lol. And don't worry, you did ok there, I'm crap as well buddy 😂😂 Classic Pole Position, nice one bud 👌
@@stewsretroreviews cheers Paul buddy. The Atari 800 version is quite a bit tougher, but certainly in a good way, a blast to play. The TI99 version is kinda chilled which is also nice when you're in the mood for a less manic version😄 Hope your tuber of the Month votes are going well mate👍
@@Tetlee Thanks mate, got most votes from the good old Uk tubers like yourself, not expecting the Americans guys to vote for me mind lol. I'll never win, but it's nice to be involved buddy thanks 😊
@@RetroSK3L3 yep Atari800 port wipes the floor with the TI99 on here. But how about the next comparison due this week, hmm let's see if the TI99 can redeem itself😉
Yep you seem to be like me in loving the TI99 vibrant colours, I'm also the same with those vibrant Speccy and Beeb titles, love some nice vivid colour. But agree the sounds of the Atari are way better here, both the music and the vehicle, passing sounds etc. Cheers Lee🙂
I agree the explosion on the TI is 100x better also i think i prefer the look of the car (from the rear) everything else the Atari does better, it also seems a bit closer to the arcade in terms of difficulty
@@tootyuk yep agree, from directly behind the car the TI99 looks great, just a bit weird when cornering and looks kinda flat. The Atari is the clear winner overall, plays brilliantly! Cheers Stu👍
@@steve36207 yeah the Atari port really is something, great fun version that. The TI99 is decent enough, just not on the same level here. Cheers Steve buddy👍
Yep a very clear winner here Jon. The 800 version is indeed more challenging, I'm far worse at it but it's exciting to play and just a joy tbh. Cheers👍
The atari version looks and sounds great, Yeah definitely the better version, I think I agree With your scoresWith your scores, Have a wonderful weekend
The Atari engine sound is how i would imagine R2D2’s farts would sound and from watching felt like the car wasn’t moving 🤷🏼TI with the road markings i got the sense of speed and i feel looks better but Atari had a couple of things going for it so not sure my tbh 🤷🏼but edited after leaving comment its definitely the TI for the feel of speed 👊🏻
hahaha now I can imagine how R2's farts would sound😆 Hey happy you liked the TI99 port, I actually like that version more than now I thought I did after playing it last which was probably a few years ago now strangely, was a pleasant surprise TBH, but the Atari 800 version is the clear winner on this one for me. Cheers as always Goldie mate.
I was looking forward to seeing pole position on the Ti99 ouch… I take it that racers ain’t the ti99 strong point lol I do like the colours and the sound is good but the car when turining just looks odd and not much sense of speed, the crash sprite also looks good
haha yep, I'm sure they could have done better, would love to see somebody like Rasmus(the TI99 wizard of homebrew) have a go at something like this. There were only two proper racers on the TI99, this and a game called Racing Demon(which was top down) which I've never played and is still on my want to find list, have a feeling that wasn't sold here in the UK. So in my childhood I didn't have any racing games on the TI99 as didn't own this port back then, never really thought about the lack of racing games on there back then, thankfully those good times were to come when I bought the Speccy😎
Both great looking 8bit machines, so unique.
Remember playing the arcade machine in Hornsea long ago.
I think the atari version sounds brilliant, personally I reckon it's the best version.
Two beautiful machines aren't they, I've always thought the DeLorean TI99 takes some beating for looks.
Pole Position was the first ever racing game I played in the arcades I'm pretty sure, such an amazing game.
Yep the Atari 800 port is a clear winner here, fantastic port.
Cheers Dave😉
Very cool gameplay of Pole Position, FW 💯👍
Thanks Kev, such a classic game😎
Great vid. Was lucky enough to have this on the TI back in the day. Felt just like having the arcade at home.
@@BowlingForTech cheers Simon, yeah same, the TI99 was out first home computer in the early 80's. We were lucky to have most of the games by the time I bought my Speccy in '87. Some fantastic conversions on the TI.
Cheers for watching👍
Man I loved Pole Position on my 800xl. :) I had quite a few cartridges that I bought secondhand from people who bought disk drives. ;) It took a bit for me to save up for one. :)
I didn't know a single person that owned an Atari 400/800 back in the day so it's only in recent years I've got to experience these ports. It certainly had some great ones!
Cheers James👍
Very nice video buddy lots of slick crashing chaos in that 2nd version near the end but looked decent overall for sure,🔥 30/30 high praise indeed, well raced.🕹🏎🍀
Hey Patrick, yeah the 800 version is definitely more manic and exciting, I think well deserving of the perfect score here, brilliant port!
Great review - I'd love to revisit Pole position - it's been a while!
@@piecesof8-bit cheers buddy, Pole Position is always worth a revisit, first racing game I ever played in the arcades and it's still brilliant.
in the mid '80s I had this game on floppy for my 800XL. I had to be careful not to be too fast as the time remaining is stored as a single byte so overflows at 255.
@@thisnthat3530 hey that sounds quirky, so the disk would crash in that case?
@@TetleeThe timer would count down from its new very low value to zero and it would be game over.
To be honest mate I didn't think that TI version looked too bad - the stretchy cornering sprite aside 😂 My daughter said the sound was like someone trying to roll their rs 😂 The Atari version does look (and sound) better though. You keep adding games to my C64 list 😅 I've also got it for the VCS somewhere...
haha yes I really am an influencer then, I knew I'd make it some day🤣🤣🤣
Your daughter just cracked me up with that comment btw😆
The Atari version is definitely the superior port here by some margin. Cheers to you and your daughter for watching(or maybe just listening in your daughters case, haha)😊
@@Tetlee it's amazing she listens to you mate, she doesn't listen to me. Can you tell her to tidy her room? 🤣
@@retrotap 😂😂😂
The Atari 800 port of pole position is a great conversion it captures the feel of the arcade,so a tough one for the ti99
Yep I really do think the Atari800 port is perfect for an 8bit, absolutely brilliant port. Wish I could have said the same for the TI but not this time😄
Cheers Scott😉
Be interesting to see Revs alongside those Lee
Revs was great, as was the official BBC Micro port of Pole Position which I might cover in a separate vid as I did with Planetoid(although might be pickups this weekend). I just wanted to keep the comparisons to the two systems here, I find it interesting as both computers released the same year, and both retired around the same time aswell although of course the Atari lived on as the 800XL and so on. If only the TI99 could have done similar.
Yes, it was just the music at the start of the race made me remember Revs. It's been an interesting series of vids 🙂 the Atari definitely won this one
@@RetroClaire yep this particular battle was a no contest. QBert up next, so which system will come out on top there(so happy to have got that working again on the TI).
POLE POSITION is so legendary,
i still want to look for the Commodore 64 version of this game 😹.
I saw it on a finnish 🇫🇮 website last year,
made a bid for it -
and lost it to another bidder 😹.
At least, i still have the original Arcade version of this game for the PlayStation 2 in a compilation called NAMCO MUSEUM 😺👍🕹️.
The TI/99 version of this game looks good 😺👍🕹️.
Then again, gotta love the Atari 800XL version 😹😺👍🕹️.
Thank you 😸😺👍🕹️.
Hey Arttu, ah hopefully you'll catch that c64 port during your vacation buddy.
Both these ports are great fun, but the Atari 800 is the clear winner in this battle for me.🐱👌
Well I think the Atari version is the clear winner here Lee, looks great, the more I see of the 800 the more it looks like a great computer. Obviously wasn't very common or popular here but I wonder if it's actually the best home micro given the support 🤔
That said, if my parents had followed through and bought me the TI-99 I think I'd have loved that version, still looks good I think and the guy in the shop made you miss out I'd say 👍
@@retroimportgamer513 yep I do think I'd have enjoyed the TI version, but tbh we had a fantastic selection of games for it and the amazing racers in the Speccy were waiting for me later on😎
The Atari800 certainly had some incredible ports, think it was probably too expensive here initially abd that's where the later cheaper XL series came in I guess. A well supported system for sure, of course the Speccy would always have been king though😁😉
I'll never forget the dissappointment of getting my copy of TI Atarisoft Pole Position home after weeks of playing on my friends' 800XL's. Yes the car explosions are more true to the arcade than the 800 versions (which uses a pretty standard Atari effect), but it fails in two regards.
First, by removing the red/white track shoulders the illusion of speed is destroyed, making the TI version feel quite lethargic.
Second, on the 800 (and in the arcade) your car remains dead-centre on the screen, and the track perspective changes, while on the TI-version (and I believe this is ONLY the case on the TI version) the car moves left and right, while the track remains centered. The main disadvantage of this is that individual sprites had to be used for the multi-coloured player vehicle, meaning the other cars were restricted to a single colour to reduce the risk of more than 4 Sprites per scanline (not a concern in the age of F18A's but a real problem on Colecovision's and TI's in the 80'S)
Leaving the car stationary center-screen would have allowed the use of bitmaps rather that sprites, making for a much more colourful and arcade-accurate game.
The single channel music is an annoyance on all of the Atarisoft TI releases (especially noticeable in Donkey Kong), I attribute this to coders being assigned a system they had little or no prior-familiarity with. Luckily, that still allowed a few truly outstanding ports (Shamus* / Centipede / Donkey Kong /Protector II) along with a couple clunkers (Pole Position / Picnic Paranoia). Atarisoft also included my favourite PacMan and Ms PacMan ports...graphically stunning ports which are as slow as molasses in winter, the perfect speed for my joystick prowess.
BUT the Atarisoft titles appeared as TI software was drying up on the retail level, and it was such a treat to walk into my local computer store and see a shelf full of new arcade ports for my system of choice.
Haven't had your videos come up in my landing page for awhile, so was thrilled to log in this morning and see a new post from you !!!
*(Shamus remains my absolute favourite Atarisoft release. Our sleuth may be a single colour sprite on the the TI, but every screen is there, meaning that generic maps from the internet can be used to beat the game, and the TI ability to display 28 sprites on screen at a time is put to excellent use creating a truly frenetic gameplay.)
hey hello buddy, glad you're still around. Notifications have gone a bit weird lately but this is the third of this series so far(already did Frogger and Defender between these two systems you might like to see).
Yes I'm sure they could have done alot better with the TI99 port, would love to see Rasmus work some magic on a behind the car racer on the TI like this, bet he could work some miracles!
I always loved Ms Pacman on the TI99, when I was young I never even realised the speed difference, and now like yourself I think it kinda suits my slower reactions so an overall win😁
Shamus was and still is an absolute classic for me too, brilliant that one.
Hope you're well my friend.
@@Tetlee OK, off to see what else I've missed. Don't have to tell you I'll leave a note (or a novella).
@@PeBoVision hey I do love reading comments, the lengthier the better😉
I prefer the Atari version mate, but bet the controls are quite hard on both versions Lee lol.
And don't worry, you did ok there, I'm crap as well buddy 😂😂
Classic Pole Position, nice one bud 👌
@@stewsretroreviews cheers Paul buddy. The Atari 800 version is quite a bit tougher, but certainly in a good way, a blast to play.
The TI99 version is kinda chilled which is also nice when you're in the mood for a less manic version😄
Hope your tuber of the Month votes are going well mate👍
@@Tetlee Thanks mate, got most votes from the good old Uk tubers like yourself, not expecting the Americans guys to vote for me mind lol.
I'll never win, but it's nice to be involved buddy thanks 😊
@@stewsretroreviews ah they don't know what they're missing. Do they even have sheds over there? 😄
@@Tetlee No, probably just nice mansions 😆 🤣 Thanks bud 👍
Great video and comparison. Got to be the first time I've been disappointed by something I've seen on the TI99.
@@RetroSK3L3 yep Atari800 port wipes the floor with the TI99 on here. But how about the next comparison due this week, hmm let's see if the TI99 can redeem itself😉
I like the Ti99 for its vibrant colours and crash graphics but i prefer the sound effects on the Atari version
Yep you seem to be like me in loving the TI99 vibrant colours, I'm also the same with those vibrant Speccy and Beeb titles, love some nice vivid colour. But agree the sounds of the Atari are way better here, both the music and the vehicle, passing sounds etc. Cheers Lee🙂
I agree the explosion on the TI is 100x better also i think i prefer the look of the car (from the rear) everything else the Atari does better, it also seems a bit closer to the arcade in terms of difficulty
@@tootyuk yep agree, from directly behind the car the TI99 looks great, just a bit weird when cornering and looks kinda flat.
The Atari is the clear winner overall, plays brilliantly!
Cheers Stu👍
That atari version looks so much like the arcade lee buddy 😍 which is what we wanted 😄 the ti99 don't look bad though bud
@@steve36207 yeah the Atari port really is something, great fun version that. The TI99 is decent enough, just not on the same level here.
Cheers Steve buddy👍
The 800 version seems quite a bit more challenging! I like that.. the edge has to go to the Atari, I think.
Yep a very clear winner here Jon. The 800 version is indeed more challenging, I'm far worse at it but it's exciting to play and just a joy tbh.
Cheers👍
The atari version looks and sounds great, Yeah definitely the better version, I think I agree With your scoresWith your scores, Have a wonderful weekend
@@marcgoesblindgaming2076 yep would be difficult to make an argument here Marc, the Atari version is brilliant.
Have a fab weekend yourself mate😉
The Atari engine sound is how i would imagine R2D2’s farts would sound and from watching felt like the car wasn’t moving 🤷🏼TI with the road markings i got the sense of speed and i feel looks better but Atari had a couple of things going for it so not sure my tbh 🤷🏼but edited after leaving comment its definitely the TI for the feel of speed 👊🏻
hahaha now I can imagine how R2's farts would sound😆
Hey happy you liked the TI99 port, I actually like that version more than now I thought I did after playing it last which was probably a few years ago now strangely, was a pleasant surprise TBH, but the Atari 800 version is the clear winner on this one for me.
Cheers as always Goldie mate.
You’re right that the Atari is better looking but the crash animation wasn’t as cool!
@@bundjohn yep spot on, the Atari version is a belter of a game.
Cheers John👍
I was looking forward to seeing pole position on the Ti99 ouch…
I take it that racers ain’t the ti99 strong point lol I do like the colours and the sound is good but the car when turining just looks odd and not much sense of speed, the crash sprite also looks good
haha yep, I'm sure they could have done better, would love to see somebody like Rasmus(the TI99 wizard of homebrew) have a go at something like this. There were only two proper racers on the TI99, this and a game called Racing Demon(which was top down) which I've never played and is still on my want to find list, have a feeling that wasn't sold here in the UK. So in my childhood I didn't have any racing games on the TI99 as didn't own this port back then, never really thought about the lack of racing games on there back then, thankfully those good times were to come when I bought the Speccy😎
Atari 800 for me both blocky but the cars on the TI99 you overtake are so much less detail
Yes agree, the Atari800 is the better, it actually plays great too with just the right amount of challenge.
Cheers Colin.