I always use EGA with GameARTS games. For one, there's more pixel resolution in the artwork than a typical game that throws in EGA support as a second measure that dithers on the fly.
Try it on Zeliard and Firehawk, it makes a difference there more than Thexder.
Also, on a CRT monitor of the time you wouldn't notice the vertical stripes as clearly.

EGA seems better to me 😀

The extra resolution of EGA looks great but the Tandy version definitely looks to have more colors. Hard to judge.

I never did like the look in EGA, even when I had a real EGA card and monitor. Definitely Tandy for me. Looks so much cleaner imho. Not to mention it has better sound. The EGA image only has 6 colours, 4 if you don't count black and white as colours, 2 if you also don't count the yellow and green that are used only in the energy bar. The Tandy image uses 10 colours, including black and white.

Even with the dithering, they only have a total of 11 simulated colours in that shot. That's still less than the EGA could display. They could've gone the whole way and done high resolution without dithering. That would look awesome. Wouldn't have been a speed problem either, because of the way Thexder drew its levels (which was quite ingenious).

Yes. It seems they didn't take advantage of EGA capabilities.

One of my favourite EGA games was "If it moves, shoot it" a.k.a "Phantom Fighter". One of the best EGAs I have never seen.

[Moved to Milliways Section now that the poll is on]

Back when I still had a Tandy 1000, I always opted for Tandy graphics over standard CGA/EGA if the game gave me a choice of which I wanted to use. I really should get another one. I miss how much better a lot of games looked on it.

I've never played Thexder, but the Tandy version (picture a) looks better, despite its lower resolution.

BTW, we can create pool?

Both versions have their good points.

The EGA high-resolution version is closer to the original Japanese computer versions, if not exact. The Japanese computers of the 1980s tended to use high-resolution, low-color graphics (for Kanji support).

The Tandy version is easier on the eyes and more colorful. Both the EGA and the Tandy use the same number of colors. Of equal importance, the Tandy version may be the only way to experience 3-voice Tandy sound.

Playing Thexder on my Tandy 1000 SX system I didn't have the option of EGA graphics, but when I eventually tried it on a Pentium system with EGA graphics... I wasn't too impressed. >_>;

I like the Tandy graphics better because they're more solid and colourful. The EGA graphics have better resolution, but not enough IMHO to justify the reduction in colours. Not to mention the Tandy 3-voice support results in much better music and sound and it doesn't work if you're using EGA graphics.

There may actually be other technicals reasons though for choosing one over the other... More recently while playing the Tandy mode I noticed a part in the third level where there's secret enemies you can't make appear at the other side of the flashing wall tunnel and I think it has to do with the way the lasers are drawn. The hit detection with the lasers is pixel-accurate, which means since the EGA mode is using double the horizontal resolution it will result in different hit detection than the Tandy or CGA modes. I haven't tried getting there in EGA mode yet, but I think it may make a difference.

I vote tandy, cause back then the sound and the graphics were normally better games on the tandy. And also I have a thing for the SMSS (Sega Master System Sound), so if I had to choose between EGA (shivers) vs. tandy , I would choose tandy any day of the week.

Sorry to dig up an older topic but I had to add my two cents... 😀

I had a Tandy 1000 TX back in the day with a CM-5 RGB monitor. For those who have never gamed on an authentic RGB monitor with a Tandy--you're missing quite a lot. The difference is as noticeable as gaming in CGA on a EGA/VGA tube versus a composite monitor.

The difference is huge.

I managed to get another CM-5 monitor recently and I plopped Thexder back on a Tandy just to be sure my memory isn't fooling me. It isn't.

Thexder looks many times better than the picture above of Tandy graphics on an RGB monitor than you can see with your current tech monitor. I'd say it almost looks like a cross between TGA (Tandy) and VGA due to the way the CM-5's displayed the images. This not only holds true for Thexder, but for all games in Tandy graphics. Bard's Tale is the same thing, even Sentinel Worlds looks amazing on a Tandy RGB monitor.

You have to see it to believe it. Thexder in particular takes on a more "metallic" tone to the world. You really feel immersed in it and it looks like you're battling machines an electronics. I'd take a screenshot but that might not do it justice. I can try. The thing that makes the RGB monitors of the time (you have to have an old one) is that you can see the individual Red Green and Blue elements so an advanced form of "dithering" takes place, as well as the brightness levels are much brighter--and, the tube gives the images a sort of "bilinear filtering" to the images.

Try one of these monitors. You'll be amazed and finally experience Thexder how it should be played. To be fair, I've played it on a PC-88 and others above are correct, it is more like the EGA version (sans multiple lasers at one time, we don't get this on the PC) but--the Tandy version looks the best by far. The PC-88 version sounds the best (and the Apple IIgs).

can you take a picture ?

I always played Thexder in EGA because that's what I had back in the day (and because Fire Hawk does take better advantage of it), but the Ancient DOS Games webshow on pixelships.com convinced me that Tandy is better for Thexder.

I think the sound argument is overrated, though, as Thexder's "soundtrack" consists of only the title music and one song repeating over and over throughout the entire game, and it doesn't seem to take advantage of Tandy 3-voice for anything other than the music.

rgb monitor looks better eh? I can really see that happen, have actually seen it in amigas.
Back then with the tv-like 15khz rgb monitors with the huge dot pitch all gfx looked better and with more colors too... actually that was an "illusion" of some sorts , like a a hardware bilinear filter that also made gradients look awesome... take the same amiga + game, put a scandoubler in it so it can output normal vga signal on a monitor and immediately you notice crisp gfx but with a drawback: too crisp , colors separate better and the nice "bilinear filter" is gone...

I'll have to try and take a few pictures and post them tomorrow I hope. Maybe I'll take a few zoomed in too so you can see the difference up close (though it is more profound when you're a foot or two away as you traditionally would be when playing).

The fact you can still see the rgb elements a foot or two away is pretty neat. Dosbox does a decent job trying to emulate it but the one thing it doesn't let you do is combine it with a filter (plus a flat panel can in way even attempt to get as bright as one of those RGB monitors). I think I might even try displaying it on Dosbox on an old 1993 15-inch CRT I have right besides it on a Tandy CM-5 RGB monitor. That'd be pretty neat now that I mention it to look at.

As for sound--yeah, you're right, it isn't a huge difference in Thexder at least, though I've always found the Tandy music for it catchy. If you want to hear good Tandy SFX, play Sentinel Worlds, they're amazing. The PC-88 version though, the sound effects for Thexder are pretty darned impressive. I think it is actually using a primitive DAC for them. Beating the PC-88 version though... that is a _whole_ different story... it is hard! (the levels are layed out slightly differently too, especially hidden enemies in the walls).

So EGA/VGA card also has a composite monitor? I didn't know. I had a PCjr as my first computer. Thexder looks great on the PCjr. Later in 1994, when I bought a 486sx, I was disapointed to see Thexder with less colours.

> So EGA/VGA card also has a composite monitor?

No.

Okay, here are some pictures. I must admit though, my camera took the pictures and got the colors drastically wrong--so, in the .arj file (yes, .arj for all you nostalgic ones he he, I even compressed it using the authentic arj 2.41 commandline that I have in my windows path--don't worry, winrar and winzip can open it), so I used paint.net to try and edit the colors slightly to get them closer but it isn't nearly perfect. Any picture taking tips would be appreciated.

Anyways, here you go. I'll try and get some better ones along with a side by side comparison of dosbox's rgb mode on a CRT versus the CM-5 monitor.

The pictures with a "e" at the end of them are the ones that have been edited for color.

http://rapidshare.com/files/437080001/THEXDER.ARJ

Why are we need to download a packed file when you can post pictures in this forum? 3 or 4 pictures should be enough. I can't use a download tool from this site. So, a pack of 9 megs of pictures is not worth to download.