www.virtualacorn.co.uk/forum

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Hmm..... I'm sure thats the version I'm running, but I still have to *Cache off, otherwise I get an error box.

I'll have to check later. Cheers for the link.

??

Ah,yes, you do,sorry! I was thinking of when you run it under Red Squirrel (va's freeware - but slower cousin) as risc os 3.70.

Hmm.... you've got me thinking now. I'm aware that VA5000 is restricted to RO 3.11 - due to emulated hardware constraints. But from what you and other posts have said, Red Squirrel is not.

Whats the speed/performance like of Red Squirrel running, for instance RO 3.6 ? My experience of RISC OS ended at 3.1x, when I ditched my A3000 for a PC. I'd be interested in having a look at later builds - although I'm aware of the licensing issues surrounding the ROMs and using/obtaining their images.

I've read that RS is pretty slow. Too slow to use practically ?

??

Well, on my 2.5ghz p4, rs running 3.70 is *reasonably* speedy, but not very fast. Running 3.10, its about oohh... a tenth to a twentieth slower than Va5000.

Pretty slow then............ not good. For the time being I think I will make do with VA5000. I've downloaded Red Squirrel, but to be honest I just don't have the time to get it up and running.

VA5000 is good, but its certainly not perfect and its the easiest way to get back to grips with RISC OS, short of buying a ropey old A3000 for ??30 off EBay !

They just need to get ArcDisc to work under XP............

??

VA5000 V 1.4 includes both direct floppy reading and
Direct CD reading on WinXP. And we are launching it in 3 days
time

Thye full VA5000 comes with an version of Elite that runs
at the correct speed (as far as I can tell)

Can anyone who has used this version of elite tell me what speed it runs at. One good way it face the space station, and tell me how many turns it makes in say, 5 seconds.
Thanks!

I have just tried this on a 1.8 P4 and I would say the space
station is doing rounghly 1/5 of a rotation (maybe less)
in 5 seconds.

Oooh! Much better than my version - hmm...
*considers buying virtual acorn*

Do it Do it Do it.


It is worth it.

I've never played the Acorn version of Elite, but I'd like to since I've heard it's the best version. I have a question though; can it be played with a joystick under Virtual Acorn or any other emulator?

The reason I ask is that I've tried playing Amiga Elite with a mouse and could never get used to it, I do much better with a joystick. I'd consider buying Virtual Acorn just to be able to play Elite, but if it can only be played with a mouse, I don't think it would be worth it for me.

If not, does it support keyboard control and if so, can a Windows joystick be programmed to simulate keypresses so that it fools the emulator into thinking that you're using the keyboard? (at present, I only have a standard 2 axis, 2 button joystick with no special software)

Hmmmmm.... I've got a sneaky feeling ArcElite wouldn't be able to support a joystick. This depends on 2 things. First, is VA5000 able to map PC inputs to RISC OS (one for Aaron) ? Secondly, ArcElite had issues with joystick support when it was released - though this is supposed to be resolved with the latest version (1.14).

I'm unable to comment on the Amiga version, but ArcElite was designed to be played via the mouse originally - hence the innovative use of its MOUS or MOtion USher. Although it was difficult to master to begin with, after a little perseverance, it became almost second nature and certainly made dog fighting that much easier.

I'd recommend you give it a go anyway. Why not download the VA5000 demo and the latest version of ArcElite from http://www.iancgbell.clara.net/elite/ and see what you think.

Andr??

Hey ArcElite - Phase II, that sounds pretty exciting, doesn't it ?! Unfortuanely this post isn't. Read on anyway:

Having originally bought a copy of VA5000 to just be able to play ArcElite, I decided that playing it on a laptop just didn't conjure up the same atmosphere that sitting infront of my trusty old A3000 did 10+ years ago. That and deciding it was time to upgrade an aging 450Mhz K6-3 desktop PC, I've recently built a brand spanking new Athlon XP home PC. Wow, does it shift.

Having duly installed VA5000 and ArcElite on my new build, I have to say it runs like a dream. As soon as Risc OS boots up and I click on the !Elite icon, I'm 15 years old again, without a care in the world and ready to venture out into the known universe.

I guess thats more of an update as to what I've been up to since submitting the first post in this topic earlier this year. Along with that and work and home buying, I'm a little behind on the whole Virtual Acorn scene. How impressed am I to read that a RISC PC version of the emulator now exists ? Shame about the price though. Even so, an updated version of VA5000 is out too. Excellent !

Now down to the nitty gritty. How does ArcElite play on the new version of VA5000 ? I read that there's all new 'Colour Card' acceleration. Have to say that means nothing to me - anyone want to clue me in ? Does it improve the game/anything else in any way ? Also I see that XP drives are now supported natively. Excellent. I feel an upgrade coming on !

OT: Does anyone know if Wonderland by Magnetic Scrolls runs on VA5000 ? I recently downloaded the PC version files from the 'Magnetic Scrolls Memorial' site and ran it through MAGNETIC, and it wasn't anywhere as good as the Archimedes version I remember.

Well, thats it from me. Cheers.

Andr??