3DO ZONE Forums

Anyone here ever compare 3DO's Total Eclipse to the Playstation Total Eclipse Turbo?

I happened across the game the other day but I don't have my Playstation nearby.

What exactly is "Turbo" about the Playstation version?

The "turbo" marketing power of Sony to flood the early psx library w/ports of old 3DO games and make them seem new.

Other than cleaned up visuals, I've really no clue.

I've also wondered what made Crystals Off World Interceptor "extreme"?

I like it when people assume the console manufacturer is the one who chooses titles at the outset. The developer tends to choose the console. The console company mostly does approval.

Always happy to do posts you like.

This question came up again recently, so I figured it wouldn't be a bad idea to bump this topic.

Besides, I'm curious as to why Bitrate has the PlayStation version sitting on top of a pile of Dreamcast games. Is that symbolism?

PSX, Saturn, DOS and even in a few cases Genesis/CD/32x/SNES comaprisons are some of my favorite topics here on the site. Gex, Need for Speed, Road Rash, etc. What I'm most curious about recently is the Saturn version of Lucienne's Quest, or Sword and Sorcery as all versions are known as in Japan. It has a nifty new OVA intro but I've heard the graphics are actually worse...Maybe I'll make a topic about that.

I finally got around to trying this out. After getting to the boss stage of the first area, I have to say--I am really surprised at how close this is to the 3DO game. There are barely any enhancements at all.

There are two notable differences that fans of the 3DO game (and fans with good eyesight) will notice. First, the framerate is is higher in the PlayStation version. It seems inconsistent though. It will feel like 40 - 60fps, but then sometimes it drops to about the level of the 3DO version (I am guessing between 25 and 30). The overall rate in the 3DO one is definitely lower, but if I recall correctly, it's at least consistent and doesn't really fluctuate all that much. I haven't played it in at least over a month though, so I still have to verify it. Second, the particle effect when destroying enemies has been severely toned down here. I think that can be taken as being for better or worse (sometimes it would get in the way in the 3DO one), but it definitely looks like a lot more is happening on-screen in the 3DO version when you are blowing up enemies.

One other difference is that there is a very subtle glow effect on bullets. It's most noticeable if you upgrade the stock, concentrated shot. Asides from the FMV quality though, everything else I have seen so far looks exactly like the 3DO version--even the title, menu and load screens are the same.

I actually feel bad for PlayStation owners who got this game--around the same time, the Saturn got Solar Eclipse. There's a pretty vast difference in production quality between both games, so it makes me wonder why they didn't bring that one to the PlayStation instead. I know some people here really like Total Eclipse, but it was two years old by the time it came out on the PlayStation. Eh.. I digress. I suppose it's at least a +1 for PS1 owners when it comes to "3DO to PlayStation ports that don't suck".

Austin wrote:I actually feel bad for PlayStation owners who got this game--around the same time, the Saturn got Solar Eclipse. There's a pretty vast difference in production quality between both games, so it makes me wonder why they didn't bring that one to the PlayStation instead. I know some people here really like Total Eclipse, but it was two years old by the time it came out on the PlayStation. Eh.. I digress. I suppose it's at least a +1 for PS1 owners when it comes to "3DO to PlayStation ports that don't suck".

Well... They did bring Solar Eclipse to the PlayStation, albeit only in Europe (where the game is known as Titan Wars), and nearly a year after the Saturn version was released. When I traded e-mails with Eric Lindstrom a year or so ago, he mentioned that the PlayStation version is just a straight port of the Saturn version, so... I dunno, I get the sense that from about mid-1995 to early 1997, Crystal Dynamics were favoring the Saturn over the PlayStation. The outcome of that particular console war wasn't set in stone yet, after all.

Very interesting about the differences or lack thereof between Total Eclipse and Total Eclipse Turbo. You'd think they'd have at least added a save function (the absence of which is the main downfall of the game, IMO).

That's interesting.. I'd like to see it in motion, but I can't seem to find any information on the Europe PS1 release of Titan Wars/Solar Eclipse other than what Wikipedia states, and some packaging photos on Google Images. No footage, no screenshots, no eBay, no nothing. If anyone can point me to a source with footage, that would be awesome!

And to any of our UK folks, if you happen to see one in the wild, keep me in mind--I'd be happy to pay you for a copy in order to do a comparison.

*edit: I found *one* copy on eBay.co.uk, but the top of the case is missing, heh: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Titan-Wars-So ... 500wt_1180

I played both versions at the same time with the same TV. 3DO version graphically is superior, the textures are smoother and shinie, the explosions are nicer.

Playing the PS version on the PS2 with texture smooth on, it will look much nicer, but still not as nice as the 3DO version, also the PS version is much darker.

If you really want to see the difference, check the tunnels.

Coolies!