AEX Posted November 23, 2003 Share Posted November 23, 2003 Hi everybody! I've been grinning from ear to ear after another daily chat with my co-historian and friend over at AHS HQ! Yes, Curt Vendel has unearthed yet another piece of History! We have put the first pictures of the casing design for the infamous Atari Panther online at our sister website AEX (Atari Explorer) tonight. Go to www.atari-explorer.com and click on the Panther headline icon. You can also download a larger GIF file of the system from the original drawing including the size measurements. The Atari Historical Society is working hard on many new sections at the Atari Museum website, and continuing to update its sister site AEX. We have much more to come, so it looks like a great Xmas, and an even better 2004 for Atari history! Very best Karl Morris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaysmith2000 Posted November 23, 2003 Share Posted November 23, 2003 That's AWESOME Karl! It's amazing what Curt unearths isn't it? I love the drawing, it really is similar to the Jaguar, but different enough to make it unique. Thanks for sharing with all of us! Jason Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Saturn Posted November 23, 2003 Share Posted November 23, 2003 Wow, it sure is purty. Too bad it wasn't realized in full force alongside the Jaguar. Who knows, maybe it would have changed the world? I love Atari *sniff* You guys are doing a helluva lot for the Atari community and incase you don't hear it enough... Thank You! My hat's off to you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AEX Posted November 23, 2003 Author Share Posted November 23, 2003 That's AWESOME Karl! It's amazing what Curt unearths isn't it? I love the drawing, it really is similar to the Jaguar, but different enough to make it unique. Thanks for sharing with all of us! Jason Thanks Jason, We are VERY glad to share this with everybody, and if it wasn't for Curt's hard work behind the scenes, I couldn't share it with anyone! We have LOT'S more work to do, and so much more to show everybody - but it takes time, and it's great to be able to see the Panther as it would have looked like - who knows, maybe someone will put a Jag-on-a-chip in 10 years time and we can use the Panther case design for an anniversary edition Jag!!! And yes, I am very jealous of your sweet Jag collection!!! Karl Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaysmith2000 Posted November 23, 2003 Share Posted November 23, 2003 That's AWESOME Karl! It's amazing what Curt unearths isn't it? I love the drawing, it really is similar to the Jaguar, but different enough to make it unique. Thanks for sharing with all of us! Jason Thanks Jason, We are VERY glad to share this with everybody, and if it wasn't for Curt's hard work behind the scenes, I couldn't share it with anyone! We have LOT'S more work to do, and so much more to show everybody - but it takes time, and it's great to be able to see the Panther as it would have looked like - who knows, maybe someone will put a Jag-on-a-chip in 10 years time and we can use the Panther case design for an anniversary edition Jag!!! And yes, I am very jealous of your sweet Jag collection!!! Karl Jag on a chip! That's definitely what we need. How about a Jag in a LYNX case....heh! Glad you like my collection Carl, you got a pretty great one yourself! Just keep bringing those goodies to the community. The Jaguar community has definitely changed it's direction recently. It used to be "hoard hoard hoard", now it's "share share share". This is GREAT! Jason Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tempest Posted November 23, 2003 Share Posted November 23, 2003 Any truth to the rumor that Trevor McFur and Cybermorph were originally Panther games? Have any Panther games been found? It used to be "hoard hoard hoard", now it's "share share share". This is GREAT! Yeah isn't it great? Tempest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Albert Posted November 23, 2003 Share Posted November 23, 2003 Very cool indeed, thanks for the heads up! ..Al Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clint Thompson Posted November 23, 2003 Share Posted November 23, 2003 Wow.. that is cool! Nice to see some new and refreshing stuff, very interesting! Also, nice to see how pathetic the specs were on the Panther... (you must admit, it is rather sick compared to the Jaguar! Cool... thanks you guys for showing this great stuff! Fun Fun! Clint Thompson Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kyo Posted November 23, 2003 Share Posted November 23, 2003 all i have to say is: "WOW". with every new find, it just keeps getting better and better. great job! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+-^CrossBow^- Posted November 23, 2003 Share Posted November 23, 2003 Actually the Panther's specs would have have put ahead of the Genesis and SNES which in 91 the SNES was just starting to come to our side of the world wasn't it? If anything the Panther would have a made a really nice 2D gaming console and considering the 32bit graphics capability would have possibly been the next best thing to have for arcade conversions than the Neo-Geo since not everyone could even afford the console for that back then much less the games..or..wait..even now I still can't afford that damn thing! :wink: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stone Posted November 23, 2003 Share Posted November 23, 2003 Any truth to the rumor that Trevor McFur and Cybermorph were originally Panther games? Have any Panther games been found? Yes, and yes Jeff Minter wrote some tech demos for it back in the day, but hadn't got too far along when it was shelved. He did speak fondly of it though Stone Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ATARIPITBULL Posted November 23, 2003 Share Posted November 23, 2003 That is a great story about the Panther, I can't belive all this old information that Curt is able to dig up! How does he do it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Curt Vendel Posted November 23, 2003 Share Posted November 23, 2003 Any truth to the rumor that Trevor McFur and Cybermorph were originally Panther games? Have any Panther games been found? It used to be "hoard hoard hoard", now it's "share share share". This is GREAT! Yeah isn't it great? Tempest Nothing to confirm it... I released some Panther development tools and docs last year (will put them back online shortly) and the only thing in the dev package was Panther Pong (which judging from the code is more like Breakout then Pong).... no mention of Cybermorph or Trevor McFur. Curt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tempest Posted November 23, 2003 Share Posted November 23, 2003 Well if Trevor McFur was aPanther game then I'm impressed. I always thought it was a great looking game, but it needs music! Just a little music would have made it great. Tempest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ferris Posted November 24, 2003 Share Posted November 24, 2003 Thank's Curt & Karl! I've been waiting to see the Panther since I was in fifth grade. It looks like it would have been a really mean looking system. What is up with the "VCR-like cartridge insert" ?? I looked at the drawings and I cant figure out exactly how it would swallow a cartridge. Is it supposed to be sort of like the NES? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Curt Vendel Posted November 24, 2003 Share Posted November 24, 2003 From all indications from the drawings (without the mechanicals of the internal layout) it does appear that the cartridge would've slide into the front top of the unit... Also the design footprint appears too small to accomodate a piggyback CD-rom unit so provisions for that may never have been planned. Finally, if you study the lines and design aspects, it looks as if the Jag controller's shape and the Panther have similarities to them. Curt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Curt Vendel Posted November 24, 2003 Share Posted November 24, 2003 I posted this back in 2001: Atari Panther files, source code and other goodies: http://www.atarimuseum.com/videogames/cons...ari_Panther.zip Curt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Sauron Posted November 24, 2003 Share Posted November 24, 2003 Forgive me if this has already been answered, but is there any currently known working proto hardware for the Panther? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AEX Posted November 24, 2003 Author Share Posted November 24, 2003 Ferris, As Curt pointed out, the Carts look as if they would slide horizontally into the Panther like a VCR, but without the fancy VCR Door or mechanical drive system! Strange idea ergonomically, and it would be interesting to see how the cartridge would have been designed as to allow easy input and removal of the carts from this asumed horizontal insertion system. Sauron, If you look at the very end of the Panther page at Atari Explorer, you will see a Panther Dev System. It isn't known how many were made, but I heard that at least 20 systems were provided to Atari UK before the system was canned. Dev systems are usually given to pref. software partners first, those with a close relationship with Atari - when initial bug testing is completed and the Dev kits become more stable, they are usually provided to the wider developer community who sign an NDA and/or contract and pay for a Dev system set-up. Karl Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Curt Vendel Posted November 24, 2003 Share Posted November 24, 2003 Cool!!! The Panther moldel drawings story got Slashdotted! Curt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian R. Posted November 24, 2003 Share Posted November 24, 2003 Here's a thought - Just looking at the drawings of the Panther, I kinda wish that had been released. Anyone think it might have been better for Atari to release the Panther, which would have happened sooner than the Jag, to get back into the market, and then maybe spend a little more time on the Jag and release it after a reasonable market life for the Panther? Just seems a lot of the stuff on the Jag seems unpolished, unfinished and just not quite ready. Could be a fault of the software, the hardware, or both. It just quite often seems to me they were trying to do stuff on/with the Jag it wasn't quite ready for. Maybe if it could have been worked on while the Panthe was out, the Jag could have been better for its release. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goochman Posted November 24, 2003 Share Posted November 24, 2003 Here's a thought - Just looking at the drawings of the Panther, I kinda wish that had been released. Anyone think it might have been better for Atari to release the Panther, which would have happened sooner than the Jag, to get back into the market, and then maybe spend a little more time on the Jag and release it after a reasonable market life for the Panther? Just seems a lot of the stuff on the Jag seems unpolished, unfinished and just not quite ready. Could be a fault of the software, the hardware, or both. It just quite often seems to me they were trying to do stuff on/with the Jag it wasn't quite ready for. Maybe if it could have been worked on while the Panthe was out, the Jag could have been better for its release. I had the exact same thought reading about the Panther - Imagine if the Jag had 6 more months of dev time before being released - maybe more games, more polish, maybe the GPU bug fixed - who knows? But, The Jag prob wouldve have not gone much further with what Sony did the the VG market. Hell, if Sega's HW didnt survive Atari wasnt either, plus Atari didnt have the developers or Arcade catalog to fall back on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrian M Posted November 24, 2003 Share Posted November 24, 2003 Very interesting to see this. I've seen pics of the dev system before, but never the casing design for the Panther. Another question...in addition to Cybermorph and Trevor McFur, wasn't DINO DUDES also a game in development for the Panther before the developers decided to update it for the Jag? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DracIsBack Posted November 24, 2003 Share Posted November 24, 2003 For all their (many faults), I do feel that the Tramiels really did try with the Jaguar - especially when one sees how they marketed the 7800 which was profitable almost despite the best efforts of the Tramiels. The Jaguar had more advertising, more third party games, more licenses etc etc etc. More importantly, they had focused on it. Unfortunately, they were in between a rock and a har dlace with the Jaguar. Sega and Nintendo against them, the 3DO with (loudmouth) Trip Hawkins generating interest and the Sony Playstation on the horizon. the computer business had collapse so the Jaguar was needed in a bit of desperation. It was released a little before it was ready (or rather the developer tools were) and was a bugger to support - especially with limited development dollars. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrian M Posted November 24, 2003 Share Posted November 24, 2003 For all their (many faults), I do feel that the Tramiels really did try with the Jaguar - especially when one sees how they marketed the 7800 which was profitable almost despite the best efforts of the Tramiels. The Jaguar had more advertising, more third party games, more licenses etc etc etc. More importantly, they had focused on it. Unfortunately, they were in between a rock and a har dlace with the Jaguar. Sega and Nintendo against them, the 3DO with (loudmouth) Trip Hawkins generating interest and the Sony Playstation on the horizon. the computer business had collapse so the Jaguar was needed in a bit of desperation. It was released a little before it was ready (or rather the developer tools were) and was a bugger to support - especially with limited development dollars. Sounds similar to the Sega's position when they announced the Dreamcast. Like it or not, they had to release it sooner than expected (due to the sooner-than-expected death of the Saturn) and with the impending launch of the PS2, XBOX and GC looming. They did try their best with it, but just like Atari and their Jaguar, their timing and limited capital just didn't work out the way they had hoped. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Like us on Facebook
Follow us on Twitter
AtariAge on Instagram
Watch us on YouTube
Chat on Discord
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.