The Atari 32bit "Panther"-project
Since
1988, there have been rumors about Atari's new game-system; the
"Panther".
The Panther was conceived as a 32bit-system as was very similar to the released
"Jaguar", except that the "Jaguar" was 64bit and more
sophisticated. But during development (both machines were developed parallel and
the "Jaguar" was considered to be the successor of the
"Panther") engineers saw that the progress on the "Jaguar"
was faster. All development on the "Panther" was stopped immediately
to focus on the more powerful machine.
Stefan Walgenbach is the proud owner of a working "Panther" prototype.
You can find images of it on his web-site "www.homecomputer.de".
Here are the Panther's specifications (note the similarities to the Jaguar):
| Processor: | Motorola 68000 Running at 16 MHz 1.4 Mips |
| Memory: | 32 Kbytes fast,
static-RAM 64 Kbytes ROM on board 8 Kbytes sound RAM |
| Cartridges: | Up to 6 Mbytes (48 Mbits) |
| Video: | 320*200 pixels,
non-interlaced 32 colors / line 7860 colors / screen Palette of 262.144 colors RF, RGB and S-VHS output Genlock option |
| Sound: | 8 Mips, 29 bit
DSP 16 bit, stereo PCM sound 25 voices, each with independent volume Envelope 4 pole digital filter Frequency control and pan 8 Kbytes PCM RAM Twin, stereo headphone sockets |
| Graphics: | 32 MHz, object
oriented, graphics processor About 2000 sprites can be displayed (and manipulated) simult. Object processor provides hardware-scrolling (zoom & shrink) Horizontally and vertically DMA Run length-decoding in hardware Fast hardware addition, for object manipulation Pixel programmable interrupt |
| Joystick: | Two,
multi-function joystick ports X,Y controller, 3 fire buttons, 12 key joystick as standard |
| Options: | Paddles Lightgun Infra-red remote control CD-ROM Modem Genlock ComLynx interface |