519 replies to this topic

[jaybird3rd]

I decided I needed a bit of a break from programming, so I turned my attention to the artwork instead.

Here is the first pass at the cover art for the instruction manual.  Longtime Aquarius owners will recognize this as an adaptation of the 4K/16K memory module box designs:



Let me know if you have any ideas for changes or improvements.

[GroovyBee]

Looking good!

[the-topdog]

jaybird3rd, on Sun Jul 3, 2011 6:01 PM, said:

Let me know if you have any ideas for changes or improvements.

I think a free chocolate donut in each box... you know, get all hopped up on sugar then play the multicart games!  

It is looking great! Is there any other multicart out there that has so many features?

[jaybird3rd]

the-topdog, on Sun Jul 3, 2011 6:07 PM, said:

I think a free chocolate donut in each box... you know, get all hopped up on sugar then play the multicart games!  

Thanks, but the Aquaricart and food just don't mix.  Remember what happened with all that Jell-O ...

the-topdog, on Sun Jul 3, 2011 6:07 PM, said:

It is looking great! Is there any other multicart out there that has so many features?

I'm not aware of any.  That's been one of the joys of this project: just letting my imagination go crazy, trying to envision what a polished, commercially-produced Aquarius collection would be like, and pushing myself to produce a product of the same quality.  The Aquarius is an odd platform for an experiment of this kind, but it actually brings a lot to the table that other machines cannot: a full keyboard, a printer, the ability to reproduce the in-game graphics using the standard character set, etc.  It's been fun finding ways to combine all of those ideas into something that is truly unique to the Aquarius.

Multi-carts for other systems are user-reprogrammable while the Aquaricart is not (which is one reason I've been reluctant to call it a "multi-cart"), and of course, many of them offer much larger libraries than mine can.  But given how small the Aquarius cartridge library is, and given that it's all preloaded into the Aquaricart anyway, I think the approach that I chose worked out pretty well.

[coyo5050]

Artwork looks great to me!

[jaybird3rd]

While I'm posting pictures, I might as well show you the labels, too:



I've printed up color labels for both the top and the face of the cartridge, and both will be included whether you buy a full cartridge or a board-only "upgrade kit".  I printed some labels for the upcoming 32K modules, too.

Here is the "photo sample" cartridge that I used for the cover art, showing both labels:

[Mirage]

When you start the sale thread, please be sure to post a link to it in this thread for those of us who don't visit much in the summer but are watching this thread! Really looking forward to this!

[jaybird3rd]

Mirage, on Sun Jul 3, 2011 7:16 PM, said:

When you start the sale thread, please be sure to post a link to it in this thread for those of us who don't visit much in the summer but are watching this thread! Really looking forward to this!

Absolutely!  And, in case anyone is interested in the making of this cartridge but doesn't want to read through this whole thread, I'll be writing an inside-story "retrospective" for the manual about how the project came to be.

[cmart604]

While I must admit I do like topdog's chocolate donut idea, all joking aside, this project has to be one of the best made homebrew items for any system ever! I'm amazed at the level of detail and thought you've put into this. The manual and labels look great! I hope and pray you decide to turn your attention to the Intellivision one day....

[jaybird3rd]

cmart604, on Sun Jul 3, 2011 9:01 PM, said:

While I must admit I do like topdog's chocolate donut idea, all joking aside, this project has to be one of the best made homebrew items for any system ever! I'm amazed at the level of detail and thought you've put into this. The manual and labels look great! I hope and pray you decide to turn your attention to the Intellivision one day....

Thank you for the compliments, and yes, the Intellivision is definitely on my list.  I've already got all the tools I'd need for Intellivision homebrew, including the Cuttle Cart 3.  It's just a matter of finding the time and getting a few other ideas out of my head first.

I only wish I could do this kind of thing for a living.  

[jaybird3rd]

Here is the second--and probably the final--revision of the Aquaricart cover, plus a cover for the 32K memory module (although I'll probably only make that manual available in electronic form):




Here's how they look inside the Aquarius:

[Chuck D. Head]

So Jay...........I don't want to sound greedy, I just want to set my expectations appropriately; are you planning to release the memory expansion soon after the Aquaricart, or will it be a while? I really want to try out a few of those big cassette games.  Morgan

[jaybird3rd]

Chuck D. Head, on Mon Jul 4, 2011 6:47 PM, said:

So Jay...........I don't want to sound greedy, I just want to set my expectations appropriately; are you planning to release the memory expansion soon after the Aquaricart, or will it be a while? I really want to try out a few of those big cassette games.  Morgan

It will be after the Aquaricart, but it shouldn't take very long at all.  I've already got a tested, working design, and I've already built a few prototypes for topdog and a few others, but I'd like to design a new cartridge board for it to make assembly easier.  That should take maybe two months from start to finish, assuming I don't get bogged down with other things.

Speaking of which, I should also mention that I'll be taking a break from this project for the next week or so.  "Real life" is intruding again.

[revolutionika]

jaybird3rd, on Mon Jul 4, 2011 12:46 PM, said:

Here is the second--and probably the final--revision of the Aquaricart cover, plus a cover for the 32K memory module (although I'll probably only make that manual available in electronic form):

AquaricartFrontCover_rev2_small.png
32KFrontCover_small.png

Here's how they look inside the Aquarius:

aquarius_loaded.JPG

Everything looks great Jay!

[Chuck D. Head]

Jay, I just came from that other hardware development thread. Very sad. Just want to say how much I appreciate your efforts to bring us this awesome piece of amazingness!!!

[jaybird3rd]

Chuck D. Head, on Tue Jul 26, 2011 8:53 PM, said:

Jay, I just came from that other hardware development thread. Very sad. Just want to say how much I appreciate your efforts to bring us this awesome piece of amazingness!!!

Thank you very much.  I'm saddened by all the controversy surrounding the other project, too.  I think one of the reasons I've been so vocal toward the naysayers and critics over there--maybe too vocal at times--is that my work on the Aquaricart has given me a heightened appreciation of everything that goes into such projects.  Of course, my humble little cartridge is nowhere near the same league in terms of scope or complexity, but there are certain parallels between the two projects.  I'll write more about them later, when I'm ready to do a post-mortem.

For now, I'll simply say that I'm very grateful for how generous and supportive the Aquarius community has been, especially those who pre-ordered and have been kept waiting longer than I ever intended.  That has been my single greatest regret, but I won't keep everyone waiting too much longer; if nothing else, I have to get this thing done soon for my own sake, before I start teaching again in the fall!  I'm now finishing up the artwork and layout for the manual, as well as the last of the programming.  All that remains is a short bit of testing and modification to the boards; after that, the project will finally be complete.  I'll share more updates as soon as I can.

[Bill Loguidice]

Homebrew hardware is a dangerous game. People like myself try to support these projects as early as possible because we genuinely love the old machines and want to see nifty new things done with them. The same applies to modern day, retro-inspired projects. At the same time, it's VERY easy to get burned on the consumer side, which I seem to have been getting at an alarming rate these days. I think a good rule of thumb is that if you can't guarantee delivery three to a maximum of six months after taking the money, you probably shouldn't be taking the money. And if you can't deliver in that time frame, there has to be a hard future date set, and if you can't deliver on that promised date, you give the money back. I think that's the only way to be fair to both the creator and the community trusting you with the money. It's clearly not easy any way you slice it. Anyway, most of you guys know me and what I believe/support/do, but again, I'm honestly getting to the point where I've been burned one time too many to ALWAYS give this stuff a pass. It's not always easy to be so free with handing out the money, no matter the challenges the obviously talented developers face. As a creator myself (in a very different area), I can also feel for the creators that many people can be jackasses, plain and simple. It's best just to ignore them whenever possible.

Edited by Bill_Loguidice, Wed Jul 27, 2011 8:01 AM.

[jaybird3rd]

EDIT: Once again, I wrote a long post because I didn't have time to write a short one.  Here's the skinny, for those who don't want to read through the whole thing (which you'll find inside the spoiler tag below):

I've been on the producer and consumer sides of the homebrew hardware "market", and I understand how frustrating it is to wait for a product you preordered as the delays and unanticipated problems mount, as they often seem to do with such projects despite everyone's best efforts.  I think my project has been better than most in this regard, but this hobby is supposed to be about fun, and I'm not insensitive to those who supported the Aquaricart with their preorders but who might now be getting impatient.  I anticipate having the Aquaricart finished in about three weeks, by August 20th.  Anyone who preordered but does not wish to wait until the release date need only contact me, and I'll gladly offer a full refund.

Spoiler

I can certainly share what you're saying, because I've been on the consumer side of these transactions, too.  I think I waited for over two years for Ken Jones's updated MIO for the Atari 8-bit computers, for example, and like the 7800XM, the delays in that project left many of those who preordered feeling as if they'd been cheated, or at least misinformed.  I never felt that way myself, but this seems to be a recurring issue with homebrew hardware projects, even when seasoned engineers like Curt and Ken are involved.  I'm sure they calculate estimates and timetables all the time in their professional lives, but for a variety of reasons, it's very difficult to do that in the homebrew realm.  I'm not sure if a hard six-month time frame would work for every project, but I do agree that we need ways of bracketing the scope and preventing the delays from getting out of control.  I would never presume that my ideas would apply to everyone, but I have thought of ways that might have worked better for me, and I'll definitely be writing more about them later.  I think this would be helpful to others who might like to undertake similar projects in the future.

I will say that I'm very glad I avoided open preordering for this project; going that route just makes the situation more volatile for everybody.  Fortunately my costs have been relatively low, at least compared to something of the scope of the 7800XM, so I was able to limit myself to invitation-only preorders.  This was my way of covering most (but not all) of my costs, while keeping my preorder commitments to an absolute minimum.  Those invitations went out late last October, as you know, so if we use six months as a baseline, I'm currently running about three months late.  The delays have come mostly from the software development process--except for some minor lingering issues, I've had the hardware ready to go since December--and the main reason is that it's been a process of discovery and of finding novel ways to add value without adding cost.  I've tried to be as open as possible, sharing updates and screenshots and the-topdog's YouTube videos as often as I could, and I think the extra development time has demonstrably improved the final product.  But I also recognize that it's kept a number of people waiting longer than they might have planned, and I'm certainly not insensitive to that.

I'm close enough to the end now that I can at least give an estimate of when the project will be complete, so for my own sake as well as for those who are concerned about when they will be getting their cartridges, allow me to draw the following "line in the sand."  Now that I'm down to printing the manuals and making a few small changes to the hardware and software, I think it's safe to say that I will be ready to start shipping by August 20th, just over three weeks from today.  If anyone who preordered is unsatisfied with this, or has simply changed their mind about their participation in the project, I'll gladly offer refunds to anyone who asks for them.  I've had to make a "no turning back" commitment to the project, since it was my own idea, but I don't want anyone else to feel as if they have to do the same.  We're all in this hobby for fun, after all, and all I want is to give people a good product and the satisfaction of knowing that they helped to make it possible.  But if there are only feelings of frustration instead of satisfaction, the least I can do for my fellow hobbyists is to offer an easy way out of an undesirable situation.

(I should point out that the general release will occur a little later.  I want to have a reasonable quantity of cartridges ready to go on day one, and I also want to give myself enough time to make any changes I need to make based on feedback from my preorder customers.  Since I will have met my commitments to them by that point and will be answerable only to myself, I'll start accepting general orders only when I feel I'm ready.)

[revolutionika]

What other hardware project problem are you guys referring too?

[cmart604]

revolutionika, on Wed Jul 27, 2011 3:01 PM, said:

What other hardware project problem are you guys referring too?

7800 XM

[the-topdog]

I'd rather a project be done right, than be done quickly.  The extra time devoted makes the final project more polished and well worth the wait!

[nathanallan]

Same here, good quality is more important to me than a rushed and incomplete thing.

[jaybird3rd]

Thanks, everybody.  I appreciate the support, but just to clarify: I don't think anybody is suggesting that I should have put out a rushed or half-finished product.

When I sent out the preorder invites in October, my main focus was on the hardware, because the hardware costs were the whole reason I needed the funds to begin with.  At that point, the hardware design was basically finished, but the software was still in a state of flux: the on-screen manuals were incomplete, and I hadn't even conceived of several key features (such as printing and manual page jumping) that I had to take extra time to add later.  In retrospect, a more rigorous brainstorming and design process earlier in the project would have given me a much clearer idea of what the software needed to be, and of how much work it still required.  This in turn might have given my preorderers a more complete picture of the overall state of the project before anyone sent in their money.  (I also ended up starting at a new teaching job in January, which placed extra demands on my time that I could not have anticipated in October, but I'm not making any excuses for myself over that because it isn't the preorderers' fault.  It was still something I could have handled better.)

I'm just hopeful that, when the Aquaricart is finally in Aquarius owners' hands, everyone will agree that the result is worth the wait.  I'll be working hard over the next three weeks to make it so, and believe me, nobody will be more relieved than I when it is finally finished.  I'm anxious to move on to my next projects!

[coyo5050]

We all are excited for the finished project I am sure but speaking for myself I want to support you in your hobbies as I do not have the skill you do. You've always been a helpful and friendly member here and I want you to know I appreciate everything you do.

I have no worries I will eventually get this cool toy in my hand. Course my bday is in august so...

Edited by coyo5050, Wed Jul 27, 2011 9:23 PM.

[Aquaman]

I am glad we have guys like Jay in our community, he is at least putting quite some effort in the often forgotten Aquarius! I can only hope that more people will follow his example!! I am looking forward to all his projects!