Official Super Game Module thread (thoughts & reviews about SGM and games)

[NIAD]

The SGM itself is amazing as well. Looks just like something Coleco would have made back in the day.

The SGM Case looks just like something Coleco would have made back in the day because it was. The ADAM AutoDialer case was used and slightly modified to speed-up the completion of this tremendous product.

 

All the rest of it was accomplished through the tremendous talents of Eduardo and his outstanding team.

 

BTW, mine just arrived! I don't think I'll be on here the rest of the night.

[NIAD]

The first one. Does this game work better with 4 way controls?

Ah, the falling disc level. It's simple and there is no set pattern to follow, just don't let the cloud guy blow you off the disc and be ready to jump off when the disc stops at one of the platforms. Some of the levels have set patterns and their are little "flash" hints, while others are all up to you.

 

Just wait until you get to the final level and battle the dragon!!!

[Pixelboy]

Ah, the falling disc level. It's simple and there is no set pattern to follow, just don't let the cloud guy blow you off the disc and be ready to jump off when the disc stops at one of the platforms. Some of the levels have set patterns and their are little "flash" hints, while others are all up to you.

 

Just wait until you get to the final level and battle the dragon!!!

 

The falling disc is pretty easy, in my opinion. Just stand in the center of the disc, and run into the wind. When the wind stops blowing, return to the center of the disc. Jumping off the disc and onto an exit ramp is the real challenge, at least for beginners. Just make sure you're close to the edge of the disc when you jump off. If you can't get into proper position in time for the first exit ramp, wait for the next one, which usually appears on the same side as the one you just missed. There are a bunch of exit ramps, so take your time.

 

Have fun!

[NIAD]

Excuse my lack of dilligence, HDTV1080P, but... WHY THE HECK ARE YOU POSTING THIS HERE????????

Actually PixelBoy, this IS the thread to posts one's "Thoughts and Reviews" of the newly released Super Game Module, so this is the perfect place for this long dissertation on the ColecoVision, the ADAM and the Opcode SGM. Just saying.

 

Shawn/HDTV1080P... Just for the sake of asking, "Have you ordered the Opcode SGM and if so, have you received your's yet?".

[tomjscott]

Actually PixelBoy, this IS the thread to posts one's "Thoughts and Reviews" of the newly released Super Game Module, so this is the perfect place for this long dissertation on the ColecoVision, the ADAM and the Opcode SGM. Just saying.

 

Shawn/HDTV1080P... Just for the sake of asking, "Have you ordered the Opcode SGM and if so, have you received your's yet?".

 

You are correct. This is the place. While I don't think anyone should be bashing you for posting here, I do agree that it's just way too long and would probably be better posted as a blog somewhere with a link to it. I don't think too many people are going to read through that much material in a forum. I personally see something that long and just skip it. So, if you want people to read it then you would probably be better off being more concise or posting it elsewhere.

[NIAD]

You are correct. This is the place. While I don't think anyone should be bashing you for posting here....

Not sure if you think that I posted that LONG message here, but I certainly didn't although I have been known to ramble on for far too long concerning things that I love... like the CV & ADAM.

[ColecoDan]

Not sure if you think that I posted that LONG message here, but I certainly didn't although I have been known to ramble on for far too long concerning things that I love... like the CV & ADAM.

 

All your Adam stuff is rambling to me

[NIAD]

All your Adam stuff is rambling to me

Amen brother!

[tomjscott]

Not sure if you think that I posted that LONG message here, but I certainly didn't although I have been known to ramble on for far too long concerning things that I love... like the CV & ADAM.

 

Nope, I meant the guy who did post it. I didn't word my response correctly.

[NIAD]

Nope, I meant the guy who did post it. I didn't word my response correctly.

Thank heavens! I know I can be a bit of a pest, but thankfully I know when to say when... which I'm going to say now so that this thread isn't further derailed.

 

WHEN!

[Bartsfam]

I finally got mine yesterday, and all I can say is "WOW!" It even smells like 1983! It brings me back to 1983 when my girlfriend dumped me, and then cheated on me by going to see "Creepshow" with my best friend..but I digress.

 

All is good now, and I cannot wait to try it. I am very intereseted to see what will be "vaporware" from the box.

 

Great job Eduardo!

[phattyboombatty]

I received my SGM on Monday. SUPER STOKED! I'm excited just seeing this project come to fruition after a 30-year longing for the fun!

 

Quick thoughts:

 

-OUTSTANDING production on the box, print/artwork, die-cutting, manual and its printing... all of it!! Opcode's attention to detail is unyielded here, and he truly set out to (re)produce an amazing product that could have come from Coleco corporate. GREAT WORK EDUARDO! This one's going into the treasure chest!

 

-Same comment for the case/molding and SGM sticker. I see why Eduardo had issues with the "green hue" on the sticker, but I—like perhaps most of us—could care less about that. Thank you nonetheless Eduardo for going for a round 2 (or 3 as it were), and going the extra mile for "perfect production". That is really cool.

 

-For the heart of the product—the electronics—again 100% awesome. I'm not cracking open the case any time soon to have a look at them, but I know from the pics and board design layout that 'tis a thing of beauty! I think it's so cool, making use of the Expansion Interface to its natural purpose. It's truly brilliant because we've seen time and time again, these great products of the 80s tout expansion, only to find out that it would be vaporware. 8-bit lives on!

 

-One small thing, which in no way has to do with the SGM product itself: I had to reseat my SGM about 3 times before I got it to work correctly on my ColecoVision. This is obviously due to the age of the Expansion Interface PCB. It could have used a decent cleaning with isopropyl alcohol before I inserted the SGM, but my excitement took over!

 

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Quick Game(s) Review:

 

So, I've only got Zaxxon SG and Dragon's Lair to play currently. They both play perfectly, and I LOVE Team Pixelboy's ideology to produce and PRESERVE these gems in cartridge form. I only wish the SGM and these two games could be proliferated so that more people could enjoy them.

 

Dragon's Lair is a tremendous work of art and musical composition. Fortunately I picked up an ADAM some years ago (since parted with it), and I played the hell out of Dragon's Lair. Therefore, getting to Singeon wasn't as difficult... only took me about an hour to get my moves back. Funny thing: I find myself still anticipating the "hum" of the ADAM's Data Drive between levels. Very cool that it is missing! As a side note, I hope someone can port part II of Dragon's Lair (I believe it was on the Commodore 64). Someone recently posted a YouTube video of that, and it sure would be cool to have a "double album" release from Team Pixelboy!

 

Really impressed with Zaxxon SG. Never had played this one. The enhancement of the original program is far less cobbled-together than Donkey Kong SG ever was. It feels more like a new game completely (vs. original Zaxxon), with the changes in ship perspective, and all the new enemies. Only thing was that I was surprised at how quickly I made it to the end in Level 1. I don't know if Levels 2-4 are expanded in any way. Anyway, getting to the "big boss", blowing it up, and continuing on reminds me of Contra's game-play concept on the NES. It's an action/adventure that keeps going and keeps me interested! I also love the awesome artwork at the end. Apologies for all the NES references, but this end-sequence animation really reminds me of Metroid! My two NES references are intended to be flattering anyway, because this software was conceived and written years before the NES games I mention!

[NIAD]

I received my SGM a couple of days ago and am absolutely floored by the professionalism that this hardware add-on exudes! From the tremendous box that fits in perfectly with all the other Coleco hardware products as Retroillucid showed in his picture, to the clever solution to the styrofoam packaging, to the excellent reproduction of the ADAM AutoDialer case with Coleco stamped on the bottom and finally the manual (even though the switch on the ADAM is not the power switch but the cartridge reset)... everything is much more than I had ever expected.

 

Thanks Opcode and thank you to eveyone that was involved in bringing this product to fruition.

 

Like Phattyboombatty, I experienced some issues when I first used the SGM that I finally discovered was in fact not the SGM... thank heavens. Everytime that I turned on the system wth the SGM installed, the screen would either stay blank or the SGM enabled game would display for a short period before freezing up, but all the standard games would work without a hitch. Almost immediately I thought that I had an issue with the Power Supply, but when I moved the CV to get to the back of the unit, the SGM and SGM game would work and then freeze up again. So that led me to think that the issue was a worn out Expansion Bus interface (bad contact) from repeated use of the Atari Adapter. Thankfully as I played with it some more and noticed that if I placed some pressure on the SGM in an up and in manner that the SGM game would play perfectly as well as the SGM test sequence would finally work and report that the test would pass.

 

So to make a long story short, the solution for my situation was to add two more rubber feet in addition to the two that existed already to the bottom/front of the CV system. Since I did this, the SGM and all SGM games have worked flawlessly. Sometimes it does end up being the simplist of fixes, so don't rule out anything if you experience any problems.

[opcode]

Jim,

 

Now that is strange. So that you know, each SGM was tested on two different systems before shipping. You assume you have tried that, but just in case, did you try to clean the expansion port bus?

Anyway, please let me know if you experience any further problems.

[retroillucid]

Jim, did you used a stand-alone ADAM?

Saying this cause I had the SGM plugged into Exp #3 and never experienced any problem at all

[NIAD]

Jim,

 

Now that is strange. So that you know, each SGM was tested on two different systems before shipping. You assume you have tried that, but just in case, did you try to clean the expansion port bus?

Anyway, please let me know if you experience any further problems.

Oh, no worries there as I figured out rather quickly that the SGM was working properly and that the issue was the Expansion Bus in the CV that I was using.

 

I'll have to open up the system to make sure the CV PCB, etc. is seated properly and yes, the expansion port was thoroughly cleaned. My guess is that this particular modded system that I am using had seen a lot of action either with an Atari Adapter or Exp. Mod. #3 ADAM. Having been extremely busy with other stuff, I never did get back around to testing the SGM on another CV system or an ADAM, but will have some fun with it this weekend.

 

BTW, really love King's Valley! I didn't try it out on an MSX emulator beforehand so as not to ruin the experience of playing a game for the first time on a CV. Great choice to port.

[ianoid]

I won't have the chance to test this for a while, but unbelievable quality to the packaging and product. This could easily be mistaken for an item from back in the day. Congratulations on this.

[bennybingo]

Both Brian O. and I got to try mine out today...what a blast!!!

 

1. Dragon's Lair...excellent!

2. Zaxxon....exactly how it is supposed to play! I'm gonna play this till my eyes bleed (or I beat Brian O.'s high score )

3. Thexder....I am new to this game, so it will take time to get used to the controls, but I am already hooked!

4. King's Valley....I am new to this as well. Frustrating in a good way...very addictive!

 

 

:thumbsup: :thumbsup:

[NIAD]

Hey Benny, don't forget to play Dragon's Lair and especially Zaxxon Super Game at the higher skill levels when you have mastered the games at the easiest skill level. Actually, I recommend that everyone play these games at skill level #1 at least until they are able to reach the end in order to see the game endings. Trust me, very cool stuff.

[bennybingo]

Hey Benny, don't forget to play Dragon's Lair and especially Zaxxon Super Game at the higher skill levels when you have mastered the games at the easiest skill level. Actually, I recommend that everyone play these games at skill level #1 at least until they are able to reach the end in order to see the game endings. Trust me, very cool stuff.

I already tried all of the settings for Zaxxon...level 8 is insane!!!

[Supergun]

My review?

 

Well, as already mentioned, the box & packaging is absolutely amazing. It mimics exactly what it would have looked like. (although in my case it won't really matter and will most likely get tossed as the item itself was all I really wanted) But the module itself looks great. I wish I could try it out, but I have no game for it. (and it didn't come with a pack-in cartridge)

 

I would like to get the Donkey Kong game for it if/when it becomes available.

[Pixelboy]

I wish I could try it out, but I have no game for it. (and it didn't come with a pack-in cartridge)

 

There are some SGM launch games, you know...

[Jaymiester]

will most likely get tossed as the item itself was all I really wanted

 

If your going to throw it away, you can throw in my direction! How much for shipping to New Orleans?

[Supergun]

There are some SGM launch games, you know...

 

Well, yes, I saw and I am aware of the 4 titles you have available on your site.

And make no mistake, I totally appreciate the incredible work that goes into aftermarket software support for retired game systems.

 

However, for me personally, only 2 of the 4 titles available are "real" games that were actually intended to have been made by Coleco (Super Zaxxon & Dragon's Lair).

And both of those actually did get released back then anyhow, although of course only for the Adam.

 

The truth is I would love to purchase those 2 games, but I would much prefer loose carts to CIB items, even perhaps at a slightly discounted price if possible, because

I just don't have the interest nor the space for boxes and manuals in my ColecoVision collection. However, nowhere on your site is that presented as an option.

 

Lastly, one of the main reasons I had for purchasing the device was out of fear and logical assumption that it will eventually become "required" for all the future games

that are made for Coleco Vision, or at the very least, some future releases that I may really want badly might only be released in that format. So your almost forced to buy

this thing, or you may find yourself out of luck in the future.

 

As an example, what will happen to the remaining "vapor ware dream games" as a result of this modules existence?

Games like: Mr. Turtle, Rip Cord, Destruction Derby, Skiing, Horse Racing, etc.

 

And what will become of the "most likely would have been made games" as a result of this modules existence?

Games like: Donkey Kong 3, Time Pilot '84, Super Zaxxon, Timber, Mr. Do's Wild Ride, etc.

 

On the one hand, the module is great, a wonderful piece of hardware finally realized and made available to the fans with amazing graphical capabilities!

On the other hand, will its' existence now kill the creativity and motivation for programmers to push the envelope on regular Coleco Vision cartridges

and just get lazy and take the easy way out with the extra memory and such and make everything on SGM cartridges?

[ColecoDan]

Well, yes, I saw and I am aware of the 4 titles you have available on your site.

And make no mistake, I totally appreciate the incredible work that goes into aftermarket software support for retired game systems.

 

However, for me personally, only 2 of the 4 titles available are "real" games that were actually intended to have been made by Coleco (Super Zaxxon & Dragon's Lair).

And both of those actually did get released back then anyhow, although of course only for the Adam.

 

The truth is I would love to purchase those 2 games, but I would much prefer loose carts to CIB items, even perhaps at a slightly discounted price if possible, because

I just don't have the interest nor the space for boxes and manuals in my ColecoVision collection. However, nowhere on your site is that presented as an option.

 

Lastly, one of the main reasons I had for purchasing the device was out of fear and logical assumption that it will eventually become "required" for all the future games

that are made for Coleco Vision, or at the very least, some future releases that I may really want badly might only be released in that format. So your almost forced to buy

this thing, or you may find yourself out of luck in the future.

 

As an example, what will happen to the remaining "vapor ware dream games" as a result of this modules existence?

Games like: Mr. Turtle, Rip Cord, Destruction Derby, Skiing, Horse Racing, etc.

 

And what will become of the "most likely would have been made games" as a result of this modules existence?

Games like: Donkey Kong 3, Time Pilot '84, Super Zaxxon, Timber, Mr. Do's Wild Ride, etc.

 

On the one hand, the module is great, a wonderful piece of hardware finally realized and made available to the fans with amazing graphical capabilities!

On the other hand, will its' existence now kill the creativity and motivation for programmers to push the envelope on regular Coleco Vision cartridges

and just get lazy and take the easy way out with the extra memory and such and make everything on SGM cartridges?

 

 

Wow, now I have seen everything.

 

I understand if you are a programmer and you want to stick to the confines of the original colecovision spec but for an end consumer to demand that is really crazy.

Also for you to consider a programmer lazy when they want the extra memory or better sound to make his game come from his dreams to an end product is really unacceptable.

 

Then you state that you are going to throw away the boxes because you don't have room, really. You are going to spend all this money and then lose most of the value for the future if you ever want to sell it to make more room in your house. Now because you have no box you missed out on 50 - 70 percent of the resale value, I hope you are not in any kind of financial or accounting background because you will not be good at your job.

 

Another thing if you kept up with the forum you would know that the SGM is fully licensed and therefore there was no way the pack-in-game you wanted could be added and it was not done to steal more money from you.

 

Finally, everybody here creates CIB games so I guess you bought the system for no reason if you are never going to buy a CIB game.