Pixelboy Posted January 1, 2014 Share Posted January 1, 2014 Hello ColecoVision fans. First of all, I want to wish you all a Happy New Year! May 2014 bring you loads of new ColecoVision games to play! 2014 begins for me (and by extension for Team Pixelboy) under the shadow of uncertainty. I quit my job a couple of weeks ago just before Christmas (long story short, I could no longer tolerate the general climate within the company that employed me, and after 17 years working there, it was time for me to move on) and it may take several months before I find another job. So without a steady source of income, I have to put a lid on my Team Pixelboy activities, but not completely... NEW GAMES FOR 2014 I removed Front Line SCE and TwinBee from the Team Pixelboy web site (I don't know if and when they will ever return) but I kept Jewel Panic. I want to finalize the software for that game this winter, and this is the only game I am committed to releasing this year. ABOUT THE 2013 RELEASES Sales of the 2013 releases have been very good over the last week. Battle of Hoth and Module Man are now currently sold out, and I have already begun the process of making 20 more copies of each game. Considering my job situation, you can understand that there will be no more copies produced after those 20 extra copies of Module Man and Battle of Hoth are gone. The Black Onyx is another title that sold out rather quickly, and I was quite surprised by this. I limited the release to 75 copies because I expected the game to be harder to sell. Not everyone is into old-school RPGs, so my expectations were to sell about 50 copies right away (mostly to collectors) and then clear the remaining 25 copies slowly over the following months. Instead I found myself having to start a waiting list for new copies of the game, even though I haven't actually decided yet if I'm going to produce more copies. One idea I am contemplating is offering new copies of The Black Onyx on the release day of Jewel Panic. We'll see how things evolve over the next few months. As for Buck Rogers Super Game and Mecha-8, I still have several copies of those two games in stock, and given my situation, I am unsure if and when I will produce more copies afterwards. The same thing applies for other SGM games (Dragon's Lair, Zaxxon Super Game, King's Valley and Thexder) and I only have a few copies left of those games (King's Valley is actually sold out at the moment, but I will make 5 more copies in January) so now would be a good time for you to purchase those games while you still can, if you haven't already. I would like to take a moment to point out that I am not in communication with Eduardo Mello. He doesn't reply to my e-mails, I don't know what he's up to these days, and I don't have any insider information to share. Hopefully the second run of SGMs will arrive in 2014, together with the game everyone is waiting for, namely Donkey Kong Arcade. That's my main wish for all ColecoVision fans in 2014. THE COLECOVISION TRADING CARD PROJECT IS BACK ON! Alright, I have to come clean: I've never really given up on the idea of making my own series of ColecoVision trading cards, even if Phil Boland released some awesome CV cards a while ago, and this will keep eating away at me until I do something about it. The main thing that kept me from going ahead full-steam with my own trading card project is that I couldn't find a printer for the cards. Companies who print custom trading cards in North-America have a clause in their terms of service where they refuse to print trading cards that contain any copyrighted logos, characters or images, so I was pretty much out of luck. But all this changed recently, when someone told me about a custom trading card printer in Germany that will do the job. The main objective of my project is to produce a trading card for EVERYTHING: All box variants of commercial games (American, European, Australian, Taiwan Cooper, etc.), all boxed homebrew games, all custom homebrew boxes for commercial games (released and unreleased), and all hardware add-ons and controllers that came in a box. I have estimated the total number of cards at roughly 430, and this number will likely increase as new homebrew games are released in 2014 and beyond. The german card printer takes orders in groups of 55 distinct cards, so that means 8 series to cover everything. Each set of 55 cards costs roughly 20 euros, and if you add 15 euros to cover various shipping fees, you get a total of 35 euros, so roughly 50$US at current exchange rates. So the cost per individual card is about 1$US, which isn't too bad for custom trading cards such as these, I think. "But Luc, how are you going to pay for this? You're currently unemployed!" you may be whispering right now. It's true that I cannot justify the expense with regards to my current situation, so my plan is to prepare the card templates for the first set of 55 cards, and then organize a pre-order period. Once I reach my quota of pre-orders, I will use the money from pre-orders to pay for the print order. Of course, those who know me know that I'm not a fan of pre-ordering. I would much rather pay things out of my own pocket to have the cards printed first and then put them on sale once the cards are actually in my hands and ready to ship. But I have to work with the "real life" situation that I am into right now. The one nice thing about having no job is that I suddently have lots of free time. I haven't started looking for another job yet, and I want to take at least a month of vacation before I do. Call it a small sabbatical if you will. During that month, I want to scan all the boxes in my CIB collection and assemble as much material as I can towards my goal of producing the 430+ trading cards. I will also set up a new section on the Team Pixelboy web site specifically for that project, and I will start a dedicated thread on the AtariAge forums to discuss details and provide progress reports. EDIT: By the way, I discussed my project with Phil Boland and he's fine with me going ahead with my own trading cards, just in case you're wondering. WHAT ABOUT BASICVISION? To put it simply, I'm not in the mood to code anything during my "small sabbatical", but I may start the BasicVision project officially later in 2014. Right now I just want to relax and occupy my time with easy activities, such as the trading card project. This concludes this Team Pixelboy News Bulletin. We now return you to your regular forum activities. 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+nanochess Posted January 1, 2014 Share Posted January 1, 2014 (edited) Luc, with your abilities you surely will find another job fast. Good luck! I've to say it has been a pleasure to work with Luc for bringing Princess Quest and Mecha-8 to Colecovision, and he has been an excellent critic and I'm so perfectionist that these versions are very enhanced with respect to the MSX ones. Also is a great moment to be grateful to all people that has ordered my games and all the support I've received. Thanks guys! After finishing Space Raid for Intellivision I hope to start coding again for Colecovision Edited January 1, 2014 by nanochess Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Darrin9999 Posted January 1, 2014 Share Posted January 1, 2014 Thanks for all the Games Luc! Good luck on the job hunt! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bennybingo Posted January 1, 2014 Share Posted January 1, 2014 Thank you Luc!!! I'm very excited to receive all of these new games! I have to say I am shocked that Buck Rogers and Mecha-8 are not sold out yet...I would have thought those would go like hot-cakes! I guess that it has to do with the hold-ups on the SGM's. Hopefully, that project will get back on track soon for those of whom still haven't gotten theirs. From my experience, Eduardo always comes through. That is reason enough to buy all of the SGM games...otherwise, folks will have to resort to eBay rape in order to get these games. Sad, but true. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
digress Posted January 1, 2014 Share Posted January 1, 2014 (edited) I received my 5 new Pixelboy games today and tried them all out. Excellent. Mecha 8 - The music is nicely enhanced with the SGM in mecha 8. Surpisingly smooth scrolling game. This is Top quality game. Buy it now Battle of Hoth and Module Man are awesome.Green sleeves is great background music and I love action puzzle games. Highly recommended. Buck Rogers - My mom brought this home 1 week in the 80's while I was home sick so I always have a soft place in my heart for this game and being able to play the very enchance Adam versions on the regular coleco is great. The Black Onyx is entertaining. More to it than I though and the save game feature to eprom was a nice surprise. That's right you can save and turn off the colecovision and continue later. Better get your graph paper out though navigation can be confusing. I got lost in the town several times. Incidentaly, I know a guy whom creates custom Hockey card sets here in Toronto, He's got a press and a diecutting machine , laminator etc. I've been to his shop as he shares space with someone I work with. You can get them made within Canada is what I'm getting at not necessarily using this guy. Thanks to everyone involved. Edited January 1, 2014 by digress 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BriceZ Posted January 1, 2014 Share Posted January 1, 2014 Happy New Year Luc, best of luck with your job search! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SiLic0ne t0aD Posted January 2, 2014 Share Posted January 2, 2014 Major bummer dude, I feel you though.. I need to get another job as well and working some place with conditions being intolerable, it's a real drag. I'm surprised you can't make a pretty decent living just making/selling ColecoVision items, although it's a small niche market. I'm really bummed that I missed out on these new games, that was quick! I would have picked up The Black Onyx, as it was highly recommended to me by someone. However I've been playing catch up, getting back n to the scene a little late. I'm just trying to get all these wonderful games that have already been released, some are on the way and financially I couldn't afford to get any more new games right this second. Hopefully more will be released and then perhaps I'll have a shot at these new games. I am definitely interested in the cards though, that's a lovely idea. Good luck, Luc! Happy New Year to everyone, let's make 2014 the best year yet for CV fans! Cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pixelboy Posted January 2, 2014 Author Share Posted January 2, 2014 The Black Onyx is entertaining. More to it than I though and the save game feature to eprom was a nice surprise. That's right you can save and turn off the colecovision and continue later. Better get your graph paper out though navigation can be confusing. I got lost in the town several times. Did you notice the map of Utsuro town in the game's manual? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ColecoDan Posted January 2, 2014 Share Posted January 2, 2014 You guys in canada are a little wacky, you are supposed to keep working at the crappy job while you look for the new one and then once you get the new one then you quit. The month off sounds cool though. I had the company I was working at go out of business a year ago and I basically took the summer off. That was fun. Good luck with the job hunt, hopefully Canada job market is ok. Where the heck am I going to put 400 trading cards thanks a lot, just kidding they should be real cool can't wait! You will truly be missed in the new games department, I truly enjoy playing all your games. Happy New Year!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
digress Posted January 2, 2014 Share Posted January 2, 2014 Thanks, I did notice the map of the town after playing for a bit. Very helpful. Just reminded me that graph paper might help when I go to the dungeon crawling. It's a nice game. Did you notice the map of Utsuro town in the game's manual? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pixelboy Posted January 2, 2014 Author Share Posted January 2, 2014 You guys in canada are a little wacky, you are supposed to keep working at the crappy job while you look for the new one and then once you get the new one then you quit. Well, I dunno how you guys do it in the States, but if I look for another job while I'm still working, that means I have to do it behind my boss's back, and things can get ugly if he finds out. By quitting my job first, I don't have to tippytoe around with my resume. The month off sounds cool though. I had the company I was working at go out of business a year ago and I basically took the summer off. That was fun. Good luck with the job hunt, hopefully Canada job market is ok. I haven't looked for a job in my field for 17 years. So I have basically no idea when I can expect to find another job. Where the heck am I going to put 400 trading cards thanks a lot, just kidding they should be real cool can't wait! I think I will buy a hard-plastic protector for each card in my sets. Then I will try to find storage boxes that allow me to store the cards with their protectors. I'm thinking long-term here, of course. You will truly be missed in the new games department, I truly enjoy playing all your games. Thanks for the kind words. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hardhat Posted January 2, 2014 Share Posted January 2, 2014 I greatly look forward to your completion of Jewel Panic. If it goes really well, maybe I can convince you to make one of those Canadian mini-games sometime this year, for my CMG2 collection. Best of luck on the job hunt. But I will say, that between my last job and this one I also took the summer off and it was awesome. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bennybingo Posted January 2, 2014 Share Posted January 2, 2014 I just received my games today (all 5)!!! I am psyched cause it arrived just before a big snowstorm is supposed to hit our area. I have the day off tomorrow and all weekend to play! Thanks again Luc!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ColecoDan Posted January 2, 2014 Share Posted January 2, 2014 I just received my games today (all 5)!!! I am psyched cause it arrived just before a big snowstorm is supposed to hit our area. I have the day off tomorrow and all weekend to play! Thanks again Luc!!! If you are lost in the corn how the hell did the mailman find you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bennybingo Posted January 2, 2014 Share Posted January 2, 2014 If you are lost in the corn how the hell did the mailman find you. It came via Corn Meal Mail. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pixelboy Posted January 3, 2014 Author Share Posted January 3, 2014 Sales of the 2013 releases have been very good over the last week. Battle of Hoth and Module Man are now currently sold out, and I have already begun the process of making 20 more copies of each game. Considering my job situation, you can understand that there will be no more copies produced after those 20 extra copies of Module Man and Battle of Hoth are gone. Just wanted to mention that the 20 extra copies of Battle of Hoth are now all spoken for, and I've decided to draw the line here for that game. Battle of Hoth is now officially sold out. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F-Cycles Posted January 3, 2014 Share Posted January 3, 2014 First of all, I want to wish you all a Happy New Year! May 2014 bring you loads of new ColecoVision games to play! 2014 begins for me (and by extension for Team Pixelboy) under the shadow of uncertainty. I quit my job a couple of weeks ago just before Christmas (long story short, I could no longer tolerate the general climate within the company that employed me, and after 17 years working there, it was time for me to move on) and it may take several months before I find another job. So without a steady source of income, I have to put a lid on my Team Pixelboy activities, but not completely... Happy New Year 2014, Luc! I just read this news, I think sometime it worth it to make a big decision in life. I saw that the upcoming activities for Team Pixelboy did shrink a lot compare to before.. I mean, looking to the upcoming release list. But, I am sure your passion for Coleco Vision will remain intact! =) Your release inspired me to jump back to the first electronic game machine I got... Your website remain a source of inspiration! Again Happy New Year 2014 and may you have a very good time break before moving on to another job!!! Best regards, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scobb Posted January 3, 2014 Share Posted January 3, 2014 Hi Luc...what field do you work in and what was your last company...if you are ok giving some details, perhaps there's an opportunity to network w/AA members? Scott Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pixelboy Posted January 4, 2014 Author Share Posted January 4, 2014 Happy New Year 2014, Luc! I just read this news, I think sometime it worth it to make a big decision in life. I saw that the upcoming activities for Team Pixelboy did shrink a lot compare to before.. I mean, looking to the upcoming release list. But, I am sure your passion for Coleco Vision will remain intact! =) Oh sure. The main reason there's only one game on my release schedule this year (namely Jewel Panic) is not so much that I am unemployed, but mostly because I wanted to clear the table for getting started on BasicVision. But then I got some info that revived my interest in the trading card project, so BasicVision falls to the wayside again. The good thing here is that I can make fast progress with the trading cards since I suddently have a lot of free time on my hands. Your release inspired me to jump back to the first electronic game machine I got... Your website remain a source of inspiration! Which goes to show that a little PHP can go a long way. Again Happy New Year 2014 and may you have a very good time break before moving on to another job!!! Best regards, Thanks! Hi Luc...what field do you work in and what was your last company...if you are ok giving some details, perhaps there's an opportunity to network w/AA members? My work experience lies mostly with municipal applications, but I'm open to other types of programming projects. In fact, I would consider game programming if smartphones and tablets weren't so ill-equiped to play the kind of games I'd like to program on them. Touching and poking little screens is just not an acceptable control method for me. Anyway, I'd rather stick to looking for jobs in my home town, and I'm not into the Facebook/Twitter craze, so I think I'll go with "conventional" job-hunting methods at first, when I get back into it. Thanks anyway. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NIAD Posted January 4, 2014 Share Posted January 4, 2014 Which goes to show that a little PHP can go a long way. Did you mean to say PCP ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pixelboy Posted January 4, 2014 Author Share Posted January 4, 2014 Did you mean to say PCP ? Uh, no. My web site is very simple old-style HTML, with some PHP in it to generate the sidebar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phattyboombatty Posted January 4, 2014 Share Posted January 4, 2014 Joke. Funny. LOL. etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pixelboy Posted January 4, 2014 Author Share Posted January 4, 2014 Joke. Funny. LOL. etc. I don't get it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Gemintronic Posted January 4, 2014 Share Posted January 4, 2014 Continuing the long decent into off-topic.. is BASIC still on the radar for 2014? Not bugging I'm two projects deep before I can think of anything Coleco Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pixelboy Posted January 4, 2014 Author Share Posted January 4, 2014 Continuing the long decent into off-topic.. is BASIC still on the radar for 2014? Not bugging I'm two projects deep before I can think of anything Coleco I believe I touched that subject in the first post of this thread. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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