Thomas Jentzsch Posted January 11, 2016 Share Posted January 11, 2016 Quoted for truth. I don't even know why we are debating over this... ...whatever that means about you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nebulon Posted January 12, 2016 Share Posted January 12, 2016 It does not matter what it is inside the cart if it fits in a 2600 slot and something displays on the screen thru the rf out it is a 2600 game/program. Oh boy. I hate to get involved in this. I guess what I'll say is that, In order to keep things in historical context, I'll tell people what's in an augmented game when I show one to them. Even if it's a Supercharger game I'll let them know that the results they're seeing are beyond the level of the typical Atari 2600 release as a result of added RAM. I think the enhancements to hardware ought to be mentioned when introducing people to Atari games so that they don't get a skewed perception of what a console could do, out of the box. Now whether or not adding hardware to a cartridge makes the game any less an 'Atari 2600 game' is probably a fairly subjective argument. I will say that once the enhancements eclipse the power of the original unit, it's fair to at least ask whether it's an authentic Atari 2600 gaming experience or something else. If it's something else, that isn't necessarily bad. It's worth acknowledging, nonetheless. Which puts me in mind of the quote, "He's more machine now than man." 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mord Posted January 31, 2016 Share Posted January 31, 2016 The problem isn't bB, 7800basic, IntyBasic, or any other language that lowers the bar. If these languages didn't exist, the crap peddlers would just be selling graphical hacks of commercial games. The blame for crap carts lies entirely at the feet of people that create a market for crap carts in the first place. You know, I say this about the modern video game market all the time. But still, it's true. If people will buy anything and everything that gets slapped on a cart, then more people will attempt to cash in on that. So my advice for collectors, which are usually the group that will do this, if you're buying a homebrew, try to make sure it's worth your money. If you buy everything sight-nearly-unseen you're just going to apply a LOT more pressure to your own wallet. Instead, insist on video footage of a homebrew and/or roms to play on emulators, etc to test it out before deciding if it's worth being in the game library. Trying to collect every game that was originally put out for a console back in it's commercial days is understandable for a collector. I can get that even if it's not important enough for me to spend money on. With those original games however, no matter how much they sucked, there's still a finite number of them. With homebrews though, the number you're going to have to force yourself to buy can be infinite. And the more you buy the more some people will slap anything together to see. Well, I don't know if I'm a "good homebrew programmer" or not, but personally that's exactly what I did. I stopped programming. I was *greatly* discouraged by seeing people releasing stuff that took them a few weeks or (gasp!) months of effort and selling their copies. Seeing people buy these things climbing over each other to get limited edition copies of 25 or whatever... I simply couldn't see any reason for continuing to program quality assembler games for the platform. It's a shame to see you give up over something like that, but thanks for putting together the 2600 tutorials all those years ago. I found them quite useful for learning the 2600 even if I never managed to actually finish a game in pure assembly. It was how I learned assembly to begin with though, and while I'm currently using mostly 7800Basic at present (With a few dips into conveniently placed assembly .) I had come close to building a DL building routine in pure assembly well before this - although unfortunately it had a bug in it I never could fix. Personally I try not to worry about what other people are releasing when I'm coding up something. Just too much pressure/stress doing so. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andromeda Stardust Posted February 9, 2016 Share Posted February 9, 2016 Topic needs a kick in the pants IMO. I just got a "top secret" email. Nevermind what it said. I don't really think it's top secret anyway because the links therein are all over Facebook. Rudy is back with two brand new games... You can buy them both here: http://thenesdreammaster.wix.com/thenesdreammaster I was tempted to buy both for $57 but then I had a moment of pause after viewing the gameplay videos. I will admit I had a good time with Endless Snow but I wonder if his two new games are really worth it. Once again, he is challenging people to earn 1,000,000 points for a "free" prize. Maybe this was the kind of stuff the OP was referring to... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas Jentzsch Posted February 9, 2016 Share Posted February 9, 2016 (edited) Maybe this was the kind of stuff the OP was referring to... Probably (at least for one game). I only have access to the videos, so I may miss something, but to me Pigs in the Castle looks very generic. Checked Inn has an interesting game play idea, but IMO it lacks polishing. The sprites are minimal (single color, no real animation) same goes for the sound. The first screen is OK, a bit more love to the pretty generic looking hotel would have been nice (is there a color gradient?) and displaying an elevator (or at least an indicator) on the left would have helped to make the game play more obvious. The 2nd screen seems to flicker quite a lot, no clue why. Also the right elevator seems to go down completely, but without any indication like on the left side. Why? As far as I can tell, there are no new game elements added to the game later on, so the general game play always stays the same and just becomes faster and more challenging. Maybe a bit too simple to last. How about: Elevators out of service for a while? A waiting queue? More floors? Walls on floors? Multiple doors you have to deliver to? Target doors moving after a while? Two players or an opponent which takes away your target or cash? Reversed tasks? (pickup in the hotel and deliver outside or just to a different room) ... So the fundamentals for a really good game are there, but with some more work, the game could have become much more entertaining. IMO. Edited February 9, 2016 by Thomas Jentzsch 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andromeda Stardust Posted February 9, 2016 Share Posted February 9, 2016 Probably (at least for one game). I only have access to the videos, so I may miss something, but to me Pigs in the Castle looks very generic. Yeah, I saw the Pigs video and basically decided not to hit the purchase button. You take damage as points but somehow earn them back by picking up money? Also I wonder if you can just fight the little piggy (or neither of them) then exit the room. Otherwise, why does the door open before you kill them both? Don't get me wrong, the Belhop concept looks decent, and there have been other games with an in and out mechanic, but the gameplay seems tedious and the timer downright unfair. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chavert Posted February 9, 2016 Share Posted February 9, 2016 It would be fine to get games demos. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hizzy Posted February 9, 2016 Share Posted February 9, 2016 It's silly, but I like his labels. I wish more homebrews came with the classic look, or an option to pick the label you like. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Propane13 Posted February 9, 2016 Share Posted February 9, 2016 So you're buying a game for the labels? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andromeda Stardust Posted February 9, 2016 Share Posted February 9, 2016 So you're buying a game for the labels? Yes, you can buy carts for their shiny labels. Apparently there's a market. Albert even sells "magnetic" repros in his store at a heavy discount, without the ROMs! https://atariage.com/store/index.php?m=&c=104&l=product_list&sortby=num_sold:desc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+SpiceWare Posted February 9, 2016 Share Posted February 9, 2016 Albert even sells "magnetic" repros in his store at a heavy discount, without the ROMs! I like mine 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andromeda Stardust Posted February 9, 2016 Share Posted February 9, 2016 I like mine IMG_6947.jpg I got five of 'em so I know. Pepsi Invaders, Air Raid (with fake PVC handle), Quadrun, Lost in Atari City, Tempest. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hizzy Posted February 9, 2016 Share Posted February 9, 2016 Downloading has changed the way I purchase things. While I wouldn't buy a game just for the label, it's a consideration for sure. The more options you can give consumer, all the better, especially when dealing with collectibles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keatah Posted February 9, 2016 Share Posted February 9, 2016 Well, it is pretty depressing to see that bad games often sell better than good ones. Maybe it's because they get on cart faster? Maybe the storyline is on steroids? Maybe they're cheaper? IDK. I don't know the precise stats.. Has anyone compiled demographics or done surveys on homebrew buyers? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas Jentzsch Posted February 9, 2016 Share Posted February 9, 2016 I doubt there are any polls existing. If people care more about the look of a label than for the game itself, then it is obvious, that the quality of the game becomes less relevant to them. And then there is a market created, which is filled by products tailored at those needs. No poll required, just a basic understanding of demand and supply theory. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hizzy Posted February 10, 2016 Share Posted February 10, 2016 I have sold limited edition collectibles in different areas. I have found that the content matters most, but that people like to tailor certain things to their own tastes or have some things personalized. I was once involved with a limited press run of an LP. We had the musician do illustrations on the covers of the first 25 LP's sold, with an option to have a personalized signature. People really seemed to appreciate that. You don't get that from a download. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr Manhattan Posted February 10, 2016 Share Posted February 10, 2016 I wish there were more opportunities to try before you buy. How great is it to go to a convention like PRGE or CGE and visit the Atari Age booth? You can sample all the latest wares and never wind up regretting your purchase. I'd like to see more demos and more game play videos on YouTube. Honestly, this topic just reminds me that there's a lot of stuff I need to pick up on the AA store. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matthew Posted February 10, 2016 Share Posted February 10, 2016 I wish there were more opportunities to try before you buy. How great is it to go to a convention like PRGE or CGE and visit the Atari Age booth? You can sample all the latest wares and never wind up regretting your purchase. I'd like to see more demos and more game play videos on YouTube. Honestly, this topic just reminds me that there's a lot of stuff I need to pick up on the AA store. Surely you mean warez, with all that stolen intellectual property. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andromeda Stardust Posted February 10, 2016 Share Posted February 10, 2016 Surely you mean warez, with all that stolen intellectual property. What the hell dude? Nobody's stealing anything. Wares = plural of ware. Well, there's Zippy and Pacman and a number of other games. But those did not steal actual code from anyone. Compare that to the repro peddlers and other NES/SNES vendors packing these conventions selling hacks of commercial games and dumps of found prototypes. In some cases exact copies of games released in other region. No thanks; I'll pass on that $40 Devil World repro, seeing as how I can just get the original Famicom release shipped to the states for less than $10. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas Jentzsch Posted February 10, 2016 Share Posted February 10, 2016 I wish there were more opportunities to try before you buy. How great is it to go to a convention like PRGE or CGE and visit the Atari Age booth? You can sample all the latest wares and never wind up regretting your purchase. I'd like to see more demos and more game play videos on YouTube. All my games are free for downloading (except for Boulder Dash, where we only where allowed to release a demo). I have nothing to hide and I am not up to the money. My games are made for being played, collecting is always only a 2nd thought. 11 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matthew Posted February 11, 2016 Share Posted February 11, 2016 (edited) All my games are free for downloading (except for Boulder Dash, where we only where allowed to release a demo). I have nothing to hide and I am not up to the money. My games are made for being played, collecting is always only a 2nd thought. Anonymously release rom file via torrent. Do it!. Do it now because you can and i think you should!. Edited February 11, 2016 by Matthew Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andromeda Stardust Posted February 11, 2016 Share Posted February 11, 2016 Anonymously release rom file via torrent. Do it!. Do it now because you can and i think you should!. No. Someone else will have to figure a way to dump it. But most people who possess the skill to do so have the integrity not to. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matthew Posted February 11, 2016 Share Posted February 11, 2016 (edited) No. Someone else will have to figure a way to dump it. But most people who possess the skill to do so have the integrity not to. Yes, however only one person without integrity is required. Edited February 11, 2016 by Matthew Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas Jentzsch Posted February 11, 2016 Share Posted February 11, 2016 Integrity has a very high value for me. And I assume the same goes for all other people involved into the project. Else I wouldn't collaborate with them. If anyone should violate this faith, this would immediately create a lot mistrust between everyone. Which would harm all future projects. I skip. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schizophretard Posted February 11, 2016 Share Posted February 11, 2016 No. Someone else will have to figure a way to dump it. But most people who possess the skill to do so have the integrity not to. Are these different people than the ones that have illegally dumped all the copyrighted ROMs we have access to for many systems? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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