opcode
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Posts posted by opcode
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6 minutes ago, MrPix said:Excellent. Be gone!
I have only once before have someone be so rude as to tell me what I'm thinking, what my motivations are, what I'm saying...
Apparently me "ignoring suggestions" is a character flaw but you "ignoring suggestions" is a god given right.I don't have to tell you, you wrote your intentions in your first post. As for ignoring suggestions, I hardly ask for any. And yet, I get unsolicited PM job requests from time to time...
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This is a loop discussion that isn't going anywhere, thus useless.. Dozens of suggestions were made, he is ignoring. The original proposition was a price war on a clone for revenge, which morphed into a super device that no one really cared, and back to the clone for price war, which he is now trying to argue the merits of again. So I would say this is it, he doesn't want to help, he has made his mind.
I have better things to do, out of here.
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4 minutes ago, MrPix said:I've seen this before.
What happens is, they're released to the AA store in small batches of 50 or so, and go very quickly.
It is an active marketing strategy of creating artificial scarcity. When the market is under supplied to the point where these units trade hands for several hundred dollars between brief periods of unavailability, that's not a problem for opcode but it is a problem for the community - especially for people rejoining it, or younger kids finding out what the fuss of the parents and grandparents was about. It's great for the seller, who always gets the maximum perceived value but it's not in the best interests of the individuals in the community or for growing the community as a whole.
Since the SGM only has a perceived value and not a market value, adding other sellers allows the market to decide what the item is worth. There is some value in the SGM. There is a separate added value in the manuals and box. The manuals and box are the majority of the effort and value of the whole opcode SGM experience.So, for the record, are you accusing me of creating artificial scarcity?
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8 minutes ago, Pixelboy said:I was agreeing with your post until this part above. Some people seem to have a philosophical problem with the concept of "territory" where ColecoVision homebrewing is concerned. Yet this concept has been at the core of CV homebrewing since the appearance of the very first CIB homebrews over a decade ago. But in a way this "philosophical problem" is understandable because there's a certain notion of open tell-and-share in other homebrew communities: Look at how easily Atari 2600 homebrewers share work-in-progress ROMs of their games on the AtariAge forums, there's not a lot of that going on in the ColecoVision community.
So yes, there's a concept of "territory" in this community of homebrewers. It follows the first-arrived-plants-his-flag system, and when someone says he has dibs on a game or a piece of hardware, other CV homebrewers are expected to respect this "unwritten declaration" before and after the release of the product, especially if the game is planned to be released with a box and manual.
For example, do you know why the famous Coleco vaporware title "Dracula" has never been released on cartridge by a CV homebrewer? One of the main reasons is because a guy named Dale Wick (he goes by the handle "hardhat" on AtariAge) has dibs on Dracula. He did some work on it (I saw his work-in-progress at an AdamCon convention years ago) and then he lost interest afterwards. Yet, to this day, no one else has seriously tackled Dracula. I should mention that this is a bad example, because Dale Wick has been missing in action on AtariAge (and in the general ColecoVision homebrew community) for a few years now, and I don't think he would complain if someone else did his own version of Dracula on ColecoVision. But the point is that he could "legitimately" pop on on these forums and complain if he wanted to, and the rest of the community would take note of his complaint. Also, with Dracula there's only one mockup screenshot and a short text that loosely describes the game on a Coleco promo flyer, and it's rather hard to create a good game from scratch with so little information, so that's another reason why no one else has tackled the project.
Anyway, all this to say that the concept of territory is important in this community, and saying that "it shouldn't be this way" is not going to make it go away. Anyone who steps on someone else's territory is going to need boxing gloves, that's all there is to it.
Exactly, Atari is a very different ecosystem because of AtariAge. AtariAge is the de facto publisher for all things Atari. So people in the Atari scene only needs to code. You can do that for fun, there is none of your money involved. Publishing on the other hand is an expensive proposition, especially in a small group like this. So we invest the money and time to get things done and out. And that is why we try not to step on each other's toes, because without this balance in respect, almost everything becomes inviable. Which incentive do I have to spend the money and time like I did on the SGM if I knew someone was just going to copy it, do a clone, whatever? So it isn't about status, it is about working in a way that makes all of this viable. Some stuff is just opportunistic, and while may sound fun and innocent for some, lacks proper respect for those using their time and money to make things happen. One example: CollectorVision has their console. So far they don't offer a printed box for that. So why can't I just go and make a box myself and sell it to anyone interested? I am sure a lot of people would love that, right? Well, that isn't how that works. Phoenix is their console, and I will respect that. I respect their investment on that. It doesn't matter my opinion, it is theirs console. It doesn't matter if I won't use their logo, or their name, or the picture of the console or whatever, it is their console, period. If we enter in this kind of opportunistic race against each other, there is little incentive to keep going. The consequences are already here. When I created the SGM, I openly and gladly shared the specs so anyone could make games for it. I don't do that anymore, the reasons are here, in this very thread. I requested info on CollectorVision's sound chip so I could support it, never got an answer. And I don't blame them. There is now little incentive to share anything because of bad players.
What is happening in this thread is distracting at best, destructive at worst. This is opportunistic, to create something arounds someone's else work, so one can get instant and easy profit.
We may be a small community, but the possibilities are limitless. You can always come up with a new game, you can always come up with new ideas. So there is no need to step on each other's toes.
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2 hours ago, SegaSnatcher said:I also agree that with more SGM modules in people's hands it could encourage more developers to create games for it.
As I indicated, I am taking care of that. In addition to the 1200 SGM already out there, plus all the Phoenix, I am doing enough SGM in this run to supply all the pre-orders so far and a surplus for next year. Same for Gradius. The ideia is to have those in stock for anyone to buy. I don’t think we have a problem of supply right now.
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10 minutes ago, Jaymiester said:Hard to get my hopes up for this one again..... after I paid for the SE version in January 2016 I thought it was a done deal. Unfortunately, an unexpected refund 4 days later dashed those hopes. Here we are 4 1/2 years later receiving the same news. Not trying to be a dick, but i'll believe it when a tracking number is issued. Seriously hoping this isn't another false start. Really hoping for a better outcome this time around.
I don’t blame you. We will know soon.
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Now, I wonder why with such amazing resume you were offering me services the other day. Certainly not because you like me or care...
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20 minutes ago, MrPix said:I've stated my motivation repeatedly, consistently and unwaveringly. There's no revenge to be had. I'm really not interested in you commenting on matters that can only impact you in a positive way. Frankly, you sound insecure and as if you're projecting. That's how it comes across. I'm trying to make new hardware that's different and distinct from yours, and you don't want me to. It's really that simple.
I'm not ignoring them at all. I'm noting them down, googling, finding out what's involved, and wondering just how frosty my reception would be no matter what I tried to do. People can reasonably request what they like. I, as a business owner, will maybe do some of them, or not at all. I decided it was important to make an expansion that was compatible with the majority of existing software. You don't want me to. Why not? You don't control the right to be compatible.
Let it go, dude. I just want to get on with designing things, and this is just a huge waste of everyone's time. This has reached the point of absurdity and it's just super destructive for everyone involved.Since you can't come up with your own platform, I question who is insecure.
I am all for hardware that is different and distinct from mine. What you are proposing isn't. You are just desperate for some easy consumer base.
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Just now, MrPix said:There are at least three commercially released products before the SGM that had additional RAM and a sound chip.
*sigh*
I don't know you. I don't know what kind of person you are. You seem to think everyone is out to get you or screw you or get revenge on you. They're not.
I've set a price half yours, to sell half of what you're selling. That's a 1:1 match. That's not revenge. That's fair pricing for what you get. I'm looking to build on other people's work and ideas, just like you did. I'm not making a literal SGM clone - I am making something more, that is SGM compatible. If you're threatened by that, compete. Develop an improved SGM too. Or find a way to make it a bit cheaper, because $90 is not cheap, and keeps it to existing users and not new users and kids who buy a console and maybe grab one of your games and then doesn't understand why it's slow or has weak sound or won't work at all.
I also deliberately chose to start selling these only after you sold through your fifth batch, which is all pre-sales anyway. So again, where is this revenge you keep talking about? What am I getting revenge for? All slights that exist only in your imagination. Just leave me alone.
If I get banned, so be it. That achieves the CV community losing a developer right in the middle of releasing a new RGB adaptor that's *excellent* and open hardware, and a group of Adam expansions and spares. It removes me from the market. Which is the forum's right if they think I'm doing anything illegal (which I am not) or because they just feel like it (which they might). And that would be exactly what I predicted would be your goal in an earlier post - to control who enters the market and has access to customers.
Yesterday I lost a $9,500 wholesale CV hardware order because of this closed system. The problem is very real.Oh, you made that clear. You created this thread for revenge, and you can spin whatever you want now, since your stance on things keep changing by the minute.
I am still making SGMs, and considering that I just placed a PCB order for twice the pre-orders I have so far, that makes it safe to assume that I will still have SGMs available for the rest of this year and beyond. And if by then there is still a demand, you can bet I will make more. And there is no more demand, then this whole thing no longer matters.
So please don't play the victim, there are ton of things you can do. People here are requesting things, you are ignoring them. if you are banned, that is your fault, not mine. You are causing the trouble, people are suggesting you what to do and yet you choose trouble.
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35 minutes ago, doubledown said:That really surprises me honestly. Granted I don't know how these were sold...limited to x number, or all pre-orders welcomed or what, but I don't think that I have ever played Gradius, which means, initially in my brain, I have very little interest in it...whereas I have been playing Pac-Man and Space Invaders all my life (basically), so I bought those as an obvious no-brainer. I've seen videos of Gradius on YouTube, and the game looks great, but I can't get over the choppiness of its scrolling, which I know is a limitation of the ColecoVision, and possibly the 1 or 2 videos I watched weren't "good video captures" adding to this. But as I have no "fond childhood" memories of Gradius, its not on my radar personally. Obviously no negative criticism, or malicious intent intended here, just explaining my surprise to you mentioning Gradius being your best seller...I wouldn't have guessed that in a million years.
Yeah, I was surprised as well. First run was already very good, a full sold out on release day. SIC took years to sell that. Even PMC took probably a year. Then I started receiving requests over the years, and we decided to created a pre-order list a couple of months ago. And it exploded. Same numbers as 1st run. So people seem to love Gradius. Or they were just impressed by having Gradius running on a CV.
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christ0930: I will try my best to give you my take on this, beyond the obvious reasons.
Although you can see and read some disagreements between myself, CollectorVision, and Pixelboy here and there, I am pretty sure we do our best to not step on each other's toes, or at least to find a visible solution at the end that is reasonable for everybody. I made a lot of work for them in the past, and they also helped me with the SGM, Pixelboy was part of Opcode team at one point. We try to do different things so we don't enter in this kind of destructive competition. Did CollectorVision have to pay for a license for the SGM? Technically probably no, but they did so for the respect of the community, and I appreciate that. When I know someone is working on something, I don't touch it. Do any of us have the license for a particular arcade game? Probably not, but it doesn't matter. If someone is working on a game, that is now his game. What is point of have two people working on the same game at the same time? How does that help anyone here? (in fact someone contacted me the other day about that, to check if I was working on something). Not to mention, releasing a game is a very expensive proposition. We are talking about a 100 copies average thing. Do you have any idea of the cost to produce that? I don't make a living from Opcode, not even close. If I used the time a spend with Opcode to get a second job at, let's say, McDonalds, I would make a ton more money. I don't get paid what I am worth doing Opcode. But I don't care, I do this because I truly love this. But all things involve money to get done. I know pretty well Pixeboy invests a lot of money in his projects, and I assume CollectorVision does the same. I try not to sabotage their efforts because I don't want them to do the same to me, and because there is no point in doing that. So yeah, sometimes we fight, sometimes we disagree, and sometimes we spend long periods without talking to each other. And yet we still do our best to respect each other. A couple of years ago I was working on Prometheus, my ColecoVision compatible console. Then CollectorVision was also working on a similar thing, but using a different approach. When it became clear they would have theirs first, I just dropped off of the whole thing. What would be the point of two CV-compatible consoles at the same time? Who would benefit from that? You can say competition is good, but not this kind of competition, in such a small niche scene. Competition to see who can produce the best games is good, two teams investing money and time working on similar thing isn't good, there isn't enough people to buy that, is not good for us developers, is redundant for the community. My recent argument with CollectorVision regarding club and controller, that is another example. That has been sorted out, there was a misunderstanding of intentions, and we restated our deal to not step on each other's toes. Why? Do we need to? No, but because there is no benefit to anyone if we dive into head to head competition for something that in the end is worth what?
Fact is, I created the SGM. If it was so trivial, why didn't someone do it first? Where was this guy years ago, since he says he was doing CV stuff since the 90s. I am still making SGMs, I am still here, I am still contributing. While I may not be able to stop someone from copying the SGM, I don't think it will go well with the community that someone who just arrived decides that in order for him to be successful he needs to piggyback someone else's creation. That isn't the principles we have been living for here for so long.
So that said, he can do whatever he wants, create whatever he wants with his insuperable skills, but use that to do something new, something that doesn't use something that I created and still make, so we can keep the fragile balance between contributors in this community. And finally, truth is that this thread was created with the purpose of revenge because of something he couldn't have his way. To announce something and say that you will sell it at cost if necessary to destroy someone else, because that someone rejected an unsolicited offer is just very questionable to say at least. In my book that is a new low here since Fred.
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12 minutes ago, Pixelboy said:If I may add something, I've published many SGM-dependent MSX ports over the years (including many ports of MSX homebrew games) and my angle towards those has always been about the quality and fun factor of the games themselves, rather than the fact that they are "more easily portable" to the ColecoVision. There are a lot of sub-par games on the MSX (and on the SG-1000 too) and I steered clear from them, publishing only the games that I believed players would have actual fun playing. I would have gladly published several more MSX ports, like Parodius or King's Valley II, if the SGM had been capable of outputting SCC sound.
So when I encounter people putting off MSX ports on the ColecoVision, it makes me believe those people can't tell a good game from a crappy one. If the games are genuinely fun to play, that's what matters.
I second that, and I think a lot of people in this community also appreciate some of these MSX games. Let me just say the the best seller game I had isn't Pac-Man Collection or Space Invaders Collection, but rather Gradius, when the sales of both runs are combined. By far. That said, most of the good MSX catalog is now available, so for me, it is time to go back to the arcade stuff. That is where I think I can contribute best.
EDIT: Pixelboy of course also covers something that I don't, MSX homebrew, some amazing stuff, with no sign of slowing down. So that someone doesn't interpret my post as a suggestion that we should stop releasing MSX material. A lot of super talented MSX developers out there, some are in this very forum, and they keep producing amazing stuff.
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26 minutes ago, christo930 said:Thanks for clearing that up for us. Do you have any existing podcasts in English? If so, can get a link? I'd be interested in checking them out.
We had just announced the podcast a couple of days ago, and I hope to record the first episode today. Someone suggested I should start talking about Opcode's origins, but I think you gave me a good topic to discuss in a future video when I get to discuss the SGM. I will post the link in the Opcode sub-forum when the video is ready.
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10 minutes ago, christo930 said:As I understand it, the SGM was created to make it simpler and faster to convert existing MSX 1 games to the CV by making the CV more like an MSX 1.
That is a misconception actually. It was created to make more accurate arcade ports. In fact the game that motivated the whole thing was DKA.
That said, the MSX thing happened. That system had many good games, and the SGM made it easier to port those. However we had MSX ports before the SGM.
I take my share of responsibility for the misconception, because I drifted from the original goal over the years. May my new headings correct that in the upcoming years.
UPDATE: but I find that a very interesting topic for my new series of video podcasts.
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I have never been mentioned so many times in a single thread by the same person in my whole life. Not even in my own threads. Someone does love me.... or as they say, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.
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7 minutes ago, christo930 said:(assuming there are ever any new SGM games, which I think is highly unlikely. They are going to have to create games for the SGM 2)
Actually I recently announced that we put SGM2 on hold (the turbulent times we are now living in being the main reason) and are concentrating on SGM games. We shown the games, which includes some long awaited games. AFAIK Pixelboy is still supporting the SGM, so I don't see a slow down. In fact we may see an increase in games next year.
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12 minutes ago, Pixelboy said:I second this. I happen to have an unused CV console that barely works and is all ready for a drop-in replacement motherboard. Not sure what kind of TV out options I'd want with it, but I'd settle for regular RF through the original RF output plug if that's an option. Other options would probably force the drilling of additional holes in the console casing, which is no big deal for me as long as it's done cleanly.
Our friend Jimmy at Ruggers Customs can get your PCB repaired and reconditioned with nice new video options in no time.
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1 minute ago, MrPix said:If you want we can talk in PMs? I am trying to be as constructive as I can be under very trying circumstances, because someone before me was apparently a jack hole. I welcome any guidance in PMs.
I would argue that a lot of guidance has already been provided here, but you prefer to ignore it.
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6 minutes ago, MrPix said:*treads carefully*
I'm talking about you, the corporate entity. It's a bit like talking about Apple or IBM. I don't expect them to post in my threads when I talk about them.
You don't know what I want. You have said things you think I want and they're 100% off base.
Again, please stop trying to engage me. I will not respond to you any further, no matter what the provocation.There is no corporate entity, I am Opcode. You can't be for real...
Actually I do know what you want, because you told me, remember. You wanted to do services for me. Then you wanted me to support you, and then when you didn't get what you wanted, you want revenge, at any cost. You posted that, it is your first post here, you will half price whatever I do at the cost if necessary, so you can have your sweet revenge.
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1 minute ago, MrPix said:Sir, you've commented almost a dozen times in my thread. I have not addressed or replied to you a single time. I am not going to engage you. You said we had nothing to discuss. Please honor that.
I am engaging you, I am calling out your falsehoods, since they concern me...
Let's count how many times you have used the words "Opcode", "Eduardo", and "SGM" in this thread? I fell this is a thread about me, not about you, considering how many times you have referred to me here. As I said, you seem really frustrated you can't get what you want.
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3 minutes ago, MrPix said:
I was going to ask Ed about licensing terms, on the basis that it might be cheaper than my attorney's time, but he closed that door and told me quite clearly that we have nothing further to discuss. So here we are. Drama and people being offended on behalf of someone else. I've got a lot of hate mail and support mail - about 50/50, over all. It's just a tough situation all round.
Don't push, you made your intentions pretty clear. "Rather silly of CollectorVision they paid a license", remember?
It is a though situation because you created that. If you are so amazing as you say, software and all, you just have to create your own thing. Create your own platform, people will love it. IMHO you are just a bluffer that is here to create a new wave of drama, even with people telling you what they would like to see, and what not to do.
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QuoteBut as it stands he has inside and confidential information about the spec of my "SGM2" and I know nothing of his plans.
First of all, I never asked any information, and I dare you to prove otherwise. You sent me an unsolicited message, for which I replied I was not interested.
QuoteThis is likely his last batch of SGM, by his own statements.
I never said that.
The real reason for all of this is that you can't do games, so your hardware is useless. So the need to copy something that exists, like if that was yours to do as you see fit. Maybe you can, the real question here is if you can get much support, because from what I can gauge, you aren't doing many friends here.
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The real offense in all this is that one person is making the money, and it's not the people writing the games.
The people who write the games are the lifeblood of the community. They need to be able to justify the very long hours spent writing, testing, debugging, getting feedback, selling, supporting.... It's a thankless task. It should at least be rewarding.
Not sure who you are accusing here, since I only publish my own games. But that is a nice try. Good luck with your revenge plan.
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15 minutes ago, Kiwi said:Introducing....
The SGM Extra Lite by Opcode Games
Comes with extra thin circuit board with razor sharp edge, components that needs to be soldered into. No case. Be extra careful when inserting it into the Colecovision. Alternately, it can help cut butter. Ship in regular white envelope with no warranty.
Suggested retrail - $25.95. Bandaids, stitches and aloe cream not included.
JK,
I'm happy to hear that.
Damn, ok, you ruined my joke, you posted it first!... To the "things that are J-F's fault" list you go...
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New, cheaper SGM clone.
in ColecoVision / Adam
Posted
So now you are trying to imply that Opcode, AtariAge, and ColecoVision Fan are all together on this to create artificial scarcity?