mdoerty

Put me down as being interested in this game! I think I am going to go broke with all the Intelly home brew action this year. Mike from Morgantown

I was going to buy 7800 Wasp! -- But when I went back to look for it, the store was gone! Will it be back? Does anyone else sell it? Mike from Morgantown

What happened to the store? I was going to buy Wasp! .. And then it was gone. Mike from Morgantown

This one looks good. Are we looking at direct sales again or is the Atari Age store going to reopen? Mike from Morgantown PS -- I would say put me on the waiting list ... but I said that earlier this month and I don't like to repeat myself.

As usual Please add me to the list of those wanting to buy this wonderful creation. Thanks Mike from Morgantown (Mike Dougherty)

Did I miss another new game -- Dungeon? Mike

Just tell me where to send the money Thanks, Mike

Am I a day late and or a dollar short? If there are any open slots or waiting lists, I would be happy to take one of the carts. Mike Dougherty ([email protected])

I just saw the post, and just sent my email of interest. This is great. Another fully complete 7800 game ... and something that is not out there much for other systems. I look forward to hearing from Mitch upon his return from vacation (I just got a blank email back ... so I wonder if his email auto-reply is mis-set). Mike

Will this product be back for the 2007 Holiday Sale? I didn't realize it existed until it was unavailable? Thanks -- Mike

When will this cart be ready? Where does the line form to "pre order" this cart? As a 7800 collector without a CC2, if I want to play a game on a "real" system. If there is a question about making carts, I know that both Lee Kruger and Video 61 have done it in the past. I know because I have bought titles off of them. Keep me posted. I can't wait to play the game. Mike from Morgantown PS -- I have an Intellicart, so I love Schell Electronics. It is just with a young son, I could not justify the outlay for a CC2 to my wife.

Great find:!: :!: It is interesting that the other Tutorvision talked about on the net was also found in Chcago. If I recall correctly, that is/was where World Book had/has its headquarters. By the way, the BSRs are not the only persons who might want to get ahold of that unit for analysis. And from what I have heard, they have all the software stored (somewhere) in disk format. But this marks the first time a "regular" collector has gone public with postings regarding the Tutorvision games. Congrats again. Mike from Morgantown

It seems some people thought my call for a code of conduct was for some sort of binding bureaucracy. I really just thought it was some good words to live buy. I am not suggesting we create a religion, only a theology. Item 2 causes some confusion. I guess I was also thinking of one-off services for individuals who might want a copy of hack or an old PD Game. But certainly special orders would have to take time. Maybe that is something that can be worked out. As for fear of releasing the ROM, I would not be so afraid. After the initial rush is over with, it would be good to release it (if not simultaneously) so that everyone can enjoy the game. (And to be honest, it will get out there. If I spoke French, I could probably find every ROM I wanted on line. And even my unskilled hands found every Activision 2600 ROM in less than 30 minutes after they were removed here.) That is what it is all about -- isn't it. Having fun ! Too many people seem to be thinking of this as a religion - something to die for. This is not something that should be taken too seriously, at least in my opinion. I doubt anyone is earning a living today writing Atari 2600 games. It is supposed ot be fun. Occasionally rewarding, even financially. But still fun. One of the things that was nice about Hozer was that it made fun available. The same thing with ROM releases. I am not saying that Hozer's business practices were 100 percent correct becuase there aren't that many businesses you can say that about and because there are reports herein to the contrary and I believe that there is something to them. But he did allow for fun. And so do ROM releases. Thus, I guess my reason for the Code of Conduct proposal and for this email message is for the Homebrew community to not forget the gameplayers out there. Anyone realizes that you have a stake in your game. But at the same time, after a while, you should do like Thomas does (and most other programmers do) and give a gift to the community. While there is no obligation to do so, it would be a nice thing to do. And nice is something that appears to be on very short supply right now.

Maybe all of the trouble we are having points to the need for a Code of Conduct for the hobby and its developers. It would of course be optional to follow, but the "seal of approval" may mean much to people. This would include things like: 1. Making copies of games avaialable more than for those who travel halfway across the country for a show. I don't mean by this there can't be special show editions. But the basic game should in some way be made available to those who can't get to these places. 2. ROM release -- either simultaneously or after the stock is sold (within six months of release). 3. Licensing of a duplication service/cart making on demand. This is essentially what Hozer Video was -- except without the license. That is a valuable service. Not all of us have Cuttle Carts (there are less than 250 of them and more than 10 times that many people registered for these forums, which do not represent those are get there information about the hobby in other places. 4. A realistic price strucutre, especially for non-special edition carts. I don't know if the current system is realistic or not. However, I cannot see why a 2600 game should cost three times a two-disk Playstation game. I konw it costs more to make a cart than a CD. But have we gone overboard on packaging that increasing the cost and ads nothing to the game value? It probably is time to move on from this intermural squabbling and look at what can be done that is best for the hobby. Over the past several years, many old-time/old-school collectors (people who started in the "Summer of Carts" of 1995 have left the hobby. Those coming into it have brought with them a different perspective and some much needed enthusiasm. However, there have also been splits into various factions. Maybe Atari Age can help with the healing by developing certain protocols and procedures for people to follow.

Just some more rambling thoughts on this topic. Has Atari Age approached Intellivision Productions about doing an as needed sale or a special run of their carts? Also, if their thougts about a special run were announced in a more public way, there might be 50 people signing up quickly, especially if they felt it was their last chance to get the carts. As for all the people who Randy "hozed" - admittedly it was probably not a good thing for him to so publically put forth the cart conversions after Thomas had requested they be removed. Maybe he should have made cart burning services available for anyone who brought the ROM to him instead. But I only saw a couple of others remark about similar experiences. And I imagine many more people have had good experiences buying cartridges. I hope that Homebrew developers continue to release their ROMs, even if it is after the sale of their orirginal run of cartridges (which is understandable to protect their value). This is because not everyone can be the first 25 or 50 or 100 to get the cartridges and if you look at list of game-owners, they are generally dominated by the same names. Would I like to see Randy back in business? Yes. I have said so publically. Had I wished he had not been selling the conversions that started this? Doesn't everyone. Am I going to condone what Randy did? No. Am I going to condemn him? No. Because it is not that much different than what many in this hobby do, and some at much higher prices. Am I glad Atari Age is here? Yes because they are valuable to the hobby. Do I hope Atari Age begins selling protos that were on Randy's site (such as Ebivision)? Of course. Would I like to see Atari Age get license for other games not currently openly available, such as those by Intellivision Productions? I think I said that earlier. Do I hope Atari Age begins catalogs and makes ROMs available for games/hacks that don't have commerical value (many of the older games/hacks that Randy had available)? They probably already do, but if they don't, that would be grand. Maybe my perspective is for the good of the hobby, not the good of any individual -- not that I want to see an individual trampled in the process. But regardless of what you might think or what you feel has transpired recently, Randy provided a valuable servivce to this hobby for many years. He was making homebrew carts available long before there was an Atari Age. Thus I wish he were still here and he will be missed. Mike Dougherty

First of all, I commend Atari Age for the work it has done and for not killing my post. Second of all, I never intended to say that this was an orchestrated effort to get Randy out of the business by Atari Age or anyone else. Though from the piling on some might think of that. Third of all, I would hope that Atari Age would work to get the good homebrews for sale and catalog and get ROMs for the other games/hacks, if they have not already done so. Fifth of all, I cannot speak to Randy's morals, I don't go to his church. But as for his business practices, it probably would be wiser to sell with permission. Though certainly others out there are doing it without. The only case where I can remember someone going through all the legal hoops was the Cuttle Cart. Fifth of all, about programmer and profit, how many of those $45 "specials" we found the proto and are releasing it at this show or on this web site deals do you think give money back to the original programmer? Sixth of all, in these discussions of profit, has anyone considered the time it takes to do this? While I don't know much about cart building, I imagine it is far less than most of the people who do it generally earn for an hour of their time. Finally, I publically call for Randy to reconsider and reopen Hozer! (Albeit without anything that some people may not wish him to sell). Mike Dougherty

Folks, I would not celebrate too quickly. In fact, this might be a case of throwing the baby out with the bath water. Now there is one less source of carts and many older homebrew carts are suddenly "out of print" unless Randy has a change of heart and brings back Hozer. Should Randy have dropped selling the conversions? Maybe. But from correspondence with him, on items like that, he sees what he is doing as selling a service. That service is putting to cartridge an avaialble ROM. The conversions were available on the Hacks page on this web site. Someone has mentioned Cubicolor. That would fall under the same rubric using this business model. And that ROM is also on the Atari Age web site. Someone mentioned Activision. It appears that Atari Age is about the only place that removed those ROMs. Other prominant Classic Gaming web sites still have those ROMs displayed. I will not name them to protect the innocent (and to prevent NARCing to Activision). And if you are wondering about the model of selling "service," I have heard that from others before. It is the way that around selling something that you have no legal right to sell (or at least that is what is believed). And almost all 2600 hacks that are being sold fall into that category somewhat (including some on the Atari Age page). That being said, Randy offered some games that I wonder how Randy got the ROM he listed. Obviously, he had very very good contacts, at least at one time. I would like there to be a resolution. Most people here did too. But I don't think they wanted to create a monopoly situation. Where am I now to go to get Pesco? Qb? Simon?