Reboot game's cover art

[Gunstar]

Has cover art for cd/DVD cases and discs been done for Reboot's free download games? I have the artwork for Degz, but I made Jiffi CD's for Beebris SE, Kobayashi Maru, downfall!, SuperFly DX and Jagtopia.

[sh3-rg]

Some people such as Felyx (there's a link somewhere on here to his yaronet thread with all his covers, haven't got time to find it now) and angriefer have made their own, we haven't released "official" ones as we're not finished making copies of our games, although currently we haven't enough time to physically make or deal with any of that. We have no problem with people making their own covers or using ones others have designed, we encourage it, as long as it's for their own use (and there's no future selling on) - it's all good stuff. We won't be issuing our own covers as we don't want people getting confused about what are "official" releases, but I'm sure at some point we'll have something in a standard design for people to use, it makes sense really - maybe standard DVD-size boxes would be the way to go.

 

Recap on CD releases:

 

Beebris (SE version with 2 CDs, colour manual and on-CD monochrome printing - first release in mini dvd packaging). Always intended to be sold continually, we made 110 copies and gave some away and sold the rest for £10 + delivery (iirc). I have over 20 e-mails from people asking when there will be another batch, so at some point it'll have to happen.

 

SFDX gave away some and sold out the rest of the 100 copies in the SE format (Amaray bluray case with swing fitting, full colour manual, dual-sided full colour heavy stock insert, full face printed watershield CD, 2nd data CD) but we didn't get around to making a regular standard Reboot sized release yet. I think that one was either £20 or £25 delivered worldwide. Again, lots of people asked about this once it had gone, so it will return.

 

Downfall - same format box as Beebris, full face printed CD, only released at e-Jagfest 2011 to people who attended. No manual (instructions on back cover). Euro 8.00

 

Kobayashi Maru - same format box as Beebris, full face printed CD, only released at e-Jagfest 2011 to people who attended. No manual (instructions on back cover). Euro 8.00 *** This is just the original release, not the "Final" version - that will be released for collectors later this year (fixed gameplay & scoring, webscores, etc.). 1 other version - in an SFDX style box (with really rubbish printed insert!) was given away to the winner of the KM compo there.

 

Jagtopia - same format as Beebris, full face printed CD, 10 copies made, internal release only (except 1 copy that someone asked for and I gave away, so that's why it's listed here).

 

CD releases will come back at some point, but only once we have a few cart releases out of the way maybe in 5 or 6 months or so.

 

 

[+CyranoJ]

but only once we have a few cart releases out of the way maybe in 5 or 6 months or so.

 

:-) :-) :-) :-) :-)

[Gunstar]

Thanks! I was out of the scene for a while, and I must have missed your official releases. I didn't know there were official releases of these games to buy. I thought they were all only released as rom/cd images.

I think I heard(read) a possibility that they would all be released on one cd collection, which hadn't been done yet. I assumed that would be the only official release.

[sh3-rg]

Thanks! I was out of the scene for a while, and I must have missed your official releases. I didn't know there were official releases of these games to buy. I thought they were all only released as rom/cd images.

I think I heard(read) a possibility that they would all be released on one cd collection, which hadn't been done yet. I assumed that would be the only official release.

 

We've mentioned multi-game carts and others have mentioned multi-game CDs in the past I think, but nothing has ever been planned. From speaking to collectors, most actually prefer 1 game per disc/cart. Gamers tend to want everything-in-one but then they've got the option of making their own copies anyway and keeping their money in their pocket. We have a few ideas about how to deal with our past games, we're confident we can come up with some worthwhile re-releases when the time comes.

[Gunstar]

Well, I've got them allon CDR, no disc labels, just in DVD cases, I mainly just want covers so I can tell what game it is sitting in the DVD rack. I too, would rather have the games individually, and will certainly buy your official releases if your time of release and my wallet's contents match up in the stars.

All developers/publishers for the Jaguar eventually sell me everything they've got, if it's perpetually on sale. But I do have terrible luck with limited releases. I think I've purchased all Songbird's titles at least twice each, becuase I had to sell all my Jag stuff off once, and most of it a second time.

[Tyrant]

Limited edition runs really annoy me too, because my finances are also rather sporadic. While they are clearly easier for the developers (who presumably would rather develop new titles rather than perpetually manufacture old ones) it would be nicer if more games were available in larger quantities.

[Tyrant]

It's a shame that there's so little profit made per unit shipped, otherwise there might almost be an opening in the market for a dedicated homebrew publishing and distributing firm.

[+CyranoJ]

It's a shame that there's so little profit made per unit shipped, otherwise there might almost be an opening in the market for a dedicated homebrew publishing and distributing firm.

 

We've made no claims to ever have intended running our releases for profit. Out intentions all along have been to get physical copies out into the wild for the collectors to enjoy at a price point that allows us to break even. The small amount of extra cash we've made from these runs has either been put back into 'Reboot' as additional hardware (Jaguar CD drives, Skunk boards for team mates, etc) so we can continue to work more efficiently on this platform, or put into the production run for the next release.

 

The BeebrisSE sales in part funded the better packaging on the SFDX boxes. These cost us considerably more to produce, but we didn't put the price up as much as the gap.

 

We're in this for the love of making games, and the Jaguar, and Atari in general. Anyone doing this for cash is here for the wrong reason, IMHO,

[Tyrant]

I absolutely agree. Nobody is going to make any real money in this game, which is a shame, because if there isn't any motivation for anyone to take on the tedious job of supplying the slow and infrequent demand for legitimate homebrew releases once the initial rush of a new game announcement wears off.

 

That's partly why I went for a waiting list model for selling my One Button Controllers. It means that I can legitimately put off making them until I have the time/components, while ensueing that everyone who wants one will get the chance eventually. There's hardly enough profit in each one to cover the time spent making them, but as you say it's a labour of love (and it does provide a little extra in these hard times).

 

Btw, for anyone waiting for one, I'm currently waiting for more components to be delivered.

[+CyranoJ]

there isn't any motivation for anyone to take on the tedious job of supplying the slow and infrequent demand for legitimate homebrew releases once the initial rush of a new game announcement wears off.

 

We have an ongoing solution to this issue, which should make this a thing of the past for us. Stay tuned

[Felyx]

Here is the link to my topic on Yaronet: http://www.yaronet.c...l=&s=146080&p=1

There are 5 pages in the topic: I hope you will find some of the art you're looking for.

Almost nothing is "official": it is just artwork to wear empty DVD boxes shared to all the guys who are burning homebrews on CD-R.

Edited August 16, 2012 by Felyx

[Gunstar]

there isn't any motivation for anyone to take on the tedious job of supplying the slow and infrequent demand for legitimate homebrew releases once the initial rush of a new game announcement wears off.

 

We have an ongoing solution to this issue, which should make this a thing of the past for us. Stay tuned

 

The motivation is doubling sales over time. The initial rush, is half or less of those who would eventually buy it when they can. Of course nobody's in Jaguar development for real profit, if any, we all know that. I appreciate the release of the binary/images of your limited releases for this reason. I understand limited releases too, if the job is being outsourced to a manufacturer and therefore a limited run too. But, I'd buy good quality homebrew too, where everything is done in-house, with CDR's with sticky labels and photopaper quality print work in DVD cases. Just made as the order's come in. That's what I end up doing for myself, if I can, but if it was perpetually available I would purchase a home-brew copy to support the authors. Of course there's the problem of CDR's on some Jaguar CD units...so i'm interested in CyranoJ's plans.

Edited August 16, 2012 by Gunstar

[+CyranoJ]

.so i'm interested in CyranoJ's plans.

 

Hidden agendas? Schemes? Global domination? Hardly

 

CD-Rs are convenient, yes. But as far as reliability goes they are horrible.

 

Then you have the artwork issue. Inkjet stuff can look great, or it can look totally crap. Printed direct to disk is better, stickers cause spin vibration, or worse - peel off taking the data with them. Long term storage is also a problem for CD-R. And the primary reason collectors collect... is to collect. Talk to the laserdisc collectors about bad media, ask them what they think

 

Glass mastering is the way to go for CD runs of games, but this is considerably more expensive. It solves the CD-R reliability issues, and allow silk screen printing.

 

In any case, as I said above.... we have a plan!

[Gunstar]

I am a laserdisc collector, just starting really, but i have a couple dozen movies. Anyway, I've heard of problems with laserdiscs and "bit-rot" or whatever it is, I haven't come across any bad discs myself yet. They actually look better than DVD, IMHO, at least on my LCD projector, which upgrades the laserdisc signal to 480p, and the analog color signal is much richer and vibrant than DVD, IMHO. The only downside is letterboxing on a 4:3 screen, you can't adjust to 16:9 like with newer DVD's. Well, of course my new DVD player does upgrade DVD's to HD with HDMI...so DVD edges out laserdisc at last...uh...yeah, you've gone and pushed my media button and here I am ranting on, off-topic...sorry. But if you REALLY want to know about disc degredation, ask CED collectors! You can imagine vinyl media with micro-grooves and wear and tear on them! Or how about getting destroyed by improper stacking and all that weight crushing the micro-grooves! Talk about a sensative media! Even with hard covers!

Edited August 16, 2012 by Gunstar

[Felyx]

.so i'm interested in CyranoJ's plans.

 

-Printed direct to disk is better, stickers cause spin vibration, or worse - peel off taking the data with them.

 

Long term storage is also a problem for CD-R.

 

Printing on white CD is convenient but it requires a varnish coating to be water resistant otherise you will get fingerprints on it: nothing difficult or expensive but it is good to know as I did not know it. You can handle the CD-R with extrem care to prevent that but coating them makes the life far easier...especialy if your young children loves to play Kobayahsi after eating Nutella...

 

The INA (french archiving agency) says there is a big gap in life duration between the brands of CD-R but if you avoid the shippest CD-R you can expect at least 20 years of lifetime. According to INA nothing is more liable than magnetic tape (because the signal doesn't collapse brutally compared to numeric storages which can suddenly become totally unreadable) ...anyone got a tape reader for Jag

The Verbatim CD-R I use are said to last at least 100 years...by Verbatim: please wait a bit to ask my great-grandchildren for confirmation

Now it is not a big issue as if it happens, I will just burn a new CD-R and that's it.

Edited August 17, 2012 by Felyx

[GodzillaIsMyCopilot]

I will gladly donate my time towards making several versions of the cover(s), if anyone needs or wants me to.

[sh3-rg]

Printing on white CD is convenient but it requires a varnish coating to be water resistant otherise you will get fingerprints on it: nothing difficult or expensive but it is good to know as I did not know it. You can handle the CD-R with extrem care to prevent that but coating them makes the life far easier...especialy if your young children loves to play Kobayahsi after eating Nutella...

 

 

We've used Taiyo Yuden watershield CD-Rs before, the original ones were great (not the marque 2 ones, they're not as good), no need for and sealants if handled sensibly.

 

CD-Rs are good for personal use, but in future we'll only be issuing games on pressed CDs and won't be handling the sales or any of that 'cause we just don't have the time or inclination. It might put the price up a little because you simply can do that stuff on a small scale, but it'll cut our hassle massively, remove the need for a "CD 2", leave us to concentrate on making new games/tools/utils and should be 100% reliable. Carts first though, then when we have our money back from those (and it's going to be quite an outlay!) we can put it into a few CD runs.

[Tyrant]

Does that mean I'll never be able to complete the collection of reboot releases in the small cases? Not having managed to make it to any e-jagfests I've missed out it seems.

[sh3-rg]

Does that mean I'll never be able to complete the collection of reboot releases in the small cases? Not having managed to make it to any e-jagfests I've missed out it seems.

 

Hmm, those releases were done in a pretty cost-effective way as a little thanks to those who make it to e-jagfest. The idea of anything of ours being [email protected]@K [email protected] isn't appealing though. I'll see what I can do, there are a few inserts and boxes remaining but other stuff (CDs, ink) will be needed - but mostly just the time to do it. I'll have a think later in the year when I'm not working 6 days a week (or in fact any days a week \o/), once we have the newer stuff out there.

[Gunstar]

Well, anyway, thanks for all the links guys! I have all the covers for reboot and many other "free/share/donationware" downloads as well as a few new titles I didn't have before, like Black hole and a new cinepak movie 'Big buck.' I even have covers now for some of the demos and cinepak movies discs. I still need covers for some of the B&C CD releases like 'The Big Disc Jaguar CDrom Cineplay.'

Edited August 18, 2012 by Gunstar