derFunkenstein Posted September 8, 2018 Share Posted September 8, 2018 Levels 17 and 19: I have no joke here. While I don't hate the CDi like a lot of others do, and respect the ambition of the 3DO, there's zero need for two $60 dedicated modules just to use the original deadass controllers. If they have the means, just add CDi and 3DO compatibility and allow for generic controller support on it. Oh, I don't think they're doing that. The difference in language between "will be playable on..." and "will receive a worldwide module" tells me these old CD systems will just have an emulator licensed and integrated into their custom Hyperspin setup. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
00010000 Posted September 8, 2018 Share Posted September 8, 2018 (edited) The higher rewards are not live yet (if ever?) but can be viewed in the HTML code (rightclick rewards page, view source page) in case they remove them, here they are for posterity/your amusement LEVEL 7: BASIC SOCIAL NETWORK ($2.25mil) "Make a profile, create a friends list, chat with other users on Polymega" LEVEL 8: CHEATS DATABASE ($2.5mil) "A digital cheats database will be implemented for supported systems." LEVEL 9: EM07: COLECOVISION MODULE SET ($3mil) "The Classic Colecovision system will receive a worldwide module release on Polymega" LEVEL 10: ADVANCED SOCIAL NETWORK ($3.25mil) "A fully integrated social network for sharing your screenshots and game videos to other players on your Polymega" LEVEL 11: SIDEBAR APPS ($3.5mil) "A new application ecosystem will be created that allows you to create and share custom per-game widgets for on-screen tools like timers, strategy guides, tweaks, translations and more." LEVEL 12: EM08: GAMEBOY MODULE SET ($4mil) "The Classic Gameboy (GBA/GBC/GB) systems will receive a module release on Polymega" LEVEL 13: ACHIEVEMENTS SYSTEM ($4.25mil) "An Achievements System will be implemented to Polymega so you can share your accomplishments with friends and followers." LEVEL 14: NETPLAY MATCHMAKING ($4.5mil) "Starting with select games, go head-to-head with other players using Polymega’s online Matchmaking and Netplay service. Create game lobbies, invite friends, and see who’s best." LEVEL 15: EM09: SEGA MASTER SYSTEM MODULE ($5mil) "The Classic Sega Master System will receive a worldwide module release on Polymega" LEVEL 16: TOURNAMENT NETPLAY ($5.25mil) "Create and participate in tournaments using Polymega’s Matchmaking service" LEVEL 17: PHILIPS CD-I SYSTEM ($5.5mil) "The Classic Philips CD-i System will be playable on Polymega" LEVEL 18: SEGA DREAMCAST ($6mil) "The Classic Sega Dreamcast will be playable on Polymega" LEVEL 19: 3DO ($7mil) "The Classic 3DO system will be playable on Polymega" LEVEL 20: NINTENDO 64 MODULE ($8mil) "The Classic N64 System will receive a worldwide module release on Polymega" ...oof, yeah, this is kinda sorta bad. These guys said they had a financial investor, right? You would think the investor would've funded for most of what's in these stretch goals, because at this point it's essentially a Kickstarter though they said they weren't going to do a Kickstarter. Plus if they had most of this stuff (the netplay, some of the other modules etc.) there off the bat, it'd serve much better in attracting people to the product knowing it's ALREADY THERE. It's almost like companies have forgotten consumers are more willing to buy into something if the product's already available, and not a conceptual pitch :/ EDIT: Also why Tournament Netplay a separate stretch goal from Advanced Netplay? The infrastructure is essentially the same for either by that point, why gate the former? And why is Sega Master System module behind such a high gate? They could literally just put a Master System cartridge slot on the Genesis module. I mean, the Genesis module already supports 32X right? Just kill another bird with the same stone. I'm also curious about how they'd implement the other CD-based systems onto the PolyMega. Assuming that'd be as a download update, but the base unit only has 32GB eMMC flash. Storing simply PS1 and Saturn games there is gonna eat away at it pretty fast (I'm also gonna assume some of that 32GB is already occupied by OS and the emulators themselves). Unless I'm mistaken and the user can also add in optional secondary storage, but then you have the issue of optimization; preferably you'd want to do those type of updates on a storage w/ standardized specs across all units, which you won't get if you let the users push them to a secondary storage of their choice. Edited September 8, 2018 by 00010000 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
godslabrat Posted September 8, 2018 Share Posted September 8, 2018 ...oof, yeah, this is kinda sorta bad. These guys said they had a financial investor, right? You would think the investor would've funded for most of what's in these stretch goals, because at this point it's essentially a Kickstarter though they said they weren't going to do a Kickstarter. Plus if they had most of this stuff (the netplay, some of the other modules etc.) there off the bat, it'd serve much better in attracting people to the product knowing it's ALREADY THERE. It's almost like companies have forgotten consumers are more willing to buy into something if the product's already available, and not a conceptual pitch :/ EDIT: Also why Tournament Netplay a separate stretch goal from Advanced Netplay? The infrastructure is essentially the same for either by that point, why gate the former? And why is Sega Master System module behind such a high gate? They could literally just put a Master System cartridge slot on the Genesis module. I mean, the Genesis module already supports 32X right? Just kill another bird with the same stone. I'm also curious about how they'd implement the other CD-based systems onto the PolyMega. Assuming that'd be as a download update, but the base unit only has 32GB eMMC flash. Storing simply PS1 and Saturn games there is gonna eat away at it pretty fast (I'm also gonna assume some of that 32GB is already occupied by OS and the emulators themselves). Unless I'm mistaken and the user can also add in optional secondary storage, but then you have the issue of optimization; preferably you'd want to do those type of updates on a storage w/ standardized specs across all units, which you won't get if you let the users push them to a secondary storage of their choice. Remember when they said their product was basically ready? And this was well over a year ago? I 'member. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
00010000 Posted September 8, 2018 Share Posted September 8, 2018 Remember when they said their product was basically ready? And this was well over a year ago? I 'member. Yeah, and now I feel like the court jester. If anything's shaken me on this product, it's those stretch goals. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
godslabrat Posted September 8, 2018 Share Posted September 8, 2018 Customer: "So what games did I just pay for?" PolyMega: "Shut up." 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RandomRonn Posted September 8, 2018 Share Posted September 8, 2018 87DFEC52-1687-467C-A455-6904B1B2C196.png Customer: "So what games did I just pay for?" PolyMega: "Shut up." This just keeps getting better and better. It's almost as if these folks are allergic to facts and information. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flojomojo Posted September 8, 2018 Share Posted September 8, 2018 So long as patsies continue to throw money at them, they have little incentive to behave any differently. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg2600 Posted September 8, 2018 Share Posted September 8, 2018 Frankly who cares what games are available? Who's really buying this for the built in games? As for patsies, I doubt there's enough of those to cover their development expenses. I really feel like doing this as a startup, on their own, is incredibly dumb. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keatah Posted September 8, 2018 Share Posted September 8, 2018 They've done that a few times now. The trick is to make the thing first, describe and demonstrate it in detail, THEN ask for money. Then ship it to satisfied customers. Hooray for retail! It's how basic commerce works! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DurradonXylles Posted September 8, 2018 Share Posted September 8, 2018 87DFEC52-1687-467C-A455-6904B1B2C196.png Customer: "So what games did I just pay for?" PolyMega: "Shut up." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cybercylon Posted September 8, 2018 Share Posted September 8, 2018 That's their $50M stretch goal. It will feature an FPGA that powers a flashing LED. Until there is a goal to add LeapFrog/Leapster cart support on it, I am definitely out. They've done that a few times now. The trick is to make the thing first, describe and demonstrate it in detail, THEN ask for money. Then ship it to satisfied customers. Tricky thing that work flow. Too much common sense there. Make something real first. Show how it works and demonstrate in detail. Make a small run for reviewers. Then ask for money once production is ramping up and ship those preorders to people. Except now anyone taking money before there is something concrete is a pre-order these days. The people that throw money at this stuff... do they get wound up in knots once it starts to implode or so some do not care. Imagine if you had "preordered" this and the Nuataribox..... 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elmer Posted September 9, 2018 Share Posted September 9, 2018 Up to $148,920. I'm done watching this project, as it's making me physical ill. 36 hours later on, and it hasn't changed a penny from the $148,920 raised. I don't watch many crowdfunding campaigns, which this is, even if they want to call it "pre-orders", but that doesn't seem (to me) to be a great sign for Playmaji/Polymega. Anyone out there got any better experience as to how this grinding-to-a-halt compares to other crowdfunding? Can we begin to hope that the unwashed-masses have decided that the way that this project has been handled, and then changed at the last minute, has finally raised enough red flags with potential purchasers? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cacophony Posted September 9, 2018 Share Posted September 9, 2018 36 hours later on, and it hasn't changed a penny from the $148,920 raised. https://twitter.com/polymegaHQ/status/1038821292760215552 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
godslabrat Posted September 9, 2018 Share Posted September 9, 2018 36 hours later on, and it hasn't changed a penny from the $148,920 raised. I don't watch many crowdfunding campaigns, which this is, even if they want to call it "pre-orders", but that doesn't seem (to me) to be a great sign for Playmaji/Polymega. Anyone out there got any better experience as to how this grinding-to-a-halt compares to other crowdfunding? Can we begin to hope that the unwashed-masses have decided that the way that this project has been handled, and then changed at the last minute, has finally raised enough red flags with potential purchasers? I really think this is following the Ataribox pattern... huge push for 48 hours, then reduced to effectively nothing. What Kickstarter does, that R-Blo can't do on their own, is create marketing through the crowdfunding. Kickstarter wants you to succeed, so they promote you. This usually results in a last-minute spike at the end of the campaign. Playjuju can't market for crap, we already know this. What they've raised is likely going to be 95+% of all they will ever raise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flojomojo Posted September 9, 2018 Share Posted September 9, 2018 There's a quasi-religious tone to some of the supporters, one of whom said "I believe in the Polymega!" So they're at $300K and they want $500K before they start production. Doesn't seem to me like there would be many people on the fence now that the first few days have passed, but then, I'm not a "believer," I'm more in the "show me" camp. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elmer Posted September 9, 2018 Share Posted September 9, 2018 (edited) https://twitter.com/polymegaHQ/status/1038821292760215552 So they're at $300K+ now, but they still can't get their pre-order webpage to show the correct amount after 36 hours??? I used a different browser my normal one, and then completely-cleared its browser cache before going to their site. They can't get that web page to display correctly and yet, as a potential customer, I'm supposed to trust that they can get their whole online store and online feature set working correctly??? Well, perhaps they have a chance of making their goal after all. Good for them, I guess. "Caveat Emptor" for their customers. I found their twitter comment "Goal to take it to production at the price we've specified is 500k." to be quite interesting. So, does that mean that they'll try to raise the price of the system if they don't get all $500k? That could get really messy! Edited September 9, 2018 by elmer 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cacophony Posted September 9, 2018 Share Posted September 9, 2018 So they're at $300K+ now, but they still can't get their pre-order webpage to show the correct amount after 36 hours??? I used a different browser my normal one, and then completely-cleared its browser cache before going to their site. They can't get that web page to display correctly and yet, as a potential customer, I'm supposed to trust that they can get their whole online store and online feature set working correctly??? Well, perhaps they have a chance of making their goal after all. Good for them, I guess. "Caveat Emptor" for their customers. I found their twitter comment "Goal to take it to production at the price we've specified is 500k." to be quite interesting. So, does that mean that they'll try to raise the price of the system if they don't get all $500k? That could get really messy! Yeah, tech is clearly not their strong suit. And I'm guessing they don't have any experience in manufacturing either. So this should be interesting! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flojomojo Posted September 9, 2018 Share Posted September 9, 2018 They're not so hot at communications or public relations, either. If I were a well-heeled game player looking for a system to play on, I think I'd look elsewhere. I hear Nintendo has a relatively new system with lots of software ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
godslabrat Posted September 9, 2018 Share Posted September 9, 2018 It would be an interesting exercise to list what they are good at. 1) Renders 2) ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cybercylon Posted September 9, 2018 Share Posted September 9, 2018 Sure.. just what I want to do... pre-order renders. Sign me up. There is a definite pattern to how these things go. Maybe it is time for Flojo to make one of those excellent charts that shows how these turn out (pie in the sky idea, make some renders, half baked prototype or concept art, make the shell first, start champaign, take money, smoke and mirrors, poor communication, fighting between haters and Kool aid drinkers, angst by those that preordered despite all warnings, crash and burn). If there is one in the Ataribox thread, erase Ataribox and insert Polymega. Wash, rinse and repeat for everyone of these crap things that come out of the woodwork. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cacophony Posted September 9, 2018 Share Posted September 9, 2018 (edited) It looks like the CTO left in July 2018 (this is from https://www.linkedin.com/in/developingisfun/ ) CTO & Co-Founder Company Name: Playmaji, Inc. Dates Employed: Aug 2016 – Jul 2018 Employment Duration: 2 yrs Location: Greater Los Angeles Area duties included: * engineering team management * custom Linux kernel modifications such as platform specific DRM api, high priority input polling, etc... * All underlying platform code which included a low level CD-ROM simultaneous read and caching system, a from scratch graphics library, an audio system from the ground up, a proprietary relational database system for game catalogue, and the initial UI system. * Assisting in verilog FPGA programming for prototypes. * writing 6502 based emulation cores such as 65816 and HuC6280 as well as software implementation of classic graphic chips like SNES SPPU (1 and 2) and PC Engine HuC6270. And the only engineer currently on linkedin is a software contractor (probably for UI work): https://www.linkedin.com/in/josephhouston/ Edited September 9, 2018 by cacophony 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
godslabrat Posted September 9, 2018 Share Posted September 9, 2018 It looks like the CTO left in July 2018 (this is from https://www.linkedin.com/in/developingisfun/ ) CTO & Co-Founder Company Name: Playmaji, Inc. Dates Employed: Aug 2016 Jul 2018 Employment Duration: 2 yrs Location: Greater Los Angeles Area duties included: * engineering team management * custom Linux kernel modifications such as platform specific DRM api, high priority input polling, etc... * All underlying platform code which included a low level CD-ROM simultaneous read and caching system, a from scratch graphics library, an audio system from the ground up, a proprietary relational database system for game catalogue, and the initial UI system. * Assisting in verilog FPGA programming for prototypes. * writing 6502 based emulation cores such as 65816 and HuC6280 as well as software implementation of classic graphic chips like SNES SPPU (1 and 2) and PC Engine HuC6270. And the only engineer currently on linkedin is a software contractor (probably for UI work): https://www.linkedin.com/in/josephhouston/ Interesting that this was about 6-8 months after they went on a hunt for an electrical engineer. Did the two conflict? Did the EE get hired on as a CTO, only to jump ship after seeing the train wreck? We have no way to know, but I can't imagine any timeline where those two events bode well for the overall project. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanooki Posted September 9, 2018 Share Posted September 9, 2018 So what you're saying is the rats have been leaving the ship and no one noticed. The smart ones get out early once they figure the deceptions won't work or last for long so they're less responsible or easily finger pointed at for being full of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derFunkenstein Posted September 9, 2018 Share Posted September 9, 2018 (edited) You can get around any caching issues by using an Incognito Mode window in Chrome (or other browsers have the same thing with other names) Anyway, it says $305k right now. Given the price of the base unit, it's going to be pretty pathetic if they can't sell more than $2-3 million in preorders. At 4 per thousand, 300k is 1200 units. They've sold some deluxe and ultimate bundles, surely, so they have MAYBE a thousand people committed to buy this thing. Maybe. If they're lucky. They will get zero scaling on a thousand units, so the margins are going to be razor thin. Hope nobody is interested in additional support, because without selling at least 10k units, there won't be any aftermarket upgrades unless it's something that the community hacks in. It looks like the CTO left in July 2018 (this is from https://www.linkedin.com/in/developingisfun/ ) CTO & Co-Founder Company Name: Playmaji, Inc. Dates Employed: Aug 2016 – Jul 2018 Employment Duration: 2 yrs Location: Greater Los Angeles Area duties included: * engineering team management * custom Linux kernel modifications such as platform specific DRM api, high priority input polling, etc... * All underlying platform code which included a low level CD-ROM simultaneous read and caching system, a from scratch graphics library, an audio system from the ground up, a proprietary relational database system for game catalogue, and the initial UI system. * Assisting in verilog FPGA programming for prototypes. * writing 6502 based emulation cores such as 65816 and HuC6280 as well as software implementation of classic graphic chips like SNES SPPU (1 and 2) and PC Engine HuC6270. And the only engineer currently on linkedin is a software contractor (probably for UI work): https://www.linkedin.com/in/josephhouston/ Right about the time they needed to shift away from ARM, licensed their emulators, and figured out their "hybrid emulation" was a crock. Guessing he got canned for biting off more than he could chew. Edited September 9, 2018 by derFunkenstein Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derFunkenstein Posted September 9, 2018 Share Posted September 9, 2018 (edited) Also, the FAQ has been updated. CAN I LOAD ROM FILES ON POLYMEGA™? At this time, there is no method for loading ROM files directly on to the machine. They've dumped all the stupid legalese and poetry about being legal, and instead just said nope. Which means that when nobody signs onto their digital store, they can "gracefully" switch this to a ROM playing device. I have to think that with fewer than a thousand units preordered, every publisher they've spoken to so far has said "nevermind" Edited September 9, 2018 by derFunkenstein 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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