youxia Posted July 16, 2018 Share Posted July 16, 2018 (edited) Just remember that Rimworld's in early access and has tens of thousands of players paying for the privilege to beta test. Ok, I'm sure that totally balances out the resources the likes of Rockstar or EA have. That besides the fact that Early Access or alpha in case of roguelikes and its close brethren does not mean what it often means in case of some other genres. DF is still in "alpha" and yet it was a fairly complete game years ago. Same goes for Rimworld, Cogmind, Caves Of Qud and others. Edited July 16, 2018 by youxia Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flojomojo Posted July 16, 2018 Share Posted July 16, 2018 Are the games put on this removable media for the big consoles so DRM free that I could potentially find complete ROM sets of all of them just like the Harmony Cart? Cartridges were the original DRM. Atari, Mattel, et al never meant for the Harmony Cart to happen. Remember how expensive it was to duplicate a VCS game back in the day? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+x=usr(1536) Posted July 18, 2018 Share Posted July 18, 2018 Going back to the original question: were cartridges neat? Absolutely. If for no other reason, they were incredibly satisfying to cram into a system followed by flipping the power switch. That's an interaction you just don't see anymore on modern hardware. But would I want a return to them? No. But what I would love would be a return to their boot and random access times. Don't make me sit through an FMV loading sequence, or a loading bar - just move a pointer in memory to the next place the game needs to run from, and go from there. Yes, I get why this idea is impractical on many levels with modern consoles - but if I had to pick the best of both worlds approach, this would be it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Osgeld Posted July 18, 2018 Share Posted July 18, 2018 (edited) Cartridges were the original DRM. Atari, Mattel, et al never meant for the Harmony Cart to happen. Remember how expensive it was to duplicate a VCS game back in the day? no one ever stopped someone with a rom burner from making copies (well pre nes) ... but even by the ps2 era those bastards still cost a few hundered dollars, so it might not be the wisest investment to knock off a couple crappy atari games Edited July 18, 2018 by Osgeld 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pacman000 Posted July 18, 2018 Share Posted July 18, 2018 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flojomojo Posted July 18, 2018 Share Posted July 18, 2018 I wish I knew what the Yoko Game Copier (apparently only out in Europe) and blank media for it cost at launch. I'm guessing "not cheap." Maybe it can be found in an old magazine advertisement? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skippy B. Coyote Posted July 21, 2018 Share Posted July 21, 2018 Back on Page 2 I talked about my views on physical media, quoted below for reference... I like cartridges. They're fun to hold and look at and they preserve games so that they aren't lost and gone forever when the online servers for whatever system the game is on go down in a decade or so. Knowing that none of today's digital-only releases will still be around 10 or 15 years from now is enough to convince me to rarely buy digital-only games, and never spend more than $15 on one when I do. Physical media is the way to go whenever possible, if for no other reason than preservation. But today I encountered a tricky situation for my personal gaming philosophy. I always try to buy games I want on physical media whenever possible, but what does one do when a game they want that was released on physical media goes on sale digitally for 1/3 the price that it would cost to buy a used physical copy? I could really use a few new games for my 3DS, since I've already played through all the games I currently own for it several times over, and this week the 3DS eShop is having a 75% off sale on some Capcom titles that I'd like to play; Resident Evil: The Mercenaries 3D and Super Street Fighter IV 3D to be specific. Do I stick to my "physical whenever possible" philosophy and buy used copies when I can eventually afford them (I've really only got $12 I can spare for non-essential stuff like video games until next month), or do I pick them up digitally for $5 each while they're on sale this week just to have something new to play right now and worry about collecting physical copies later if I end up really liking them? Decisions, decisions... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Video Posted July 21, 2018 Share Posted July 21, 2018 One thing I've always done on digital was absolutely not buy anything I can't get a physical copy of. If I do or not get a physical isn't particularly important. Just to much undesirable stuff with digital and I see no reason to support that kind of behavior. But they can't release physical and make money. ??? Really? Deposit game here made tens of millions on digital only, you mean enough people won't buy it to make money for physical? I just don't buy that, especially with disc media, which is cheap to produce even in low numbers. They'd still ask $20 for it, and I'd buy that before $5 for a download. Hey, being cheaper than physical is cool and all, and one good argument for downloads, but honestly, outside of sales, this is ultra rare. Even with sales it's rare. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schizophretard Posted July 21, 2018 Share Posted July 21, 2018 Cartridges were the original DRM. Atari, Mattel, et al never meant for the Harmony Cart to happen. Remember how expensive it was to duplicate a VCS game back in the day? I know. Which is why my answer was a yes and no. Here it is again: Yes and no. It used to be my only option to use my hundreds of Atari carts but today I can use my Harmony Cart with all the games and getting them through digital download. I wouldn't want to go back to before that or wait for a new cartridge based system to get a flash cart like that 30 years from now. So, my vote would be for a new cartridge based system that is already like that from the get go with just one cart that I buy ROM's for with no DRM. I would want it to be a cart instead of an internal hard drive because I'm just as concerned about a console breaking as servers going down. I just want a cart I can quickly pull out and install into another console to get all my games in seconds. To me it doesn't get much more of a sense of ownership and preservation as that. In short, my no vote was for not going back to the original DRM and my yes vote was for a hypothetical console coming with a flash cart that you fill up with DRM free ROMs through digital downloads. In other words, I don't want to go back to what cartridges were but what they have evolved into today because they are the best of both worlds between physical media and digital downloads. However, if we were to go back to a physical medium that has complete games and no need for the internet then I think I would prefer the games on discs as big as LaserDiscs in similar vinyl like cases full of art everywhere including the sleeves. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanooki Posted July 21, 2018 Share Posted July 21, 2018 If the digital price is so low lets say under 10 and you do t have to own it go for it. Or if its so cheap call it a test and scout a nice cheap used copy later treating it like the rental it is. Ive done similar with steam to GoG before connect existed waiting on big 75%+ off sales 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schizophretard Posted July 22, 2018 Share Posted July 22, 2018 Back on Page 2 I talked about my views on physical media, quoted below for reference... But today I encountered a tricky situation for my personal gaming philosophy. I always try to buy games I want on physical media whenever possible, but what does one do when a game they want that was released on physical media goes on sale digitally for 1/3 the price that it would cost to buy a used physical copy? I could really use a few new games for my 3DS, since I've already played through all the games I currently own for it several times over, and this week the 3DS eShop is having a 75% off sale on some Capcom titles that I'd like to play; Resident Evil: The Mercenaries 3D and Super Street Fighter IV 3D to be specific. Do I stick to my "physical whenever possible" philosophy and buy used copies when I can eventually afford them (I've really only got $12 I can spare for non-essential stuff like video games until next month), or do I pick them up digitally for $5 each while they're on sale this week just to have something new to play right now and worry about collecting physical copies later if I end up really liking them? Decisions, decisions... You go panhandling with a very honest sign saying something like,"Anything will help to get me more video games." In no time you would be able to afford not just a used but a brand new copy to vote with your wallet for developers to keep publishing on physical media. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skippy B. Coyote Posted July 22, 2018 Share Posted July 22, 2018 You go panhandling with a very honest sign saying something like,"Anything will help to get me more video games." In no time you would be able to afford not just a used but a brand new copy to vote with your wallet for developers to keep publishing on physical media. Sensible, but I think I'd prefer to keep the modicum of dignity I have intact. I ended up deciding that I'd rather have a new game to play now in digital form than be bored for the rest of the month so I purchased a couple games from the 3DS eShop, which were Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon and Resident Evil: The Mercenaries 3D. Bloodstained was a totally awesome spirtual sequel to Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse from the producer of Symphony of the Night as well as all the GBA Castlevania games and well worth getting a digital copy just to be able to experience the game, especially since it never got a physical release on the 3DS, and I liked it so much that I played through it beginning to end until I beat the game on Veteran difficulty. Fortunately there's 5 different endings and lots of unlockables to get so I started a new game immediately after beating it and I think it'll keep me busy for a good week or two. As far as Resident Evil: The Mercenaries 3D goes, now that I've played it a bit I actually don't mind having spent $5 for a digital copy as opposed to $15 + shipping for a physical one. It's kind of a throwaway game to pass a few minutes of time here and there, and while it is a fun diversion that's worth $5 I don't think it's something I would have wanted to invest in a physical copy of. It's not a bad game, just a little too simple and unremarkable to warrant the cost of a physical copy. Next month I will be picking up a physical copy of Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon new from Target though, since it's only $20 now that it got a Nintendo Selects release and I like giving Nintendo money to support and encourage them to keep doing retail releases of 3DS games. As long as people keep buying them they'll keep making them, and I would like Nintendo to keep making 3DS games for as long as possible. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eightbit Posted July 23, 2018 Share Posted July 23, 2018 Going back to the original question: were cartridges neat? Absolutely. If for no other reason, they were incredibly satisfying to cram into a system followed by flipping the power switch. That's an interaction you just don't see anymore on modern hardware. But you do see that in modern hardware. The Switch takes cartridges (ok, "cards" but same business) and you just pop them in and you are playing games. You can even hot swap them. The capacities on these things are astronomical versus previous generations as well. 32GB of game data on a game cart/card is great. And they are small and much more robust than CD or Bluray discs in terms of accidental damage. They are pretty solid. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schizophretard Posted July 23, 2018 Share Posted July 23, 2018 But you do see that in modern hardware. The Switch takes cartridges (ok, "cards" but same business) and you just pop them in and you are playing games. You can even hot swap them. The capacities on these things are astronomical versus previous generations as well. 32GB of game data on a game cart/card is great. And they are small and much more robust than CD or Bluray discs in terms of accidental damage. They are pretty solid. The NES takes cartridges (ok, "Game Paks" but same business) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flojomojo Posted July 23, 2018 Share Posted July 23, 2018 I would have been all over the Famicom Disk System if it were available in my country. Lots of choices, cheap reloadsble media. Sort of halfway between a cartridge rental and a purchase, and you could write over them, too. Then and now, I've always felt that not everything needs to be kept (by the user) forever. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Artlover Posted August 8, 2018 Share Posted August 8, 2018 I did it the old fashioned way.... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eightbit Posted August 8, 2018 Share Posted August 8, 2018 Then and now, I've always felt that not everything needs to be kept (by the user) forever. I wholeheartedly agree. That said, your time is up with what you have kept and you must move it onward. PM me and I will give you an address to send it all off to 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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