Can another Atari-collection for the Evercade include top-notch Homebrews in the lot?

[Giles N]

I see that Indie-studios release collections for the Evercade.

 

I see the upcoming Intellivision-Evercade collection include ‘Princess Quest’ - homebrew from 2014, as well as original titles.

 

Could something similar be envisioned for a 7800-collection for the Evercade?

 

Like Rikki and Vikki, Bentley Bears Crystal Quest, Sirius, Plutos etc?

 

And which games would you like to see of a) official releases, b) homebrews/unofficial releases?

Edited May 17, 2021 by Giles N

[8th lutz]

21 hours ago, Giles N said:

Like Rikki and Vikki,

Great choice, but don't know if the 7800 emulator Blaze Entertainment uses for Evercade needs to be updated for able to play the game.  I don't know possible to update that emulator.

 

The game's hardware is unique compare other 7800 homebrew games when Rikki and Vikki first came out. The game had mappers, 512k for gameplayer, another 256k for sound, and custom made sound chip.

 

That sound chip at would be an issue if there is one.

 

 

Edited May 17, 2021 by 8th lutz

[8th lutz]

I've read in the past that Blaze Entertainment is for putting homebrew games and indie titles for any system that is on the Evercade. 

 

Official Releases could be an issue right now since there is not a lot of those left that Blaze could get the rights for in terms of the 7800. 

 

There is a good amount 7800 homebrew games that I think Blaze would have no problem with.  I would pick Failsafe, Bentley Bear's Crystal Quest, Dragon's Cache, Danger Zone, Knight Guy in Low Res World Castle Days, and Plink as games for the collection.

[Giles N]

9 hours ago, 8th lutz said:

I've read in the past that Blaze Entertainment is for putting homebrew games and indie titles for any system that is on the Evercade. 

 

Official Releases could be an issue right now since there is not a lot of those left that Blaze could get the rights for in terms of the 7800. 

 

There is a good amount 7800 homebrew games that I think Blaze would have no problem with.  I would pick Failsafe, Bentley Bear's Crystal Quest, Dragon's Cache, Danger Zone, Knight Guy in Low Res World Castle Days, and Plink as games for the collection.

I’m not aquainted with all those games, but it would be a joy to see Bentley Bears Crystal Quest on the Evercade...

 

(...this is not a comment on the other games, which I haven’t played...)

 

- - -

And it would also be joy to see Rikki and Vikki on the Evercade...

 

Sirius and Plutos deserves semi-homebrew-releases on a third Atari-Collection...

Edited May 18, 2021 by Giles N

[TailChao]

16 hours ago, 8th lutz said:

Great choice, but don't know if the 7800 emulator Blaze Entertainment uses for Evercade needs to be updated for able to play the game.  I don't know possible to update that emulator.

 

The game's hardware is unique compare other 7800 homebrew games when Rikki and Vikki first came out. The game had mappers, 512k for gameplayer, another 256k for sound, and custom made sound chip.

So, there's already an emulator which can run the game and was written with portability in mind - the intention being migrating Rikki & Vikki to other platforms like the Nintendo Switch.

 

The actual problems are...

• The Evercade still has no support (as far as I know) for two player games, which renders half of the content completely unplayable.
• While the custom hardware isn't a show stopper, it means an effort is required. More effort than for migrating other (more popular) titles.
• I've moved on from Rikki & Vikki outside of maintaining the Windows version.
   

To be honest, I don't understand what the point of this device is unless you really like packaging. There's better options available for portable emulation in the same price range (Dingoo or hacked 3DS / PSP / Vita) or bling bracket (GPD Win).

Edited May 18, 2021 by TailChao

[+MrZarniwoop]

2 hours ago, TailChao said:

The Evercade still has no support (as far as I know) for two player games, which renders half of the content completely unplayable.

Your point about multi-player is exactly why the new Evercade VS sounds so exciting, and I admit Rikki & Vikki was the first thing that came to my mind!

[Giles N]

12 hours ago, TailChao said:

So, there's already an emulator which can run the game and was written with portability in mind - the intention being migrating Rikki & Vikki to other platforms like the Nintendo Switch.

 

The actual problems are...

• The Evercade still has no support (as far as I know) for two player games, which renders half of the content completely unplayable.
• While the custom hardware isn't a show stopper, it means an effort is required. More effort than for migrating other (more popular) titles.
• I've moved on from Rikki & Vikki outside of maintaining the Windows version.
   

To be honest, I don't understand what the point of this device is unless you really like packaging. There's better options available for portable emulation in the same price range (Dingoo or hacked 3DS / PSP / Vita) or bling bracket (GPD Win).

I’m not into persuading people to spend overt time on something they don’t find valuable, but its true as others say here: Evercade VS has four joypad ports, and I guess revenue can be of interest since the game already is made (I do not think Evercade releases need updates/maintenance, as they are put on carts which are supposed to be collectible as is).

 

So, since the game already is sort of made, I don’t find it impossible one could make some revenue putting it on an Evercade (VS) cart...

 

But its not my game, and my initial thread was only concerned with the general question of Atari-homebrews on an Evercade Cart - it could be 2600-homebrews, 5200-homebrews and 7800-homebrews... the Evercade carts often mix games from different consoles.

 

And as I noticed that several Indie-games were out there and will be coming, I wondered what the chances were to see Atari-homebrews on the Evercade/Evercade VS...or if there were any interest in it...

 

But - besides questions of time, money and interests, I think it would look good and fit well in the Evercade library...

Edited May 19, 2021 by Giles N

[TailChao]

19 hours ago, MrZarniwoop said:

Your point about multi-player is exactly why the new Evercade VS sounds so exciting, and I admit Rikki & Vikki was the first thing that came to my mind!

This is... a very strong reminder that I'm not part of the target demographic for any of these products .

 

 

9 hours ago, Giles N said:

I’m not into persuading people to spend overt time on something they don’t find valuable, but its true as others say here: Evercade VS has four joypad ports, and I guess revenue can be of interest since the game already is made (I do not think Evercade releases need updates/maintenance, as they are put on carts which are supposed to be collectible as is).

 

So, since the game already is sort of made, I don’t find it impossible one could make some revenue putting it on an Evercade (VS) cart...

It's not impossible, but moreso my point is the same as before - it's a similar level of investment to migrate the game to the Evercade as with the Switch or PS4 which we got far more requests for. So if my own cash would have to go into it, I'd pick the Switch.

 

I do apologize if this all comes off as a desire to constantly dunk on the Evercade line, but the device didn't make a great impression. The faults on launch and some of the shoddy licensing edits (like the opening of Earthworm Jim 2, where Princess What's Her Name is sitting on nothing because the original logo was just... erased) conjured experiences of buying bootleg Famicom cartridges in Turkey and not a portable Criterion Collection for video games.

 

Would I like to be proven wrong and see this improve?

Yeah, absolutely.

 

 

9 hours ago, Giles N said:

But its not my game, and my initial thread was only concerned with the general question of Atari-homebrews on an Evercade Cart - it could be 2600-homebrews, 5200-homebrews and 7800-homebrews... the Evercade carts often mix games from different consoles.

 

And as I noticed that several Indie-games were out there and will be coming, I wondered what the chances were to see Atari-homebrews on the Evercade/Evercade VS...or if there were any interest in it...

Songbird Productions worked with Blaze for both of the Atari Lynx Collections, so they're technically already there - just for the Lynx and not the 7800. The Evercade's 2600 and 7800 emulators were derived from Stella and ProSystem respectively (at least when I last looked into it). If a game runs in either of those and has no licensing issues then that's a start. So most on this list are actually good examples.

[Giles N]

3 hours ago, TailChao said:

 

It's not impossible, but moreso my point is the same as before - it's a similar level of investment to migrate the game to the Evercade as with the Switch or PS4 which we got far more requests for. So if my own cash would have to go into it, I'd pick the Switch.

 

 

Would I like to be proven wrong and see this improve?

Yeah, absolutely.

 

 

I sort of see your point as to chosing the Switch over the Evercade.

 

But (this not concerning whatever the future of Rikki and Vikki), I do think the Evercade is a success.

 

On a Youtube-show I think they gave it place number 10 out of 70-90 (or more) handhelds throughout time.

 

A tiny number of emulations may come of as shoddy or second-rate, but overall 97-98% of them are perfect renditions of the originals.

 

There are hardware-stuff that are clearly second-rate about the handheld-console itself, but this can easily be rectified with better Evercades in the future (akin to the 3DS XXL etc).

 

The release of the Evercade VS (ie homeconsole), and the steady release of new collections tells its own tale; they’ve caught the interest of ... I guess people like me... wanting to see a huge number of retro-games becoming commercially available... and not just the 30th re-run of Sonic and Mario and Zelda, but a much more fullblown ‘retro-world’

 

To me its very easy; how much fun have I have with my Evercade?

 

Tons and tons...

 

I’ve revisted and finally gotten through old favourites like Blue Ligthning, found new favourites like Scrapyard Dog Lynx... (I think all the Lynx games are 1:1 perfectly emulated)

 

And when my personal budget and release-date allows, I’ll get the Evercade VS.

 

Like period.

 

My argument here doesn’t concern questions regarding Rikki and Vikki, just that I think the Evercade is going to have a future... and perhaps a very solid one... 

 

How much something sells initially is just one part of the question; whether it becomes a stayer with a steadily growing user-group is another.

 

I think the Evercade will turn out to do something unique for the right group of customers...

 

- - -

Which, btw, means I think AtariAge should get its own Evercade-release...

[Giles N]

It seems to me the Evercade/VS is advancing:

 

 

[CPUWIZ]

Write up a business proposal for both parties, study the pros and cons and possible revenue, then ask yourself the question again and pretend that you would have to do all the work required to make it worth it.

 

I know I am not buying one of those, but that is beside the point.

[Giles N]

10 minutes ago, CPUWIZ said:

Write up a business proposal for both parties, study the pros and cons and possible revenue, then ask yourself the question again and pretend that you would have to do all the work required to make it worth it.

 

I know I am not buying one of those, but that is beside the point.

A firm is a firm, an individul an individual.

 

Why should I think the Evercade was staked upon mine or one guys calculation...?

 

Blaze is a firm; they probably have folks doing business-calculus for them...

 

It seems the Evercade/VS is advancing, meaning its on its way to get solid ground... or already has it...

 

But for AtariAge there are two questions: a) revenue, b) being actively present in the retro-game world...

[CPUWIZ]

8 minutes ago, Giles N said:

But for AtariAge there are two questions: a) revenue, b) being actively present in the retro-game world...

 

Far more than two questions and B is already true. 

 

8 minutes ago, Giles N said:

Blaze is a firm; they probably have folks doing business-calculus for them...

 

There is one additional question right there, who does the work?  Who figures out if said persons time is even worth it?  Who pays?  Who takes the risks?  The questions are endless.

 

What you see is the consumers view and that is fine, but don't forget what goes into even the smallest of contracts (see Boulder Dash 2600).  And never lose focus on the money, while you plan.  Even Atari's corpse, with 3 million FREE dollars couldn't even produce something properly in my opinion.

 

Those are my opinions, take them however you will.

 

EDIT: By the way, I have never heard of Blaze before, so there is that as well.

[Giles N]

@CPUWIZ

I haven’t a clue to how Blaze is set up or how many are involved, only that within 2 years they’ve published a nice handheld with some 280 retro-games (3-20 games on each cart), to collect from a wide array of publishers and companies...

 

... and I don’t think AtariAge would have anything to lose by making its own Evercade-collection/cart... 

 

(the exception being licence/legal/ownership-issues to which I’d only have to say, - as to my knowledge of it - : ‘pass’, ‘haven’t a clue’)

Edited May 20, 2021 by Giles N

[TailChao]

12 hours ago, CPUWIZ said:

EDIT: By the way, I have never heard of Blaze before, so there is that as well.

They're the same company that did this Atari handheld awhile back, along with a few similar devices (with similar game selections).

[+SmittyB]

Blaze have been around in some form or another for a few decades now. They used to be in the business of making bargain bin accessories like rubber grips, somewhat dodgy memory cards, and controllers for GameBoys, Playstations, and other consoles of the era.

Probably their most successful products back then were the Xploder series of cheat cartridges / discs, and the Scorpion light gun for PS1 which seemingly everyone and their mother had.

[+Defender_2600]

In the past, Blaze has also distributed some AtGames products in Europe.

 

 

 

 

 

[SS]

10 hours ago, TailChao said:

They're the same company that did this Atari handheld awhile back, along with a few similar devices (with similar game selections).

I'm sorry but that Blaze Atari handheld is one of the worst devices that I ever bought.  7800 emulation was simply horrible on it and 2600 emulation just felt off.  I was no fan of their D-pad either.  

[leech]

Ha, I only just found out about Rikki & Vikki (haven't had my 7800 for long).  Unfortunately looks like I can't buy the cart, and the Steam version sounds like it has a rom included, but wouldn't run on a standard 7800...  So I went to eBay, where all I found were signed photos of Rikki and Vikki - The Ikki twins... and some playboy magazines...

[MrBeefy]

On 5/19/2021 at 8:53 AM, TailChao said:

This is... a very strong reminder that I'm not part of the target demographic for any of these products .

 

 

It's not impossible, but moreso my point is the same as before - it's a similar level of investment to migrate the game to the Evercade as with the Switch or PS4 which we got far more requests for. So if my own cash would have to go into it, I'd pick the Switch.

 

I do apologize if this all comes off as a desire to constantly dunk on the Evercade line, but the device didn't make a great impression. The faults on launch and some of the shoddy licensing edits (like the opening of Earthworm Jim 2, where Princess What's Her Name is sitting on nothing because the original logo was just... erased) conjured experiences of buying bootleg Famicom cartridges in Turkey and not a portable Criterion Collection for video games.

 

Would I like to be proven wrong and see this improve?

Yeah, absolutely.

 

 

Songbird Productions worked with Blaze for both of the Atari Lynx Collections, so they're technically already there - just for the Lynx and not the 7800. The Evercade's 2600 and 7800 emulators were derived from Stella and ProSystem respectively (at least when I last looked into it). If a game runs in either of those and has no licensing issues then that's a start. So most on this list are actually good examples.

I'd buy a Switch version in a heartbeat! Please make it so!

[TailChao]

On 5/20/2021 at 2:50 PM, SmittyB said:

Probably their most successful products back then were the Xploder series of cheat cartridges / discs, and the Scorpion light gun for PS1 which seemingly everyone and their mother had.

Yeah, I actually used their MPXchanger to do GameBoy development way back in the before times, paired with the silly passthrough "Game Downloader" cartridge.

 

 

22 hours ago, leech said:

Ha, I only just found out about Rikki & Vikki (haven't had my 7800 for long).  Unfortunately looks like I can't buy the cart, and the Steam version sounds like it has a rom included, but wouldn't run on a standard 7800...  So I went to eBay, where all I found were signed photos of Rikki and Vikki - The Ikki twins... and some playboy magazines...

Watching search engines try to figure out which results to prioritize like this was one of the few good memories I have of our launch, Google was hella confused.

 

 

21 hours ago, MrBeefy said:

I'd buy a Switch version in a heartbeat! Please make it so!

I'm not in a position where this is feasible right now, sorry.

 

Rather, I keep bringing up this and the Steam / Humble Bundle / itch.io approach since these have become prevalent for new releases on other platforms like the NES and Genesis. They're all extremely accessible, and I think if you want to actually want to reach a wide audience which might not have otherwise noticed or taken interest in the 7800 - this is a good way to do so.

[MrBeefy]

3 hours ago, TailChao said:

 

I'm not in a position where this is feasible right now, sorry.

 

Rather, I keep bringing up this and the Steam / Humble Bundle / itch.io approach since these have become prevalent for new releases on other platforms like the NES and Genesis. They're all extremely accessible, and I think if you want to actually want to reach a wide audience which might not have otherwise noticed or taken interest in the 7800 - this is a good way to do so.

Wwell I already have the cart and Steam version but I can always hope for Switch version. It really is a good game and I hope sales pick up on it on Steam.

[leech]

9 hours ago, TailChao said:

Yeah, I actually used their MPXchanger to do GameBoy development way back in the before times, paired with the silly passthrough "Game Downloader" cartridge.

 

 

Watching search engines try to figure out which results to prioritize like this was one of the few good memories I have of our launch, Google was hella confused.

 

 

I'm not in a position where this is feasible right now, sorry.

 

Rather, I keep bringing up this and the Steam / Humble Bundle / itch.io approach since these have become prevalent for new releases on other platforms like the NES and Genesis. They're all extremely accessible, and I think if you want to actually want to reach a wide audience which might not have otherwise noticed or taken interest in the 7800 - this is a good way to do so.

Would love a cart, now that I have a working 7800.  Though I do wish I had a better joystick.  (Seriously considering rebuilding the standard controller with microswitches)

[+DrVenkman]

51 minutes ago, leech said:

Would love a cart, now that I have a working 7800.  Though I do wish I had a better joystick.  (Seriously considering rebuilding the standard controller with microswitches)

A 3-button Genesis pad + Seagull78 adapter is great for most 7800 two-button games, including RIKKI & VIKKI.

[leech]

On 5/22/2021 at 7:24 PM, DrVenkman said:

A 3-button Genesis pad + Seagull78 adapter is great for most 7800 two-button games, including RIKKI & VIKKI.

Nice!  Ever tried the 8bitdo Genesis controllers with them?  (wireless ones)?  That's my goto genesis controller, unless it's a fighter.  Then I use one of my arcade sticks