Coding a CPC game: motivation and feedback.

[remax]

I was told off by one guy because he felt Poly Play shipping costs where "a rip off"

I don't know if Polyplay shipping costs are a rip off, but imo there are on the too high side, at least psychologically.


I really hope that 'shipping cost' is a wide term and a big part of it is given back to polyplay, and i hope the money didn't went to the local post.


Psychologically again, I don't mind paying  higher for the game but high shipping costs are what often refrain me from buying (even if in this case i have made an exception 2 times as i bought the two physical release in two separate package).


Furthermore, learning that at 50 copies sold, they didn't even cover their costs, i feel there is a bad price choice, as 50 is the expected mean of solds on CPC, so at this volume you should have covered your costs.


For me, paying 10 bucks more for the game and 5 bucks less for the shipping would have not bothered me.

[remax]

Maybe refine the idea? Take the money out and just have a "game club" thread each month where a recent release is picked and everyone plays, comments and maybe competes for the best score or something. With a poll to rate the game overall as a kind of game club score?

Feels like the dos game club and it is a great idea in my opinion

[remax]

Or it should just be a sticky that authors are allowed to make one post in for each new game. No discussion in that thread. Only posting when a game is new.

Yeah, a dedicated forum/subforum with one topic of one post per release. great idea.

[Shining]

I like the Idea with the sticky post but here another suggestion, going into directions mentioned here before (if achievable):


If there will be a "webpage" somewhere where you have for example 4 columns: Games, Demos, Tools, Hardware. And right under them you have the last 10 "products" of that category with a picture, a link to it and a link to the forum (something like the news already existing on the cpcwiki frontpage but not everything into one category but subdivied into 4).


And then the users or an adminitrator get the possibilitiy to enter new entrys with an easy interface, coz I think the mediawiki-software is an obstacle for some. And then, when it will be possible to subscribe to this page, everyone, who wants, gets the news (and can include them into his own page)..

[mr_lou]

If there will be a "webpage" somewhere where you have for example 4 columns: Games, Demos, Tools, Hardware. And right under them you have the last 10 "products" of that category with a picture, a link to it and a link to the forum (something like the news already existing on the cpcwiki frontpage but not everything into one category but subdivied into 4).

And then the users or an adminitrator get the possibilitiy to enter new entrys with an easy interface, coz I think the mediawiki-software is an obstacle for some. And then, when it will be possible to subscribe to this page, everyone, who wants, gets the news (and can include them into his own page)..

This might actually be the prodlist at pouet.net
If everyone used that site, we would have a place to keep updated. It would also put more focus on the CPC.
Users can also vote for productions on pouet.net

[Targhan]

The idea of Shining is a bit similar to mine (some pages ago), except that I would also sort by years (2017, 2016, 2015 etc.). Why limit to 10 productions if everything can be shown? With a little screenshot and a possible link to a webpage, and a forum thread, it would be great I think.

[Gryzor]

While I don't have a problem with advocating for other sites, i don't think a general site would be the best choice for such a project...Though I love Pouet .

All the rest are good ideas...

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[Gryzor]

The idea of Shining is a bit similar to mine (some pages ago), except that I would also sort by years (2017, 2016, 2015 etc.). Why limit to 10 productions if everything can be shown? With a little screenshot and a possible link to a webpage, and a forum thread, it would be great I think.

That's readily done with a wiki table

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[Gryzor]

I like the Idea with the sticky post but here another suggestion, going into directions mentioned here before (if achievable):


If there will be a "webpage" somewhere where you have for example 4 columns: Games, Demos, Tools, Hardware. And right under them you have the last 10 "products" of that category with a picture, a link to it and a link to the forum (something like the news already existing on the cpcwiki frontpage but not everything into one category but subdivied into 4).


And then the users or an adminitrator get the possibilitiy to enter new entrys with an easy interface, coz I think the mediawiki-software is an obstacle for some. And then, when it will be possible to subscribe to this page, everyone, who wants, gets the news (and can include them into his own page)..

OK,who's in favour of changing the wiki homepage completely?

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[Gryzor]

Yeah, a dedicated forum/subforum with one topic of one post per release. great idea.

But a sticky thread for all new releases would have the same effect of things getting lost...

We'd need a new thread for each project. But then,when would it be unstickied (sic)?

Also,linked threads for discussion...

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[Gryzor]

I suggested something like that on Page 1, but it didn't even receive a reply let alone a Like!! 

Things come and go [emoji16]

What was your suggestion?

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[Gryzor]

I think I've never told the Batman Group story here. The beginnings were not easy (as it often happens), but in our case there were some quirks. Two of our members had ripped a couple of intros a few years before BG was founded and that gave us a bad name in the beginning. In the Amiga diskmag I mentioned above, Fanzine, we were mentioned in articles titled as "The lamers of the month". For a while, the feedback from our productions was questioning our authorship and being called lamers.

So we decided to do a demo with which to settle the matter and went to one of the first spanish demo parties. There were contests of many categories and we released prods for all of them. One of the first was the graphics contest, and an amazing pixelation work of Mac was disqualified on suspicions of being scanned. The last one was the demo contest, where we were in the last position, but at least it served as evidence that we were not lamers:

http://www.pouet.net/party.php?which=1129&when=1993

At that time there was a spanish group called Darkness (1st in the demo contest) that was considered the "elite" of the spanish scene. During those years we worked hard to improve them, but the top of the Fanzine's "Vote or Die" was always for them.

When you see that the feedback from your work is not the one you desire, you can give up, or go on to improve and demonstrate to everyone what you are capable of.

That was a great story,and a lovely post.Thanks!

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[remax]

But a sticky thread for all new releases would have the same effect of things getting lost...

We'd need a new thread for each project. But then,when would it be unstickied (sic)?

Also,linked threads for discussion...

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If it's a whole subforum, no need for sticky thread. The latest, the highest as there would be no bump

[Gryzor]

OK,so a subforum, only announcements,no discussions,no stickies.Correct?

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[reidrac]

I really hope that 'shipping cost' is a wide term and a big part of it is given back to polyplay, and i hope the money didn't went to the local post.

I can't speak for Poly Play, so this is second hand information. Please take that into account.

What I've been told is that parcels get lost and without getting covered by tracking Poly Play can't really assume the cost of sending the games.

I think it is a bit expensive, but I understand the reasons and I can't do anything about it anyway.

Furthermore, learning that at 50 copies sold, they didn't even cover their costs, i feel there is a bad price choice, as 50 is the expected mean of solds on CPC, so at this volume you should have covered your costs.


For me, paying 10 bucks more for the game and 5 bucks less for the shipping would have not bothered me.

Again, I can't tell 100%, but the quality Poly Play puts in has a cost; mostly the cover art, that isn't free.

Poly Play had never produced CPC games before and I'm afraid it may not happen again, because 50 units per game is sadly not enough. I guess he could make it cheaper, but if you're not getting something really special I rather not bother.

That's how things are, and it's fine. I may not do more collector editions; but I'm likely to keep making CPC games for my personal pleasure.

[Targhan]

That's readily done with a wiki table

Well, if it's simple to do, it's even better . But it would need a good exposure, such as on the front page. Well, it would almost be like the screenshots already present... Creators simply don't think about putting their productions in it...

[Gryzor]

Agree on all points. I'd have to rearrange the homepage and devs would have to do a bit of work,but it's easy.

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[reidrac]

Well, if it's simple to do, it's even better . But it would need a good exposure, such as on the front page. Well, it would almost be like the screenshots already present... Creators simply don't think about putting their productions in it...

I always forget... and when someone (@Gryzor usually) reminds me the wiki front page, I add my games. I added Traxtor and Golden Tail, but I don't recall adding Magica 

[Gryzor]

Can't like on Tapatalk [emoji6]

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[remax]

OK,so a subforum, only announcements,no discussions,no stickies.Correct?

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Exactly

[mr_lou]

I still wanna encourage more CPC users to use pouet.net too.

[Puresox]

Must Admit The Wiki/forum seems to have grown massively or am I mistaken?Mind you it has  been  a vintage year . Lots of impressive games have reached the market . ? Ups and Downs  of the productions I suppose?

[AMSDOS]

Things come and go

Ironically I was looking at this forum from a Tapatalk site on my Computer the other day.

What was your suggestion?

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It's the 1st thing I wrote from my 1st post on the 1st page which states:

A page on the Wiki and a Link on the Main Page under CPC Related News should help with that.

[Gryzor]

Must Admit The Wiki/forum seems to have grown massively or am I mistaken?Mind you it has  been  a vintage year . Lots of impressive games have reached the market . ? Ups and Downs  of the productions I suppose?

The wiki is going well [emoji4] I can give analytics if anyone is interested-i used to do a year review each January but not many felt it newsworthy...

As for productions, it'd be interesting to see a trend line.

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[Gryzor]

Ironically I was looking at this forum from a Tapatalk site on my Computer the other day.


It's the 1st thing I wrote from my 1st post on the 1st page which states:

Well,OK,but we took or a couple of steps further... But in any case,as I said things come and go,such is the nature of a forum.Nothing to worry over.

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