Oh Chute

[Anthony Flack]

What I think would be really helpful is if we could organise a consortium to do a run of injection-moulded cartridge shells that could supply all the homebrew cart makers with a top quality shell at a low per-unit cost. I'm curious as to how low the price of a loose cart could practically go.

[Cwiiis]

What I think would be really helpful is if we could organise a consortium to do a run of injection-moulded cartridge shells that could supply all the homebrew cart makers with a top quality shell at a low per-unit cost. I'm curious as to how low the price of a loose cart could practically go.

That would be great, though beyond my skill-levels. I think once there are a few Plus or Plus-form-factor games out there and a bit more development interest, it'd be worth considering that more seriously. For what it's worth, the per-unit cost of resin shell casings is pretty low from JLCPCB, even counting shipping and duties. They do a great job too.

[dthrone]

The original boxes have always been the problem because they're not realistic to 3 d print. So I've got my solution, Cwiiis has got his, I'm sure the authors of Bubble Quest, Sonic GX, 6128 plus G&G etc. have things in the works too. The other components are easy, shells, boards, labels and the rest of it have been around for years now. The challenge is to keep the costs down to a feasible level and balance batch size with qty discounts. Good luck to everyone because the process does all take some time!

[overange]

Thanks to testers and another coding party with some friends, this is now almost complete. Just a few small polish items and it'll be done minus art touch-ups (which my partner will be handling )
I'd love to do a physical release for this - it now works from both disk and cart, and given it's a Plus/GX4000 game and cartridges aren't too expensive to make, it's certainly doable. I need to work out the logistics of production, maybe see if any company is interested in partnering for it (Bitmapsoft would make a lot of sense for me, given I'm in the UK...)
If I did a limited physical run (cart, box, manual(, stickers?)), would anyone be interested in purchasing a copy? I'll almost certainly make the files freely available regardless, so this would just be for people that want a physical cart/enjoy collecting this sort of thing.

Why aren't you utilising the same boxes and cover style artwork as Dethrone?
It's not only effective and visually appealing, but also clever in its execution.
 
If you choose to create entirely new box art, it will require significant time and expense.

Unfortunately, no one has been able to locate the original case to work from.

However, if you consider using say a cardboard case, similar to what is used for Atari Homebrews, it could be a costly option.

Nonetheless, I'm confident that Dethrone would be willing to assist you in sourcing the display cases you need, allowing us to maintain some level of standardisation for homebrews on the GX4000 and Plus range of systems.

As fans, we're all here to keep the GX4000 and Plus range of systems alive, and by doing so, we can encourage other developers to release their homebrews in hardware format.

The Atari and Vectrex cartridge Homebrew scene is thriving, and we should strive to be a part of it.

I don't think choosing to use a card box is going to destroy the Plus homebrew scene and I'm not a fan of the look of the plastic case to be honest. Like I said, we already have our box art, there's no extra expense there.

I expect the box cost is going to cost in the region of 2-3x what the plastic cases cost per unit, but I've kept costs down on cartridge production quite effectively. If you want to encourage people, document your processes and costs rather than criticising other people's choices - that would be the most helpful.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts! It's cool to see different perspectives on this. I totally get where you're coming from with wanting to keep costs down and not being a fan of the plastic cases.

But hey, just to be clear, no one's here to criticise anyone's choices. We're all just brainstorming and looking for ways to make the Plus homebrew scene even cooler.

Consistency can be a big win for building a strong community and making these games more appealing.

Totally respect your efforts to keep production costs in check for cartridges and that's something I'm all for.

Let's keep the conversation going and see if we can find a sweet spot that works for everyone. After all, we're in this together to keep the GX4000 and Plus range of systems alive and kicking!

[Anthony Flack]

I don't even have any original cart boxes. I just have two copies of Burnin' Rubber! So I am quite keen to get some more. The original cases do look quite bulky though.

TBH my preference for collecting GX homebrew is probably cart only (same goes for the Vectrex) - but with such low production runs I do understand wanting to do it in a proper box. I suppose the original advantage to the cardboard box was that they could make a million of them, put whatever kind of disk or anything inside it, with a sticker to say what version it was. So if you were doing a multi-format release, like some people do these days, a cardboard box would be a good choice.

[Cwiiis]

I don't even have any original cart boxes. I just have two copies of Burnin' Rubber! So I am quite keen to get some more. The original cases do look quite bulky though.

TBH my preference for collecting GX homebrew is probably cart only (same goes for the Vectrex) - but with such low production runs I do understand wanting to do it in a proper box. I suppose the original advantage to the cardboard box was that they could make a million of them, put whatever kind of disk or anything inside it, with a sticker to say what version it was. So if you were doing a multi-format release, like some people do these days, a cardboard box would be a good choice.

I was considering a disk physical release, but I imagine the market of people with a 6128 Plus that would actually want to play this on disk instead of cartridge (and thus massively increasing load times...) is pretty low I do love getting disk releases, but I don't think I'd ever pick it over cartridge and it's getting increasingly difficult to find 3" disks. I imagine the market of people with a Plus connected to a 3.5" drive is even more niche... But hey, if you're out there, I don't mind doing one-offs

[Orko Ready]

Regarding boxes I did a tutorial some time ago...

[Anthony Flack]

Indeed I don't have a working 3" drive myself any more either, but I can see how a cardboard box would be economical if you were going to do loads of different formats, 3" disk, 3.5" disk, cassette, etc. for half a dozen different systems, as they did in the early 90s. It's the same box for everyone. 

[cwpab]

Hey Cwiis, you seem closer to 30 than 45-50 as your regular Amstrad fan.

If that's correct (sorry to assume you're younger if you're older like us!), may I ask... How did you discover the Amstrad CPC and GX4000 and why did you chose to develop for it? I'm curious about your story.

[Cwiiis]

Hey Cwiis, you seem closer to 30 than 45-50 as your regular Amstrad fan.

If that's correct (sorry to assume you're younger if you're older like us!), may I ask... How did you discover the Amstrad CPC and GX4000 and why did you chose to develop for it? I'm curious about your story.

Unfortunately for me, I'm pretty close to 40 😝 When I was a kid I used to go to an after-school club in the early 90s and they had some computers for the kids to play games on - an Atari STFM and a green screen Amstrad CPC 6128. Later on they got a GX4000 too, though it was very short lived... The platform always interested me though and I managed to get a very cheap GX4000 a few years ago. That lead to me discovering this forum, the Plus and it all spiralled from there... Z80 assembly was also one of my favourite languages to play with from making Ti83 and Gameboy homebrew in my teens, so moving to Plus development was a logical step 🙂

[cwpab]

Cool story! Sorry to hear you're closer to 40 than 30, but I'm glad I was right in my suspicion that you didn't have an Amstrad CPC as a kid.

It's interesting because as you know, most Amstrad fans had an Amstrad machine in their homes as kids, but in your case you just interacted with one on computer classes. In the early 90s, we also had some (optional) computer classes (93-94) here in Spain, but they used 486 PCs (I discovered Zany Golf and PC Fútbol 2.0 here).

Which takes us to the question... What console or computer did you use to play games as a kid?

[Cwiiis]

Cool story! Sorry to hear you're closer to 40 than 30, but I'm glad I was right in my suspicion that you didn't have an Amstrad CPC as a kid.

It's interesting because as you know, most Amstrad fans had an Amstrad machine in their homes as kids, but in your case you just interacted with one on computer classes. In the early 90s, we also had some (optional) computer classes (93-94) here in Spain, but they used 486 PCs (I discovered Zany Golf and PC Fútbol 2.0 here).

Which takes us to the question... What console or computer did you use to play games as a kid?

I had PCs for most of my childhood (very briefly before that I remember us have an Epsom QX10 machine running CP/M) - games wise, I got a Sega Master System 2 when I was 6 and gaming was split between that and PC over the years, with a mix of handhelds and later consoles as I got old enough to earn/save money. I also spent a lot of time in arcades - the combo of cutting edge tech and social interaction was always pretty enthralling 🙂

[Cwiiis]

Fwiw, our first PC was an Amstrad PC 😛

[BlinkyMcGoo]

Any sign of this?

[Cwiiis]

Any sign of this?

Extremely close now. A week or two, tops.

[Cwiiis]

Update; It will release this Friday on Xyphoe's Amstream I'm really happy with how it's come out - it's been a lot of effort, but worth it in the end! I'll do a write-up on my blog at some point soon after launch, hopefully some of the things I've discovered can help others in the future.

[Maniac]

Great stuff @Cwiiis! Very much looking forward to being able to play this. I know you're doing a physical version but will it be available for general download too please?

[Cwiiis]

Great stuff @Cwiiis! Very much looking forward to being able to play this. I know you're doing a physical version but will it be available for general download too please?

It will, yes - I was contemplating holding off so that physical buyers will be able to play it first, but I think the physical product is reward enough and I realise not everyone can afford that or has the capability to play physical carts. It'll be pay-what-you-want (including nothing )

[ldaneels]

As a physical enthusiast, I will absolutely purchase the game. That being said, I don't think you should stagger the digital release. As you said, getting the physical edition is reward enough. Anyway, I am very excited to play the game.

[BlinkyMcGoo]

Update; It will release this Friday on Xyphoe's Amstream I'm really happy with how it's come out - it's been a lot of effort, but worth it in the end! I'll do a write-up on my blog at some point soon after launch, hopefully some of the things I've discovered can help others in the future.

Yay!

[Xyphoe]

Yep @Cwiiis will make it available for download during the AMSTREAM tonight
It'll be the launch party for the game.

Stream goes live at 9pm GMT, after the usual greetings and mucking about - we'll probably be firing up the game some time after 9:20pm (maybe nearer 9:30) if you want to avoid all that.

https://www.youtube.com/Xyphoe/live

[Cwiiis]

And it's now available! Details here: https://www.cpcwiki.eu/forum/news-events/oh-chute!-now-available-for-the-gx4000plus-physical-and-digital!/

Thanks to everyone for the encouragement, kind words, advice and help over the development period

[Gryzor]

(edited OP title)

[BlinkyMcGoo]

Well, that was worth the wait

One of the crispest, smoothest games I've ever seen on the Amstrad. Lovely job.

[OneVision]

Congrats on the release !