Latest Retro Gamer has an article on Games that were not released for CPC but were mentioned in magazines.
Some interesting stuff.
Toki: Screenshots are shown of GX4000 Sprites created on an Atari ST. Would be great to see these on the CPCWiki website so we can see more detail of what these sprites look like.
Repton 3: My version of Repton 3 is mentioned and I'm named.
Streetfighter 2: US Gold version is mentioned along with AA. In addition the new StreetFighter 2 that is being made is also mentioned.
Killing Fist: This gets a mention. It says that the title screen preview is hard to find. I think it's on CPC-Power???? I remember seeing 2 previews of this. One had a title screen with sampled music. second one had an in game screen (overscan) with 2 fighters on it. I believe both are on cpc-power.
Sparticus: I didn't know a demo had been on an AA cassette, so that is why I requested it to take a look. Another reason is that I was passed some source from Odin, the sources were on BBC Micro CPM formatted discs. I have managed to get the CPC source code off those. There is some code for Nodes of Yesod and for Sparticus, but it's probably just the demo. Will take a look at this and get it released soon.
In the Retro section the latest C64 cartridge competition gets a mention. Nice.
I also see that Mountain Panic for the BBC gets mentioned here, it's been out for a while, but good to see it reviewed. Didn't they review this before???
Some good stuff this time. I've read the pages over and over and now the print has come off :laugh: :laugh:
I mentioned in the shoutbox that I had read through this issue in WH Smith. It was ok. Guess I just grateful for any CPC stuff in it.
Ooh, sounds interesting; I haven't received it yet and I have several issues of RG on the backlog, but maybe I'll read it when it appears!
Quote from: arnoldemu on 19:02, 03 March 14
Repton 3: My version of Repton 3 is mentioned and I'm named.
When did you do this? On the CPC?
Quote from: Executioner on 01:10, 04 March 14
When did you do this? On the CPC?
Yes on the CPC, back in 2008. I didn't release it though. I asked for official permission but was not allowed.
Quote from: arnoldemu on 19:02, 03 March 14
I also see that Mountain Panic for the BBC gets mentioned here, it's been out for a while, but good to see it reviewed. Didn't they review this before???
Oh, that's good to hear, played the demo that came out some years ago and it seemed very promising, but it took so long I stopped checking for updates!
Quote from: arnoldemu on 09:51, 04 March 14
I asked for official permission but was not allowed.
Ahh, bugger! You'd think they'd allow it 30 years after it's original release.
It's ok, you can email it to me, it won't go out ;)
Quote from: arnoldemu on 19:02, 03 March 14
I also see that Mountain Panic for the BBC gets mentioned here, it's been out for a while, but good to see it reviewed. Didn't they review this before???
Shut up, shut up, shut up about Mountain Panic. I bought my copy back on 3rd Jan and still haven't received the actual disks despite repeated promises, emails and messages on various forums >:( I've just about given up buying any new retro software in future. Fortunately I've got the SSD images but it stinks a bit having paid for postage etc for physical copies. Of course if they turn up in the post on Monday I'll be singing a different tune but at the moment I'm a bit peed off with the whole situation.
So? Did you get it? :)
Take a wild guess :'(
I did get an email from him on the 29th March apologising for the long delay. He said he'd mastered the Repton disks and located the Slogger boards I'd asked him about last November and that it would be sent early the following week but nothing as yet :( I emailed him 4 days asking if he'd sent them but not had a reply yet.
I did get excited earlier on today when DHL phoned me out of the blue saying they had a package for me but it wasn't that :( I live in continued hope though :D
Quote from: arnoldemu on 09:51, 04 March 14
Yes on the CPC, back in 2008. I didn't release it though. I asked for official permission but was not allowed.
May I get an unoffical permission to hack the box where the game is located? I need IP, an open share, ftp or www with password.
The hacked intro will have an awesome mode 1 textscreen - yellow on nice blue with the text
Hacked
byF i s h e r m a n s F r i e n d
Am a little annoyed and surprised by something I saw in the current RG magazine. Oh well.
Quote from: Carnivac on 11:07, 05 May 14
Am a little annoyed and surprised by something I saw in the current RG magazine. Oh well.
What was it?
Quote from: ivarf on 13:11, 05 May 14
What was it?
Picture of a Master System homebrew game in the letters section. The game is based on my friend's games that I too have been developing a fangame of sorts for but this Master System game's player sprite looks like it was heavily based on my player sprite and not my friend's game.
Bring it up on the RG forum?
Or you could always PM TMR on this forum if it's in the Homebrew section. What was the name of the game? I've stopped subscribing to RG a few months back as with the exception of Jason's Homebrew section, the rest of the magazine is really in the doldrums at the moment IMHO, with terrible Freelance articles and the magazine is covering the same old ground with either another Strider or Ultimate article every few months. Seems to have gotten worse since Stuart left :(
The game's called D.A.R.C. Seems it was made a couple years back but this be first I seen of it (my game that it seems to have based the player sprite on has been in development on and off since November 2006, and even had a very old crappy shot of it in an old issue of Retro Gamer shortly after that time). Not a huge deal but I had a similar thing happen with an another old project of mine where a friend of mine copied the sprite style for his game, released his first and then I was getting comments from idiots saying I copied him and I eventually just abandoned that game.
Looks like a fun lil game though and at least mine has much more in the way of graphics (for one thing they stuck to the simple left and right shooting whereas I expanded to 8 directions all with individually done sprites for each direction) so shouldn't get anyone saying I copied their sprite design style.
Quote from: beaker on 17:57, 05 May 14
Or you could always PM TMR on this forum if it's in the Homebrew section. What was the name of the game? I've stopped subscribing to RG a few months back as with the exception of Jason's Homebrew section, the rest of the magazine is really in the doldrums at the moment IMHO, with terrible Freelance articles and the magazine is covering the same old ground with either another Strider or Ultimate article every few months. Seems to have gotten worse since Stuart left :(
Retro Gamer is a shambles.
In the old days mags used to evolve and change. Even AA's longest serving editor only worked at the mag for 3 years and during his time he refreshed the mag a couple of times and new staff came and went.
RG just never changes. It's the groundhog day of magazines. Same old articles, same old writers, same old design, zzzzzzzzzzzzz.
I used to buy every issue, not any more. It's dull, repetitive and badly needs a refresh.
I tend to agree; I renewed my sibscription last December, but haven't read an issue in several months now. Saving them for the summer, but it definitely doesn't have the sparkle and excitement of older days.
Well, maybe it would a good idea to write some good articles for it and this would also increase the percentage of CPC content in it.
Since I don't have to time personally I do at least not bitch at it.
Are you serious? :D So the answer to every product we buy and don't like is "make one better on your own instead of bitching"? Oh man...
Sure I'm serious. If they have problems, why not supporting them. And as nice side effect they will have more CPC topics. I call that constructive critics. ;) Or do your seriously think that negative input will make things better?
I don't like a particular thing with how my bathroom sink faucet works; so I should make new ones myself.
I couldn't find a ladder that perfectly suited me as my old one - so I should probably make one instead of buying one I found but didn't 100% satisfy my needs.
The meat I bought yetsterday was a bit too fatty for my taste, so I guess I should become a farmer, raise animals just the way I like it and slaughter them myself.
Man, what are you on?
You don't even have your definitions straigt - constructive criticism is constructive criticism; it's not making content yourself.
And then, of course, if a company doesn't take negative input in seriously, we know where it's heading...
Eh, I dunno. There hasn't been a good robocop game in years so I thought I'd try make one. :P
Heheh good one :)
Let us know when you also do a movie!
Quote from: TFM on 17:15, 12 May 14
Well, maybe it would a good idea to write some good articles for it and this would also increase the percentage of CPC content in it.
Since I don't have to time personally I do at least not bitch at it.
How dare I buy at least 90 issues of their magazine at full cover price and then dare to offer criticism!
128 and counting here...
I'll probably be offline for a while, I'm not happy with the internet, so I'll be building my own for the next while. :)
Bryce.
Well, don't forget to send us a beta invitation, so that if we don't like it we can build our own, okay?
I'll be starting with the backbone which seems to be a Pr0n distribution system and a big Fibre-optic connection to something called NSA :D
Bryce.
Quote from: Gryzor on 06:48, 13 May 14
128 and counting here...
I might have looked at 3 or 4 at the newsagent. ;D
@Bryce (http://www.cpcwiki.eu/forum/index.php?action=profile;u=225) : there, you got it wrong. I'm a married man, so I just need it to deliver to my morning inbox all the new TOSEC and ROMset releases. Umph, off to build my own...
@AMSDOS (http://www.cpcwiki.eu/forum/index.php?action=profile;u=330) : ok, you got nothing to whine about :D
I agree with TFM in that someone from the CPC community writing a few articles for RG would be really good.
Quote from: Munchausen on 10:59, 13 May 14
I agree with TFM in that someone from the CPC community writing a few articles for RG would be really good.
Is that an offer to contribute? :)
Bryce.
I think you might be being a bit harsh here as I think TFM's point was a good one.
If it's the lack of content that is making Retro Gamer so poor, then why not suggest some new content to them? And as he said, this would also have the benefit of highlighting the CPC as a platform... 8)
Quote from: redbox on 12:44, 13 May 14
I think you might be being a bit harsh here as I think TFM's point was a good one.
If it's the lack of content that is making Retro Gamer so poor, then why not suggest some new content to them? And as he said, this would also have the benefit of highlighting the CPC as a platform... 8)
it is already clear that Retro Gamer like the Amstrad. A couple of the writers had one and they mention it quite frequently.
They do review amstrad games when there are new ones. They do show cpc screenshots when showing a game that has appeared on multiple platforms.
So they already do something. The CPC scene generates less games than the other scenes so that is why there is less content on the cpc.
That being said, you could easily write a review for an old cpc game and have it published. Other readers do this. So it's another way to highlight the cpc.
Saying "they need to write more about the cpc" is something I also want to see, but when there is not always that much new in the way of games, and when they have to do a balanced approach and cover other systems I believe is not so easy.
So what is the solution? ??? ??? ?
Make more cpc games then tell them to take a look ;)
EDIT: Also don't forget the range of readership. For some people Retro means CPC, C64, Spectrum, for others it means Amiga, ST and for others it means SNES, Megadrive for some it means Playstation and Xbox. Even PS2 and Gamecube are turning retro.
It depends on your age and the first systems you owned too.
Also, for people who want to make games and are not so good at programming there is AGD!
And on CPC itself there are other creation tools: GAC, Quill, Sprites Alive.
And, there is the help of others here too.
But the (lack or not) of CPC articles is not the issue. I agree that, though I'd want to see more material on the CPC, it's been better than in older issues. The problem is that the magazine does not seem to move forward, EXCEPT to embrace newer machines that are nowhere real retro if you ask me.
Also, it's not really about writing a review since RG doesn't really do "reviews", you need to do an in-depth article on a game or a piece of hardware, for which you need time, knowledge and writing flair. Not an easy job.
Quote from: arnoldemu on 13:27, 13 May 14
EDIT: Also don't forget the range of readership. For some people Retro means CPC, C64, Spectrum, for others it means Amiga, ST and for others it means SNES, Megadrive for some it means Playstation and Xbox. Even PS2 and Gamecube are turning retro.
It depends on your age and the first systems you owned too.
I think we need new categories for retro. I've loved my PlayStations but even the PS1 still doesn't feel very 'retro' to me. But even 'my' own personal definition of retro is quite broad because it includes the 8 and 16 bit eras and while they're similar in many ways for the types of games they produced they're still very different in other ways.
Defining 'retro' is very hard to do; I guess fifty years from now retro systems will be the ones we haven't even dreamed of yet. So there's that. On the other hand I feel that in computing it's better to discern and draw a line. Sure, someone ten years younger than I am doesn't even know about the ZX or the CPC but has grown up with much more advanced systems. However, is it really retro just because it's old, when there has been such huge homogenisation in terms of gameplay, gaming genres etc? Just more powerful machines, that's all.
I hate that the word retro gets slapped onto any cheaply made modern game that has crude graphics as if that's what games were actually like back then. Apparently it's not that the game's 'artist' can't draw for shit at all, this game is just RETRO!!! And then they try to cover up their 5 minute doodles in MS Paint with a lot of modern alpha transparency effects and lighting and whatever fancy crap their game design tools can overlay. I don't mind if it something like the PSN/Wii/XBLA release of Mega Man 9 and 10 get called retro because they're purposely built to simulate running on the real NES hardware as the previous games in the series did. That's fine. Most of the time though I see really bad blocky stickmen or squares (cos they can't even draw stickmen) bouncing about a screen, usually completely misaligned cos they've been pre-drawn all blocky and badly moving on the higher resolution of the system rather than being done more accurately upscaled.
That's one of the reasons that motivate my CPC-style projects is that sure they're blocky and perhaps a bit garish but I'm still trying to use those dated specs to produce graphics that actually look like things. I like to try and prove that those 16 colours on screen (out of the 27) and that chunky wide-pixel resolution of a 30 year old computer can still do better than what most folk today seem to expect of 'prehistoric' 8-bits.
I'll agree with what you say about retro-themed games with modern effects; too many remakes have been ruined by using shine with abandon next to pixel art (good or bad).
Quote from: redbox on 12:44, 13 May 14
I think you might be being a bit harsh here as I think TFM's point was a good one.
If it's the lack of content that is making Retro Gamer so poor, then why not suggest some new content to them? And as he said, this would also have the benefit of highlighting the CPC as a platform... 8)
And I would even do that by myself if the topics I know about would be interesting for more than view. However, one f.e. could provide a background story for the ROM competition. How f.e. did Subrerra Puzzlo evolve? Other versions planned? How strong was the time pressure? Maybe all four finalists can do something together and send it to them. Only bad thing, they already had that topic (I guess). But let this just serve as an example what could be done.
And yes, I fix my sink, and my crap by myself. ;)
So does it seem a good job my newsagent messed up and not got this months issue.
Quote from: Gryzor on 15:12, 13 May 14
Defining 'retro' is very hard to do; I guess fifty years from now retro systems will be the ones we haven't even dreamed of yet. So there's that. On the other hand I feel that in computing it's better to discern and draw a line. Sure, someone ten years younger than I am doesn't even know about the ZX or the CPC but has grown up with much more advanced systems. However, is it really retro just because it's old, when there has been such huge homogenisation in terms of gameplay, gaming genres etc? Just more powerful machines, that's all.
It's the same problem as what people define as "Vintage Computer".
Quote from: Gryzor on 15:12, 13 May 14
Defining 'retro' is very hard to do; I guess fifty years from now retro systems will be the ones we haven't even dreamed of yet. So there's that. On the other hand I feel that in computing it's better to discern and draw a line. Sure, someone ten years younger than I am doesn't even know about the ZX or the CPC but has grown up with much more advanced systems. However, is it really retro just because it's old, when there has been such huge homogenisation in terms of gameplay, gaming genres etc? Just more powerful machines, that's all.
I know people who cannot picture a computer program running on a 64kb machine and even a compiled language which may compile a larger program also seems small, so 16kb of Video Memory is Low-res in whatever resolution you put it. ;D
Quote from: Gryzor on 15:12, 13 May 14
Sure, someone ten years younger than I am doesn't even know about the ZX or the CPC but has grown up with much more advanced systems. However, is it really retro just because it's old, when there has been such huge homogenisation in terms of gameplay, gaming genres etc? Just more powerful machines, that's all.
You know I am somewhat more then 10 years younger then you :) , I wonder what this big black thing with red and green and blue keys is ??? :P
Quote from: AMSDOS on 07:40, 14 May 14It's the same problem as what people define as "Vintage Computer".
Mmm well in wintel/ibm pc land I more or less think anything that isnt ATX is vintage but the ATX standard is almost 20 years old so I might not be able to use that as my definition in the long run, other more interesting computers well none of them really exist unless you play with SPARC or something but thats not really for playing games so I could claim all home computers are vintage at this point unless there is something I don't know
As a general rule of thumb, I'll go on key features and availability rather than age. Regardless of format, the current generation still use optical media so Playstation onwards isn't retro yet as I can still see design aspects that are relevant today. Anything just prior to this, or still being manufactured but no longer widely used such as cassettes, disks or cartridges are retro. I include cassettes as I can still get a tape player from Argos last time I checked, and cassette tapes from Tescos here in Ireland. Anything using obsolete and hard to find items such as punch cards for example would be vintage. Obviously there are probably exceptions but that's it for me :laugh:
Quote from: beaker on 10:08, 19 May 14
Regardless of format, the current generation still use optical media
Though these days it's mostly optional with a lot of games (particularly smaller ones) exclusively as download. I don't bother with discs myself these days and replaced most of my PS3 and PSP games with the digital versions where available.
Quote from: beaker on 10:08, 19 May 14
As a general rule of thumb, I'll go on key features and availability rather than age. Regardless of format, the current generation still use optical media so Playstation onwards isn't retro yet as I can still see design aspects that are relevant today. Anything just prior to this, or still being manufactured but no longer widely used such as cassettes, disks or cartridges are retro. I include cassettes as I can still get a tape player from Argos last time I checked, and cassette tapes from Tescos here in Ireland. Anything using obsolete and hard to find items such as punch cards for example would be vintage. Obviously there are probably exceptions but that's it for me :laugh:
After you mention PS1 not being retro there's a really obvious exception (problem?) as the nintendo 64, using cartridges, came out almost 2 years after the playstation one, which used CDs. So by your reckoning the newer N64 would be retro and the older PS1 would not!
Quote from: Carnivac on 13:32, 19 May 14
Though these days it's mostly optional with a lot of games (particularly smaller ones) exclusively as download. I don't bother with discs myself these days and replaced most of my PS3 and PSP games with the digital versions where available.
I have a rubbish internet connection so still prefer using good old discs :( I've downloaded a few games on the Playstation Plus account but I tend to find I never play them, whereas if I see something on the shelf, I have more incentive - weird hey?
Quote from: Munchausen on 15:41, 19 May 14
After you mention PS1 not being retro there's a really obvious exception (problem?) as the nintendo 64, using cartridges, came out almost 2 years after the playstation one, which used CDs. So by your reckoning the newer N64 would be retro and the older PS1 would not!
People try and approach it from a chronological order whereas I prefer to think of it from a design aspect, so yes. Nintendo were derided for using cartridges instead of CD ROM technology as it was seen as a bit of a throwback even at the time and hurt the games (such as Square going to Sony due to the poor storage and cost of cartridges) and sales. Even Atari released a CD ROM attachment for the Jag before the end of its life. The Saturn had a cartridge slot but it was really only used for backup, RAM and cheating devices AFAIK.
Quote from: beaker on 17:13, 19 May 14
I have a rubbish internet connection so still prefer using good old discs :( I've downloaded a few games on the Playstation Plus account but I tend to find I never play them, whereas if I see something on the shelf, I have more incentive - weird hey?
Am opposite. While I do have a few discs left I hardly ever touch them and in fact Uncharted 3 is almost permanently in the disc drive as it's my fave game and my 'go to' multiplayer game and only really ever comes out of there if I need to put in a Blu Ray movie and even then the disc has never been back in it's own case, simply borrowing that of whatever disc is very shortly in the PS3 drive at the time :P I hate disc swapping. When I actually feel like sitting down and playing a game or watching a movie it's cos I'm too tired to do anything more active and so even getting up off the couch to swap discs just puts me off and I prefer playing one of the hundreds of games I've got installed on the PS3 hard drive, or as mentioned play Uncharted 3 since it's already there, or watch something on Netflix, or streamed from my laptop via the router. Add to that the fact I often carried my PS3 Slim in my back pack to my friend's house when I would stay with them which is made far easier by not having to carry discs then yeah I really wouldn't care if discs were just done with altogether. Friend of mine said the same thing when a house fire destroyed his PS3 and he simply bought a new one and redownloaded all his games and save files off PSN. I know some people like a physical product for the shelf but I just find it to be clutter these days.
Thing is my internet connection isn't brilliant either but it still seems capable of even streaming in '1080 Super HD' as Netflix seems to call it. :P
A picture is worth a thousand words and all that :laugh:
Quote from: beaker on 17:51, 19 May 14
A picture is worth a thousand words and all that :laugh:
What picture? If you mean the boxart I never really saw them cos when they on shelf all you see is the spine. :P
My 1.94Mb download speed :'(
Quote from: awergh on 06:26, 19 May 14
Mmm well in wintel/ibm pc land I more or less think anything that isnt ATX is vintage but the ATX standard is almost 20 years old so I might not be able to use that as my definition in the long run, other more interesting computers well none of them really exist unless you play with SPARC or something but thats not really for playing games so I could claim all home computers are vintage at this point unless there is something I don't know
Pretty much, around 2000 I was playing around with 386/486 systems that people were giving me. I had some 486 DX2x66Mhz Boards and made a system from that which was quite a nice system with OS/2 Warp on it until the Hard Disk was Dead in the Water, it probably wouldn't have lasted with the Dial Up Internet I had, but it was fun while it lasted ;D
At the time I remember seeing some ATX boxes for ATX boards, though I kind of got away from that before getting involved, and was looking for work and couldn't just keep going on doing hobby stuff. :D I won't ever know if I could of got a job which involved just building computer systems all the time though.
Latest retro gamer is ok.
Nice minority report about pcw.
They like the CPC version of Roadblasters (loved that game in the arcade at Butlins, loved the cpc version).
But they're getting a bit lazy with their editing. In the minority report, one heading says "vic-20". It's a left over from the previous article. In one place they say something like "another screen shot from sorcery" when it's clearly strangeloop.
They need somebody to give it a once over and correct these little mistakes. We saw similar mistakes in the cpc article.
But good to see the pcw games mentioned for the first time??
For some reason I missed this entire thread, and just read through it loosely just now.
I have to say that I'm a bit surprised about the negative reaction towards TFM's post about contributing to RG.
As far as I can see, that's generally what we do already. When we're not happy with something, we then either help out, or make something we are happy with.
That's why we have the new R-Type and the new Bubble Bobble.
Not happy with RG? Then you have two choices: Contribute with the stuff you feel it's missing, or make your own magazine that does make you happy.
Not that you can't complain about something of course. I'm a big fan of complaining. I complain all the time. (Mostly about things I can't really change though, like e.g. stupid ass politicians and their stupid ass low IQ decisions. Seriously, the day they ban red cars because they can see that it's generally red cars that are speeding, I won't be the slightest bit surprised).
I stand completely with Carnivac when complaining about the "retro" label being slapped on way too many games. And I vote that all game-developers make more true retro games. I'd love to make a CPC game myself, but this big machine we live in sadly gives me no time for such things. :(
What you seem to forget is that, for most, this is precisely one thing you can't do anything about but complain and offer criticism. Should I have writing skills and the time to write articles in order to complain? Really? Let alone creating a new magazine :D
Quote from: mr_lou on 14:30, 15 July 14
Seriously, the day they ban red cars because they can see that it's generally red cars that are speeding, I won't be the slightest bit surprised).
Revolution will there be! :laugh:
Quote from: mr_lou on 14:30, 15 July 14
Not happy with RG? Then you have two choices: Contribute with the stuff you feel it's missing, or make your own magazine that does make you happy.
That's true in an idealistic hippie way. However, what you're forgetting is that RG is a commercial product. If less and less people buy it, eventually they'll have to stop making it. If more people buy it, they'll make more money and their shareholders will be happy.
Now, if they continually have bad standards of journalism, factually incorrect material, and that puts people off, the solution isn't to just make our own magazine. If we could do that, we'd probably already be doing that. No, we're paying for something that's close to what we want, but lacking.
Now, we could just put up with it and keep buying. They'll think everyone's happy and carry on the same.
We could keep buying, but moan about it. They'll keep making money and just see us as moaners they can ignore.
We could just stop buying it and say nothing. They'll think the retro market is diminishing and eventually decide it's not economical to produce and stop.
Or, we could stop buying and make it clear the reasons why. They can continue to ignore us while they still have a decent market size, but eventually there will be a point when they realise they could earn a lot more money just by doing the thing the love... but doing it better.
Quote from: ralferoo on 19:41, 15 July 14
No, we're paying for something that's close to what we want, but lacking.
...eventually there will be a point when they realise they could earn a lot more money just by doing the thing the love... but doing it better.
You still need to tell them what it is you feel is lacking.
Moaning about it on a forum won't get you anywhere.
You need to contribute, minimum with ideas and opinions. Writing a small article on a topic you feel is missing, can't be such a big problem either (if you have the time). I'm sure they have editors to correct whatever spelling errors you have, and so forth.
Quote from: ralferoo on 19:41, 15 July 14
That's true in an idealistic hippie way. However, what you're forgetting is that RG is a commercial product. If less and less people buy it, eventually they'll have to stop making it. If more people buy it, they'll make more money and their shareholders will be happy.
Now, if they continually have bad standards of journalism, factually incorrect material, and that puts people off, the solution isn't to just make our own magazine. If we could do that, we'd probably already be doing that. No, we're paying for something that's close to what we want, but lacking.
Now, we could just put up with it and keep buying. They'll think everyone's happy and carry on the same.
We could keep buying, but moan about it. They'll keep making money and just see us as moaners they can ignore.
We could just stop buying it and say nothing. They'll think the retro market is diminishing and eventually decide it's not economical to produce and stop.
Or, we could stop buying and make it clear the reasons why. They can continue to ignore us while they still have a decent market size, but eventually there will be a point when they realise they could earn a lot more money just by doing the thing the love... but doing it better.
If its not what you want why worry if it ceases to exist? The truth is that the internet is supplying a lot more CPC info, news and gossip each day than RG will in a year, so is the actual issue that people just want their hobby in print? Everytime there is a CPC article we make a thing out of it, but then moan cos we already know the stuff it says especially when its a little wrong. Without RG concentrating on spectrum / c64 and cpc I dont think anyone here will be satisfied
I for one enjoy RG although I am no longer a subscriber that has more to do with time to read it than content. That and the fact that I got the full year of magazines in one go that I was swamped and several issues went unread.
Quote from: mr_lou on 19:48, 15 July 14
You need to contribute, minimum with ideas and opinions. Writing a small article on a topic you feel is missing, can't be such a big problem either (if you have the time). I'm sure they have editors to correct whatever spelling errors you have, and so forth.
They provide a service which we pay for. The money is the incentive for them to produce what customers ask for, not the customers writing articles for them.
An example that isn't computer related: I don't take my car to the garage and then show them how to fix it, then pay them for their time. I pay them to fix the car so that I don't have to.
Quote from: ralferoo on 20:19, 15 July 14
I don't take my car to the garage and then show them how to fix it, then pay them for their time. I pay them to fix the car so that I don't have to.
You don't take your car to the garage and say: "It's broke. Fix it".
You have to tell the garage
what is broke (or what you
think is broke). Or what you want done with it.
So you say: "Brakes don't work", or you say: "Install an ash-tray".
Likewise, if you're unhappy with RG, you could as a minimum write them feedback.
Making a Magazine isn't an viable option unfortunately and 20 quid is a lot of money for something which comes with no bundled software and your more or less only reading to get Tom, Dick & Harry opinions on all the old games, and the new ones as they emerge. It was nice to know I had a 6128 PLUS Tape the other month. :D
Which begs the question do they take Disk Images and publish Programs in their magazine as they get them. If they were so concerned that people were going to send in other people's work, then don't pay for Program contributions.
EDIT: There probably isn't any real point to sending them programs because you're more likely to post them here and the whole becomes a waste of space exercise if programs get posted on the Internet and even if they were published they would only annoy those people which use another computer. :D
Quote from: AMSDOS on 01:31, 16 July 14
Making a Magazine isn't an viable option
Why not?
Because it's an expensive and long process?
Then compromise. Make it an electronic-only magazine.
I'm not encouraging anyone to compete with RG, or even make their own magazine. I'm just asking "Why can't you?"
I'm just a big fan of "Never say never" and "Thinking outside the box".
Of course we could make our own magazine. Especially considering all the CPC discmags that's been created in the past.
We just have to be prepared for people complaining about it on some forum....
Making it is easy, Just takes time. Making money on it, is the difficult part. Probably even impossible part.
Besides, there used to be an electronic magazine like that actually. It was called "Retro Gamer CD" and can be found at RGCD (http://www.rgcd.co.uk/)
It came on a CD (which of course you just downloaded), and came with a lot of (imo) great articles and reviews. Well written.
They only made about 5 issues though, and obviously they aren't new anymore - but that's what's great with Retro Games. It doesn't have to be new! :)
So go download. :)
Personally I'm not sure why people want a printed magazine anyway. Now we have Youtube having stuff in print seems like a 2nd choice medium really. For instance gaming has moved on and who's the biggest player in games media... IGN.
Yes I know people put CPC/Speccy/c64 vids up all the time, but mostly they are just lists or play-throughs with a little commentry Now thats fine, but why only this? Do a video magazine. You only have to watch something like the old consolevania to see how cool but cheap to make this sort of thing would be.
As I said in another thread, having grown up reading tons of books, digital magazines and books just don't compare. Not to mention that e-readers are not even there yet (only e-ink is a viable solution for reading for hours on end, and it can't show colours or graphics well). And reading an e-magazine on the beach, for instance? Yeah, no soap.
Quote from: Trebmint on 08:20, 16 July 14
Personally I'm not sure why people want a printed magazine anyway. Now we have Youtube having stuff in print seems like a 2nd choice medium really.
...
Do a video magazine. You only have to watch something like the old consolevania to see how cool but cheap to make this sort of thing would be.
I think there'll always be people who simply prefer reading.
As there'll also always be people who just prefer writing, rather than making a video.
I like watching YouTube videos of retro games, especially the ones Xyphoe makes.
But they can never replace the written word. To me, they're two different things, and I see no reason not to have both.
I'd like to watch Xyphoe's videoes
and read Retro Gamer CD. (No, not at the same time wiseguy).
To me, the Discmag-like magazine is for reading 10 minutes here, 15 minutes there - on your phone or tablet, when on the train or bus etc, or sitting in the waiting room at the dentist. I wouldn't be reading on my phone for hours in a row. I don't think anyone would.
But reading a single article or chapter at a time on your phone or tablet - sure. I think lots of people does exactly that with the various software eBook readers out there.
Quote from: mr_lou on 07:02, 16 July 14
Quote from: AMSDOS on 01:31, 16 July 14
Making a Magazine isn't an viable option
Why not?
Because it's an expensive and long process?
Then compromise. Make it an electronic-only magazine.
You're missing the point totally.
The reason I don't make a magazine myself is that I already have a full time job, lots of other demands on my time, and somehow I manage to fit in a few crumbs of time for my actual hobbies. So, I like
reading a magazine in the small amounts of time I have spare, but I certainly don't have time to
make a magazine. Especially not one that's better than one with some full time staff.
Actually, that's not the only reason. Another reason is that there are other things I'd enjoy far more, such as working on my other projects.
Quote
Making it is easy, Just takes time. Making money on it, is the difficult part. Probably even impossible part.
Time is a scarce resource for most people. Making money, on the other hand, is clearly possible or there wouldn't be a Retro Gamer mag in the shops right now.
Quote from: ralferoo on 09:24, 16 July 14
You're missing the point totally.
The reason I don't make a magazine myself is that I already have a full time job, lots of other demands on my time, and somehow I manage to fit in a few crumbs of time for my actual hobbies. So, I like reading a magazine in the small amounts of time I have spare, but I certainly don't have time to make a magazine. Especially not one that's better than one with some full time staff.
Actually, that's not the only reason. Another reason is that there are other things I'd enjoy far more, such as working on my other projects.
Time is a scarce resource for most people. Making money, on the other hand, is clearly possible or there wouldn't be a Retro Gamer mag in the shops right now.
Hopefully we all have different priorities.
I didn't say that everyone would/could join the team. I just said that
of course it is possible for us (the CPC community) to make our own magazine.
It just takes time.
Retro Gamer CD was the same deal. 5 issues before he had to stop making them, because of lack of time / other things taking priority.
So naturally such a magazine would have to take priority for whoever is making it. It would have to be
the sparetime project that you love doing. And naturally it can't be for everyone. That would be kinda boring if we all urged to do the same things.
I would love to make an Amstrad CPC game - but I also have other things taking priority. Other projects.
If someone were to make a CPC oriented Discmag, I would probably contribute with an article or two for each issue (except that when my own current project is done, I won't really have any more CPC stuff to write about). But I wouldn't want any responsibility - because other things takes priority for me.
But do you really believe that within the whole CPC community, a CPC magazine wouldn't take priority for a few guys?
I do agree with you completely that time is a scarce resource. That is exactly why I say that people will only read 10 minutes here, 15 minutes there - and because of that, their cellphone or tablet will do the job nicely. Reading for hours in a row, is for people who has time. Personally I don't know any such people.
Quote from: mr_lou on 09:43, 16 July 14
But do you really believe that within the whole CPC community, a CPC magazine wouldn't take priority for a few guys?
Absolutely not. A fanzine, maybe, and this would only run for a few issues, far between.
Quote from: Gryzor on 11:24, 16 July 14
Absolutely not. A fanzine, maybe, and this would only run for a few issues, far between.
Indeed, too many projects never get finished already. Anyone still waiting for BTL5 or Palatine.
I'd have to agree with @ralferoo (http://www.cpcwiki.eu/forum/index.php?action=profile;u=476) cause time is something I don't have either due to full-time job & sometimes that work eats into my personal space which moves everything else around, sometimes I've got no time to do outdoor stuff because the sun has gone (that's winter for you though - go to work in the dark, come back home in the dark).
I was trying to bridge the two things together (RG & the Internet), by saying RG probably has no reason to publish Programs in their magazine when people can simply post what they want on a Forum for example. I'm more cranky regarding the price, however we're dealing with old computers, so the Advertising must be non existent just about and I guess making an electronic format may lead to Illegal distributions.
Quote from: Gryzor on 11:24, 16 July 14Absolutely not. A fanzine, maybe, and this would only run for a few issues, far between.
Call it what you will. Fanzine would be acceptable too. As long as it's something people feel like doing (i.e. what they felt / feel RG was missing, or what just generally was missing in the world).
But since it's been a decade since the last CPC Diskmag, and there's currently many other CPC projects alive (like pushnpop.net, cpcwiki.eu, cpc-power.com etc etc) - but no CPC Diskmag - then maybe you're right.
(Although some will probably argue that pushnpop.net
is exactly such a Diskmag, except it's alive and online...)
I'm still keeping my fingers crossed that something new will pop up at some time.
I'm hoping for a revival of a CPC Diskmag on the CPC + modern platforms at the same time.
I know someone (I think it was eliot?) was working on an engine. If that project ever sees daylight, then you were wrong, and I'll make you eat your hat. ;)
I like Retro Gamer and I get it on subscription.
I like to read about other computers too and see homebrew on other platforms. There was an article in this months Retro Gamer about Road Blasters. I loved playing that game in the arcades, so it was good to see the arcade pictures and read about it. I am sure I put £5 into that machine and I think it was 10p a go.
I also really enjoyed the article about the "Gang Of Five". These are the guys who brought us Sorcery and Strangeloop.
I understand completely that Retro Gamer has to be for every platform and give space to other platforms and showcase future classics and retro themed stuff. It tries it's best.
Yes I've noticed there isn't a lot of new Amstrad games. But look about, there isn't a lot of new Amstrad games! We all have lives and the number of people writing Amstrad games is few. If we all had time to dedicate to the Amstrad we would be making more new games. Myself I divide my time between my family, maintenance work on our house and Amstrad.
Now the magazine may not know about all these games, or it may not be able to review all the games in as much depth as it could because it chooses to review games for other machines too. It's a balance.
When I read the articles on the games and I see their review of Amstrad conversions I remember that they're comming it at it from a different angle. They've not necessarily had an Amstrad, they're looking at it purely on a gameplay, graphics and sound criteria - the technical side is not important - the game is, and some of their comments are genuinely accurate.
We of course, love our Amstrads, and we fight for them so our opinions are different.
The other thing about Retro gamer is that it is read by people in other countries AND who owned other computers.
With Retro Gamer, although they have an interest in another computer, they may read the article because it's there in the mag, a fanzine dedicated to Amstrad may not be appealing to them.
A fanzine is a magazine for fans written by the fans and is for a different audience.
Fanzines stop when there is not much to report about, when they have exhausted the existing information and there is not much new information to report.
I can't help with a fanzine because I don't have the time. I will read it however.
Don't forget, in Retro Gamer you can review a game and send in your review. If it's chosen it's printed.
So perhaps try this ;)
Sounds like you're you on their payroll? :laugh:
I didn't bother renewing my sub a few months back because it was pretty much all Spectrum and C64 articles, repeated at that, and maybe a few pages on different systems without going into any detail. Has it changed? :laugh:
For example, I own an FM Towns Marty, PC Engine, PC-FX and Sega SG-1000 among others and I can't remember in the 3 or 4 years I subscribed to the mag reading anything substantial if at all about any of those :( Just endless Ultimate Play the Game articles.
Come to think of it, I don't remember reading much about other classic British systems like the Acorn Electron, BBC Micro, Tatung Einstein and Jupiter Ace etc.
I am sure a few of those have been mentioned in the past few months.
Some appeared in the minority report.
Don't remember einstein being mentioned.
Quote from: arnoldemu on 13:24, 16 July 14
Don't forget, in Retro Gamer you can review a game and send in your review. If it's chosen it's printed.
So perhaps try this ;)
That is exactly what TFM suggested, and what spawned this debate. :)
Quote from: mr_lou on 15:50, 16 July 14
That is exactly what TFM suggested, and what spawned this debate. :)
Reading his post again, yes this is exactly what he said.
I believe Gryzor misread it and that started the debate.
I have also used the thread to comment on other aspects of it's editorial.
TFM is correct. If we want to see more in Retro Gamer we can write a review of an Amstrad game and submit it as a readers review.
In addition if we have made a game we can tell them about it so that they know about it and review it.
And he is also true, if we don't agree with it, stop reading it as others have done already.
TFM is completely correct in all of this.
I can understand some of the niche machines not getting a lot of coverage. It's great when they do an article on those bits of hardware of course, although sadly they're lacking on the technical side of things (I have my Advanced Computer Course for the sexy 80's iFixIt teardowns luckily).
Mistakes are also going to happen on the budget that the magazine has. I appreciate that the people doing the work are doing it also out of love of the old hardware. Also some of the articles are going to revisit old ground, things they did years ago.
But the CPC sold millions. And their love is more Speccy/C64 oriented, and the CPC coverage does not reflect the market share.
However, the PCW article is a good thing. Those games looked great, hi-res batman, etc. Well worth covering. I also note that the PCW sold even more than the CPC, although admittedly it's not Retro-Word-Processor Magazine :p
For sure, it's a commercial venture so I guess they have to sell x number of mags so they play it safe.
I found it a shame that with 100+ pages to fill they can't find 5 or 6 of them to spend on another machine each month and the minority report was normally utter pap. One of the last machines they did cover before I stopped reading it was the 3DO. The images filled up most of the page and too much of the article was given over to the competition around at the time, which fair enough was a reason for its downfall but they managed to focus on that and pad it out for 3 or 4 pages. That and the complacency generating samey articles just left me feeling contempt for the magazine in the end. The other thing that annoyed me was using members posts in the forum for their views on certain news stories. Who gives a shit...
As Arnoldemu suggests, I found they didn't have the balance of the mag right to hold my interest and came to the conclusion I'd rather spend the £70 sub a year on a decent retro machine that would give me more enjoyment and so stopped reading it.
Quote from: beaker on 13:34, 16 July 14
For example, I own an FM Towns Marty, PC Engine, PC-FX and Sega SG-1000 among others and I can't remember in the 3 or 4 years I subscribed to the mag reading anything substantial if at all about any of those :( Just endless Ultimate Play the Game articles.
I seem to recall a PC Engine feature but can't recall if it was in that or when. I just remember taking notice of it cos of Parasol Stars I used to play on my uncle's PC Engine before I bought the Amiga version. And also the PC Engine CD games getting a mention such as Gates of Thunder, Lords of Thunder and Rondo of Blood.
Ah yes, possibly issue 111 (The Lode Runner one). 8 pages (well 7 I guess as one page is just a picture) of large pictures and a little bit of information on the revisions? I should probably read that again as I have the PC Engine and bought a Turbo Duo R a month or 2 back but I didn't realise that first I'd need the arcade card to get the most out of it, and then I found the memory backup in the console is tiny so had to buy a couple of Tennokoe Banks which backs up the saves on the machine to a "chest" on the card allowing you to wipe the one on the machine so it can be reused. Basically a slightly rubbish memory card :laugh:
Quote from: Sykobee (Briggsy) on 21:00, 16 July 14
But the CPC sold millions. And their love is more Speccy/C64 oriented, and the CPC coverage does not reflect the market share.
Even as a die hard CPC user I know the stats speak for themselves. The CPC was never more than 3rd place in the UK market so its only fair the Spectrum and C64 get more coverage.
A few years ago I pulled up the games sales market share stats for May 1992. Can't remember the source but it looked like this (I had to lift this from a forum I used to post to):
May 1992:
C64 26.1%[Amiga 19.8%Spectrum 14.1%Amstrad CPC 7%Atari ST 7%Sega Megadrive 6.4%Nintendo 3.8%Sega Gamegear 3.2%Nintendo Gameboy 2.8%PC comaptible 1.3%Atari Lynx 0.7%
The thing to note there is the Spectrum is in free fall from it's longstanding first place and the CPC is about half of what it was at it's peak. Also note I have no idea why the Master System is missing. Possibly a transcription error from wherever I nicked the stats from (sorry can't remember where).
Still, if you want to live up to your name (Retro Gamer) you can't just talk about the same things over and over again for years, while there is so much stuff out there you haven't even mentioned.
Quote from: chinnyhill10 on 23:22, 16 July 14
Even as a die hard CPC user I know the stats speak for themselves. The CPC was never more than 3rd place in the UK market so its only fair the Spectrum and C64 get more coverage.
A few years ago I pulled up the games sales market share stats for May 1992. Can't remember the source but it looked like this (I had to lift this from a forum I used to post to):
May 1992:
C64 26.1%[
Amiga 19.8%
Spectrum 14.1%
Amstrad CPC 7%
Atari ST 7%
Sega Megadrive 6.4%
Nintendo 3.8%
Sega Gamegear 3.2%
Nintendo Gameboy 2.8%
PC comaptible 1.3%
Atari Lynx 0.7%
The thing to note there is the Spectrum is in free fall from it's longstanding first place and the CPC is about half of what it was at it's peak. Also note I have no idea why the Master System is missing. Possibly a transcription error from wherever I nicked the stats from (sorry can't remember where).
I think I at some point found that article in a magazine and posted it somewhere.
I found it quite impressive that the
Amstrad CPC in
1992! sold more games than the
Atari ST 7%
Sega Megadrive 6.4%
Nintendo 3.8%
Sega Gamegear 3.2%
Nintendo Gameboy 2.8%
PC comaptible 1.3%
Atari Lynx 0.7%
Yeah, it's weird, it was around that time that the major publishers were pulling out/had pulled out of the CPC market wasn't it?
But this suggests it was still dominated by the 8-bit machines.
I suppose even with a smaller share, the profit margin on the consoles must have justified the move... :laugh:
Quote from: beaker on 11:30, 17 July 14
Yeah, it's weird, it was around that time that the major publishers were pulling out/had pulled out of the CPC market wasn't it?
But this suggests it was still dominated by the 8-bit machines.
I suppose even with a smaller share, the profit margin on the consoles must have justified the move... :laugh:
Remember the price of a console game (around 70€, without taking care of inflation) and the fact that i couldn't be hacked (well, in the firsts times)...
Yes i think they made way more money, event with all the extra costs on a cartdridge game
Quote from: beaker on 11:30, 17 July 14
I suppose even with a smaller share, the profit margin on the consoles must have justified the move... :laugh:
These are my ideas why they moved to console and away from 8-bits etc:
1. Pirating console games was hard - copying ROMs for example. So less money was lost to that.
2. The consoles were more global - they existed in more countries. So more potential money if it was sold in every territory.
3. Consoles had more power.
So there is a larger share for consoles if you consider other territories, although the share per unit may not have been as big as for 8-bits/16-bits.
But with less pirating they were "guaranteed" more money back.
Quote from: ivarf on 11:22, 17 July 14
I found it quite impressive that the Amstrad CPC in 1992! sold more games than the
Atari ST 7%
Sega Megadrive 6.4%
...
Admittedly budget CPC games were easily available on tapes from even newsagents at the time, and cost £1.99 to £3.99 usually. I remember buying these frequently, but when I got an Amiga my game buying rate dropped massively (and game piracy rate increased...). ST games were £20, Amiga £25 - that's a lot of pocket money.
Of course, the Speccy game buyers had to wait for the TV to become free... :p
Quote from: remax on 13:07, 17 July 14
Remember the price of a console game (around 70€, without taking care of inflation) and the fact that i couldn't be hacked (well, in the firsts times)...
Yes i think they made way more money, event with all the extra costs on a cartdridge game
Market share means nothing. To paraphrase Alan Sugar I could have all the market share of thimble holders but it wouldn't make me any money".
Profit margins on the 16 bit games were higher, the consoles even more so. Remember when WH Smiths ditched all home computer games in favour of console games? Rumoured to have happened as not were the margins far far higher, but returns were negligible and smaller stock space was needed. What it all added up to was less sales for the home computers.
When the vast majority of sales for 8 bit software was budget you can soon work out that the market share figures were completely pointless.
However from OUR point of view they give a snapshot in time of what percentage of games players were on which format. That is the interesting statistic.
Quote from: chinnyhill10 on 01:54, 18 July 14
However from OUR point of view they give a snapshot in time of what percentage of games players were on which format. That is the interesting statistic.
For me its pretty amazing, that an 8-bit computer that was not produced anymore, still had a so loyal following. I thought I was very late, when I bought my next computer in 1990, a 286-16 MHz with 40 MB harddrive and VGA. That was a lowspec PC at the time, still I paid £1000 for it and thought I had got it cheap.
I have always assumed that most of us stopped buying new games after having owned the machine for a few years. There were a few good fullprice titles released in 1992, but they didn't sell well.
7% is a high number. Did the piracy among CPC-users stop in its evening years? Could that explain the late but huge marketshare?
Quote from: ivarf on 08:38, 18 July 14
7% is a high number. Did the piracy among CPC-users stop in its evening years? Could that explain the late but huge marketshare?
I didn't even know what piracy was then. Most of my tapes were originals. I think only had Roland Ahoy and Roland Goes Digging as a copied tape I got off a friend. Same tape with each game on either side.
Quote from: ivarf on 08:38, 18 July 14
Did the piracy among CPC-users stop in its evening years? Could that explain the late but huge marketshare?
I think so, By that time my friends had moved onto other machines and I had most of their software collection ::)
I was still using my CPC until about 1994/5 when I switched to a 486 and then a PS2 a year or 2 later. The last full priced games I had were Terminator 2 and Lemmings around that time but I was mostly buying budget games like Stryker and the Crypts of Trojan, Steg the Slug and Ocean re-releases like Addams Family. Later on the last place I could get them in the end were in market stalls and using the Duplicator machine in Menzies that used to be downstairs in the Dolphin Center in Poole. That was a great machine, you had a massive CPC library from memory and so weren't restricted to whatever other shops like W H Smiths decided to stock.
Well - here is a new site whose sole purpose is to cover all the 8 bit machines:
un8bg (http://www.hit8b.it/)
It's really nice to see some MSX stuff in there too. The new Uridium remake looks fantastic!
Quote from: beaker on 09:16, 18 July 14I was still using my CPC until about 1994/5 when I switched to a 486 and then a PS2 a year or 2 later.
Do you mean an IBM PS/2?
Quote from: beaker on 09:16, 18 July 14
using the Duplicator machine in Menzies that used to be downstairs in the Dolphin Center in Poole. That was a great machine, you had a massive CPC library from memory and so weren't restricted to whatever other shops like W H Smiths decided to stock.
I used to drag my parents to that Menzies most Saturdays, it would have been around that sort of time as well, we probably crossed paths more than once. I was always annoyed that they could never supply games on disk no matter how many times I asked though, despite the game inlays saying that disk versions were supposedly available. I remember being very happy when I found out that Software Box (tiny shop upstairs, round the corner from C&A) sold Amstrad disk software (albeit briefly...)
Quote from: McKlain on 13:48, 18 July 14
Do you mean an IBM PS/2?
Oops, sorry I meant PS1 :laugh:
Quote from: martw80888 on 14:37, 18 July 14
I used to drag my parents to that Menzies most Saturdays, it would have been around that sort of time as well, we probably crossed paths more than once. I was always annoyed that they could never supply games on disk no matter how many times I asked though, despite the game inlays saying that disk versions were supposedly available. I remember being very happy when I found out that Software Box (tiny shop upstairs, round the corner from C&A) sold Amstrad disk software (albeit briefly...)
Damn I remember that lol. Yeah, I remember playing AvP on their Jaguar demo machine at some point and seeing Space Hulk for the first time on the 3DO in that store. It was a tiny shop. Didn't they move across to the other side which was a larger unit or was that another shop? Did you ever get to the indoor market outside the Dolphin Center down past MacDonalds? They had a big selection of consoles for a while and shelves filled with old PC's games going for a song. I used to come out with loads of games like Aliens Comic Book Adventure for a couple of quid if my memory serves me right. Must have been mid to late 90's as I remember them selling N64 carts as well. I haven't been there in over 10 years. I wonder if Game is still there by the level crossing?
Yeah, they eventually moved along a bit to a (slightly) larger unit, it was still pretty damn small tho. It's long gone now unfortunately. The last time I went there was probably around 1999/2000.
I only went to the place in the indoor market a couple of times, don't remember ever buying anything there tho. One time I was in there (this would have been 1997ish, maybe) and a bloke came in trying to sell a big stack of Amiga games (at least a dozen of them, possibly more). The guy behind the counter offered him £9 for the lot! The bloke turned him down unsurprisingly :). The market itself has also disappeared now.
Game's still there, next to the level crossing. It's the only store selling games left in Poole town centre now since Gamestation closed a few years back.
I never saw an EDOS machine (http://cpcrulez.fr/GamesSF_not/EDOS_MAGAZINE_1991-1992__ENGLISH.pdf), in theory the games were storaged in a CDROM, no? (or was another urban legend, jejeje)
Yikes, I might still have that very catalogue somewhere, it looks really familiar...
To be honest, I have no idea how it worked, all I knew was that you went up to the counter with the case for the game you wanted, said that you'd like the Amstrad version, the tape popped out after a couple of minutes or so and you gave them your £3.99.
CDROM seems to make sense given how fast the process seemed at the time, they certainly weren't dubbing them :)
Yup, that was my recollection as well. Just a shame it never really took off. I wonder whatever happened to those machines?
In landfill most likely. They might have done better if the system had appeared 5 years earlier, cartridges and CDs became the dominant games media during the 90s
Had a quick look through the latest Retro Gamer. That Roadblasters article. Liked that side panel interview with David Looker who did the Spectrum and CPC versions. His comment about him basically saying about how a conversion should take advantage of the system's capabilities and is why Roadblasters CPC is not a cheap Speccy port despite being by the same guy. Yeah I liked that bit. Shame I can't click 'like' in a magazine. I could have written 'carnivac likes this' under the article but WH Smith would have thrown me out probably.
I liked that bit too.
Interesting that in the same issue they have an interview with Mev Dinc, who it turns out was responsible for (among other things) the Amstrad conversions of Last Ninja 2 and Enduro Racer, two of the specciest of Speccy ports...
Last Ninja 2 and it's "beeper emulation". My god...
Quote from: McKlain on 17:27, 18 July 14
Last Ninja 2 and it's "beeper emulation". My god...
super hang on is worse ;)
Quote from: beaker on 16:33, 18 July 14
Yup, that was my recollection as well. Just a shame it never really took off. I wonder whatever happened to those machines?
mine is the same.
I went up to the desk, they had the machine behind it. picked what I wanted in the catalogue. they got out a big plastic case and an inlay.
the machine wrote it to a cassette which had a generic label on it. They wrote on the label to say what game it was. paid and went away happy.
Quote from: arnoldemu on 17:29, 18 July 14
super hang on is worse ;)
I never played it before, so I started CPCE, loaded the game and...
OH
MY
F**KING
GOD
And I thought that Last Ninja 2 was the worst... How the fuck did they manage to do this crap on the AY?
I have a fondness for Super Hang On. It's one of the few games (or pretty much anything) that my dad and I spent time doing together. He was a big fan of the arcade game (he loves motorcycles) and despite the difference in the CPC port we still played it loads and also a couple of the other bike games on CPC (which I forget the names of but I'd know them if I saw pics).
Quote from: Carnivac on 17:39, 18 July 14
I have a fondness for Super Hang On. It's one of the few games (or pretty much anything) that my dad and I spent time doing together. He was a big fan of the arcade game (he loves motorcycles) and despite the difference in the CPC port we still played it loads and also a couple of the other bike games on CPC (which I forget the names of but I'd know them if I saw pics).
it's fun to play, but the "music" is horrific.
I think they simulated the beeper by using a hardware envelope, then they turned it on/off.
If you want to know so you can make the same sounds I could find out for you ;)
Quote from: arnoldemu on 17:40, 18 July 14If you want to know so you can make the same sounds I could find out for you ;)
Please don't :laugh:
Just loaded it up and had a listen. Yeah I remember it now. I dunno. Technically it's awful but it does bring back memories of happier times.
Do wish it had been ported by the guys who did Chase HQ or something and had nice smooth gameplay, great sense of speed, lots of colours. Ah well...
Quote from: arnoldemu on 17:29, 18 July 14
super hang on is worse ;)
And
Prodigy is worse still!
Mev "speccy" Dinc ;D ;D ;D
Quote from: SyX on 22:36, 18 July 14
Mev "speccy" Dinc ;D ;D ;D
Just typed that name into cpc-power and yeah... nothing but Spectrum ports. *throws rocks*
Quote from: Gryzor on 11:24, 16 July 14
Absolutely not. A fanzine, maybe, and this would only run for a few issues, far between.
I personally liked CPC Oxygen which had some good stuff on those Online Pages, though I think the guy that was doing those has work & family to worry about too. I guess it would work if one issue was done every year, so then you could have an issue which reflects back to the year that was for the CPC. Perhaps not review games in a personal sense, though programs and games can be discussed. Because this year is the 30th Anniversary of the CPC, it might be good to do something about that.