Retrocade Future

[Arkhan]

Ok, So, I've been doing some thinking.

The PCE homebrew scene has undergone a bit of a change since 2008-9.  A positive one!

We've got a bunch of new projects in the works from all kinds of people (sweet).  Squirrel 3.0 is on the rise (coming very soon.  As soon as the Protocards finish their final tests and get out the door)... so here's the thing:

Pyramid Plunder has been just about done since June, and stalled right there while the HuCard's happened, and some other shit (school.  holidays.  snow.) So, here are some options I was thinking about in the interest of advancing things.

1) We continue working on Retrocade as planned, waiting to release it until every game is done. 
2) We polish up Pyramid Plunder, get it all 100% ship-shape, and press that bitch and sell it instead of sitting on it for who knows how long.  Then, Atlantean gets released next (possibly to HuCard), since it is the main focus now.  It will be pretty spiffy, probably to the tune of Galaga 88 vs. Galaga.  Will definitely be able to stand on it's own.

After that, the REST of the Retrocade games get finished and released as ROMs, free of charge for you guys.   This means Jungle Hunt, Joust, and the Skate or Die Ramp. 

Once everything planned is done, we release the pressed-Retrocade with all of the games + a few extra things to set them apart from the freebie roms so it's worth buying + all the games that appeared on the Protocards, with some tweaks as well.

I feel method 2 is the best plan.  It gets this stuff out to people to play and talk about instead of speculating about them and seeing screenshots of stuff.  I want games out there, not .bmp's.

The price of the CDs will probably be cheaper than Insanity since the general vibe I got was that 30$ was too much money.  Assuming we go with Plan 2, I expect to drop Insanity's price again as well. 

So, what's everyone think? 

In any event, the Protocards will be ready to go to you people in the very near future.  Like, before St. Pattys Day.  Hell, before the end of February, I hope.

They work.  The menu is made, the games are done... we're just making sure there aren't any retarded bugs or stupid "oops" things in them that would really make it kinda lame to sell in that state.   We COULD sell the things like, now, but what would end up happening is someone will go HEY a$$hole, LOOK AT THIS BUG, and we'd look stupid.



DISCUSS. 

[Opethian]

sign me up for hueycardos!!!!!!

[nat]

Here's my humble, unimportant opinion:

Option 3 - Release PP as a free ROM/ISO to the community once it's satisfactory. Continue work on Atlantean, release when finished as a commercial CD or AbCard. Continue work on the other Retrocade games at your leisure, releasing each one as a free ROM/ISO as they are completed. Once the entire Retrocade suite has been finished and released as freeware, bundle them all (including PP) into a nice professionally packaged and pressed disc and sell. This will have two benefits: it will keep people interested by having shorter durations between releases, and you might even get some feedback on some of the Retrocade titles you could incorporate into the final, "commercial" release.

Oh, and this option keeps Atlantean separate from the Retrocade, completely. I'm not sure if that was the plan all along or not, but it sounds like it's capable of standing on its own.

[Arkhan]

Hmm.

What makes you say release PP as a freebie as well?? Out of curiosity.

[Mishran]

Would love to see Atlantean released as a stand alone game, especially on huey, but the rest I can wait on until they are done. Why release Pyramid Plunder on its own disc and then repress it along with the rest of Retrocade on one disc? Seems like a waste of time and money to me, to be honest. If that were the route taken, I'd likely wait until Retrocade is released to obtain PP since it'll be more bang for the buck.

I'd also like to see some sort of PCE release of Insanity X. The character being able to move at a faster pace makes the game more enjoyable. Hard to avoid enemy shots in close quarters with the slower 'Insanity' character. Especially when the game places you square in the middle of 4 or more enemies that fire at you as soon as the room appears on screen. Lost many a life from that situation... Even would be happy with a ISO patch that could be applied to a rip of the disc to play in an emulator or burn to a disc for some real hardware love.

[Sadler]

I voted release it all ASAP. I'd really like to see a new hucard release! When everything's done it'd be cool to be able to get a pressed disc with everything on it.

[Arkhan]

Would love to see Atlantean released as a stand alone game, especially on huey, but the rest I can wait on until they are done. Why release Pyramid Plunder on its own disc and then repress it along with the rest of Retrocade on one disc? Seems like a waste of time and money to me, to be honest. If that were the route taken, I'd likely wait until Retrocade is released to obtain PP since it'll be more bang for the buck.

When you consider that you'd be getting like, 8 games for like 30$, the fact that you already bought PP probably wouldn't matter much, I don't think at least.

I'd also like to see some sort of PCE release of Insanity X. The character being able to move at a faster pace makes the game more enjoyable. Hard to avoid enemy shots in close quarters with the slower 'Insanity' character. Especially when the game places you square in the middle of 4 or more enemies that fire at you as soon as the room appears on screen. Lost many a life from that situation... Even would be happy with a ISO patch that could be applied to a rip of the disc to play in an emulator or burn to a disc for some real hardware love.

Could always re-release it on the Retrocade with faster-speed-character...

though, you start off invincible for a few seconds.  Use it to your advantage and run into shit to kill it!

[Mishran]

When you consider that you'd be getting like, 8 games for like 30$, the fact that you already bought PP probably wouldn't matter much, I don't think at least.

I agree, but the funding for that extra PP disc could go into a title that won't be included on the Retrocade disc later on. Just seems to me that the funds could be better spent. That is only my opinion though. This is your project(s), so do what you think is right.

[nat]

Hmm.

What makes you say release PP as a freebie as well?? Out of curiosity.

I think these games work better (in theory, of course, since I haven't seen any part of them save for PP) as part of the Retrocade concept.

If the ultimate goal is Retrocade, then I think charging for any of them on initial release precludes the possibility of being able to charge for them again on release of the full package. That's just me, though.

I guess the only person who can really answer this poll is you-- you need to figure out what your priorities are. If the priority is just to get games in the hands of gamers as quickly as possible, financial considerations aside, then I think my Option 3 is the best course of action.

If getting a commercial, pressed product out there that can stand in line next to Insanity is the priority, then your proposed Option 2 is the best course of action.

If the ultimate goal is no longer Retrocade, and you want these all to be standalone projects, then my Option 3 wouldn't make much sense, either.

If the concern is people not wanting to pay for Retrocade after all the games have been released as free ROMs, well, I'm not sure you'd have to worry about that. Plus, you could always offer some sort of bonus in the official Retrocade release that hadn't been released as freeware-- a 2nd disc of arranged tracks from the soundtracks of the games, for example.

[Keranu]

Finish and release all at once. Just pressing one small game to a CD seems like a waste of money, both on production and for the buyer. But I wouldn't object to either game being sold on an AbCard, for novelty's sake.

Some free ROM demos might be able to satisfy us until everything's ready .

[nectarsis]

I vote wait...if everyone waited this long for MSR, they have shown they have patience to wait for this.  Though the above mentioned demos idea is a great idea.

[touko]

Wahou, very cool, i have seen altlantean on your site, and i like it ..

what price do you think for hucard games
And a public release of squirrel 3 is a very good news .

[spenoza]

I'm not sure any of those titles, individually, have enough long-term appeal to more than a very few folks to stand on their own as a salable product. This is not a statement about your programming efforts, but about the gameplay of the games upon which those are based. It is in bundling them together that you really create value. That said, I'd be sad to see them on CD rather than on a card. Maybe you could bundle them all on CD, but make little 2 or 3 game bundles to release on card for those of us without CD capabilities (outside of emulation).

For example, I think Pyramid Plunder and Atlantean together on a card would definitely be worth putting down a few $$ for.

[lord_cack]

I would say just wait to release them all at once. Though dropping a demo ROM here and there (especially considering PP is nearly complete) would be cool but not a requirement. Also, I would be more than willing to accept Retrocade at 3 titles: Pyramid Plunder, Atlantean, and Jungle Hunt.... I just am not excited at all about Joust or Skate or Die Ramp....

So, whats the new project that has you all excited to hurry through this one? 

[TheClash603]

I agree, just wait.

Only way I can see wanting to do PP alone is if you need it to raise money to complete retrocade.  If not, I want the complete package!