So there's this Dino Force alpha version...

[BeaglePuss]

I suppose there will be a few dick riders who say, "Gee sir, you sure are awesome for having lots of money!" but those sorts of toadies are pretty rare, thankfully.

Thank God for them.  Without those dick-riders, this whole situation could have really gotten sour.

[ProfessorProfessorson]

Per stated prior, what are you doing here, Mr. 30 post count in 5 years?

[BeaglePuss]

You coming here and insinuating you've contributed more in general then actual members of this community who post here, let alone work on home brew releases, is indeed insulting.

More in general?  Absolutely not.  In terms of preserving and distributing video game prototypes across multiple platforms... It would seem a sound argument.

So again, I ask, what exactly are you doing here?

It seems nothing.  I suppose I will be on my way. 

Another victory for the forums?

[Sadler]

Jesus guys, is this really necessary? Personally I like seeing pics of Marble Madness and anything else that wasn't released. It's interesting trivia and wasn't ever confirmed to exist (to the best of my knowledge) prior to BeaglePuss's pictures. Would I like to see a ROM dump? Hell yeah, but I'll take what I can get. If that makes me a dick rider, so be it.

[BeaglePuss]

Per stated prior, what are you doing here, Mr. 30 post count in 5 years?

It's one thing to be insulting, but let's not get viscous.

Are you eight?

[Necromancer]

Perhaps it makes me a toady, but I'm a fan of people bragging about what rare items they have, but only if they share screen shots, videos, tunes, etc.  Obviously I'd rather they shared the whole enchilada (either via download or as a booty), but I'd rather have that little bit of info. than nothing.

I honestly don't see what the big deal here is.

[ProfessorProfessorson]

You coming here and insinuating you've contributed more in general then actual members of this community who post here, let alone work on home brew releases, is indeed insulting.

More in general?  Absolutely not.  In terms of preserving and distributing video game prototypes across multiple platforms... It would seem a sound argument.

So again, I ask, what exactly are you doing here?

It seems nothing.  I suppose I will be on my way. 

Another victory for the forums?

C U in another 5 years then when you come across another mythical object of wanton desire or something. Will be looking forward to it brah.

[BeaglePuss]

Perhaps it makes me a toady, but I'm a fan of people bragging about what rare items they have, but only if they share screen shots, videos, tunes, etc.  Obviously I'd rather they shared the whole enchilada (either via download or as a booty), but I'd rather have that little bit of info. than nothing.

I honestly don't see what the big deal here is.

I brought it upon myself for having the gall to respond in the first place. 

I have no ill-will towards the forum honestly, but I've obviously worn out my short welcome.  No harm, no foul.

[ProfessorProfessorson]

I honestly don't see what the big deal here is.

Its not a big deal until you start downplaying others contributions compared to your own, and start boasting of deeds no one gives a flying f*ck about because they had ZERO impact on this forum. I guess its the difference between being humble about the whole thing, and acting like you're the community rock star when 90 percent of the people posting have no idea who the f*ck you even are and could care less, or even know what you're actual purpose of being here is.

[Bardoly]

Firstly, I apologize for my derailment of the thread.  I was responding to my name being brought up, but I should have just gone through PM in hindsight.  It was honestly unintentional. 

As for profiting on a potential release, I don't believe I ever have in all of the games I've released.  I have made some money back on my initial investment, but ultimately always end up spending more money than anything else (usually a lot more).  When releasing a game isn't an option, I either release the rom for free or sell the game to another collector.  It all depends on situation. 

I will update the Marble Madness thread at some point today and tie up the remaining loose ends as best I can.

I also want to apologize to community as a whole.  This is a tighter-knit group than most, and I appreciate your collective passion.  When you collect prototypes, you tend to always be on the defensive, which is exactly what happened here.  When I've spent so much time and money releasing games to the public, I tend to get a bit trigger-happy when being accused of hoarding.  It's an unfortunate character flaw.

No need to apologize. I understand you had to sacrifice a significant sum to pry MM away from the previous owner. I look forward to your update and I'm sure plenty of people would be thrilled to pitch in if given the opportunity.

I don't know about the guys jumping on you, but I agree more with vestcoat here, in that I think (and hope) that there are many people here who would be happy to help offset the cost involved in acquiring a prototype like Marble Madness or Dino Force if said prototype could possibly be reproduced or at least released as a rom or something.

If I understand you correctly, then you go into these prototype deals with eyes wide open, expecting to 'collect' a unique piece of gaming history/memorabilia without there being a monetary return necessarily, but if the prototype turns out to be viably playable, then you hope to be able to recoup a portion of your expenditure.  For example, if you spent $1500 on a prototype that turned out to be decently playable, then you might hope to work out a limited initial release of repro copies of some sort and try to make back $500-1000 of your initial expenditure before releasing the rom to the general public.  After which, at some point in the future, you could then possibly sell off the prototype if you wished and possibly break even.  It seems that such a setup would help get more funding than someone simply dumping the rom and then holding out a hat for donations.   :-"

I do hope that any critics of such would be willing to put up some funding to assist in acquiring such items for the community as a whole.  I know that I would be willing to do so.   

[ProfessorProfessorson]

Legally, as he admitted, he doesn't have a right to make any money back by releasing it, so I have no intention of paying him to do so, especially for a title already released on countless platforms as is. I'd possibly consider it for something like Dino Force though, if the game was a finished product and no one holds rights to it any longer however.

[vestcoat]

I don't know about you guys, but I haven't seen a lot of change in the Turbografx library over the last twenty years. I contributed to MSR and I have no qualms forking over money at the drop of the hat to Frozen Utopia, Aetherbyte, Mindrec, Bonknuts, CCovell, Necro (for repros), BeaglePuss, and anyone else interested in releasing a new TurboGrafx game.

When it comes to prototypes, all I know is this:
1) I'll never be willing to pay the asking price
2) the people that do buy them are generally a$$holes who lock them away.

Beagle's the only prototype owner to ever seek out the forum and not be a dick. He's been open to the possibility of sharing it since day one. I never got the impression that he was waving it over our heads when he disappeared; he's just not a active member here. Did he run to us with open arms and give the game away for free? No, he's not a saint like BlueBMW. Unfortunately, people like Blue and Sparky haven't bought any prototypes.

I can understand some of the charges leveled against Beagle: he doesn't own the copyright, it was frustrating waiting three months for an update, and, while he has a history of being generous with prototypes, he doesn't have a history around here. Those are valid reasons not to support a MM release, especially the copyright.

Personally, I would feel fine about supporting a MM release from Beagle simply because he's not a gouger. If he had a habit of profiting on prototypes, I wouldn't be defending him. I see it as a "finder's fee" for keeping MM from the clutches of Adol or Thibut or that guy who owns PC Cocoron. We get a new game, MM is saved from dying on a shelf, and Beagel sees a small return on the obscene amount needed to compete with the a$$holes who hoard these things. If we ever want to see any prototype action around here, we can either: a) wait until hell freezes over for someone to give them away for free, b) start a PCEFX Buyers Co-op to compete with the a$$holes, or c) let someone like Beagle do the dirty work and reimburse him for some of it.

[Sadler]

What the f*ck guys. Of all the battles to fight, this is what riles you up? Unreleased games that you knew nothing about? That's what pisses you off? You aren't any worse off for not having it in your hands and you are better off for learning about it. At least, you would be if you actually gave a shit about the system. What's next? Jumping on bt for not releasing an ISO of the huvideo sampler?

[ProfessorProfessorson]

What the f*ck guys. Of all the battles to fight, this is what riles you up? Unreleased games that you knew nothing about? That's what pisses you off? You aren't any worse off for not having it in your hands and you are better off for learning about it. At least, you would be if you actually gave a shit about the system. What's next? Jumping on bt for not releasing an ISO of the huvideo sampler?

The game itself, and his not willing to release it, has little to do with it, at least from my perspective. And given he has no actual legal right to release it anyway for money of any amount, I'd rather he did not do so at all if money is going to be a issue of any kind. I know that sucks for him, and for people desperate for any new material on said system, but I mean in his case, that's a fine line you choose to walk when investing in a high dollar item that's rights are still owned by a major company. At that point you are either taking on the role of being someone who plans to make sure the program is preserved for future generations, by freely putting it out there for as many people as possible to save, preserve, use and enjoy, at your own legal risk, or assuming a role similar to a fine art collector, storing it away to brag about to house guest now and then over a glass of wine.

The fact the he basically said that companies or individuals legal rights don't really even concern him when he releases this stuff kind of struck a cord with me too, and given that I actually have no idea at all how much he makes from said hard copy releases, the actual profit margins remain questionable. It reminds me of a certain Space Fantasy Zone/Mega Man Pc Engine release seller profiting off of another's work illegally, doing it simply because he knows he can get away with it.

Regardless of all that, it was the downplaying/disparaging egotistical remarks he made, downplaying others legit activity/contributions when he himself has done nothing for this community at all, other then post a couple of pics of Marble Madness, that put him on the spot mainly in my eyes. At the moment, I'd just be hard pressed to muster any kind of support for the guy, moral, financial, or otherwise.

[Trenton_net]

Am I the only one who just shrugs and goes "Whatever. I got lots of other games to deal with. Like 600+ titles!"?