Ok im going to explain some things, for you guys that think im making a huge
profit on this stuff, The manuals are printed in a print shop, not at home,
and I only get 5 at time, if I was getting 100+ at a time i could get them a little
bit cheaper, but thats not going to happen. All the inserts are printed by me on glossy
photo style paper, It probably is overkill, but it looks really nice, and when i started
doing this it was for myself, and thats what I wanted. All the text for the manuals was
inserted by me. I used all original manual scans, erased all the text, rebuilt the pages
and then inserted the text. And then added or removed some pages as i went. As for
contacting the guys that had worked on the game translations, I tried to contact Nightwovle
but did not get a response. I thought about sending these out and let the buyer burn the
game, but some people dont have the proper knowledge, or the proper hardware to do
it themselves, and really in the end, it wouldnt be any cheaper for me or the buyer. And
the buyer could end up with a coaster. I test every game before i send it out.
There I edited out the tail end, this is all you needed to say man.
I support doing these things to help the community but the right price point is key. I appreciate you explaining yourself as what you are doing is more costly, a lot more, there are other inexpensive print options out there that look just as good but if your happy with the results and others are as well then so be it.
I agree with Sparky.
I will be more precise in my misgivings, though. Below, I explain my fears/my suspicions....
Please believe me when I say I that I hope you stay with us and possibly even collaborate on future non-profit projects (see very bottom). Our community needs talented people who want to create stuff and share it. When $$$ is involved...well, it becomes a touchy subject...as this thread is a testament to.
IN RESPONSE TO YOUR POST:
I hear you and I want to believe you. Assuming you are sincere, let me start by saying that I fear your good intentions have still led you down the wrong path, IMHO.
Why?
Including the CD-ROM as part of the package— That's a major sticking point. There is no way I can excuse this.
Remove the CD-ROM and then I am much more comfortable with the idea.
I would still criticize you for the prices, of course, but people would LITERALLY only be paying for the specific services YOU provided (YOUR ACTUAL LABOR: scanning/modifying the items, printing them, assembling them, packing, shipping). If folks felt your labor was worth $___, so be it.
See?
My fear, comrade, is that you anticipated that only a handful of people would find the printed items ALONE (the fruit of your labor) to be worth what you are asking, so....you include the CD-ROM (the fruit of others' labor) to ensure you can charge a premium price for the overall package.
My fear, you see, is that the CD-ROM itself is what many folks want (it helps justify the overall price you are charging).
As Necro stated earlier, if you need $45+ dollars to simply cover all your expenses...just don't do it as a "service"....
DISCLAIMER: I am not saying you are a evil. I don't know your true intentions. I don't know if you see DOLLAH SIGNS when you rest your head on your scanner....
WHAT I AM SAYING IS that however sincere your intentions, your execution was flawed and led to very predictable condemnations (from a few of us).
To put it another way: dump the CD-ROM from your offerings.
Sorry to ruin your day.....BUT.....
Also, maybe you (we) should work on some additional PCE manual translations. But we won't charge for it. And we won't choose HIGHLY PROFITABLE titles like Dracula X. Instead, we could choose games that are lots of fun (Son Son II) especially with a manual that provides valuable info...our mission would be to broaden the appeal/accessibility of these games by offering an English manual.
I'm serious.
