dreamcastrip

Every nation has its own laws. From an ethical point of view I see nothing wrong in playing a game you have paid for. In my opinion you are also allowed to do it according to the laws in Finland. The gray area is copying stuff where you need to crack the encryption. Handy is a good example. It you download the 512 byte ROM from the Lynx and run it on a PC then you are breaking the laws in the EU. Running the same game from a flash cart does not need to copy the encryption and is therefore legal in the EU. But I am not a lawyer, nor do I play one on TV So don't rely on my legal advice. -- Karri Many thanks for the info. As I live within the EU I'll try to find out a few more specifics but your advice seems quite logical in relation to what I've heard elsewhere. It would most certainly seem very unfair indeed if downloading a game to flashcart that you already own the original cartridge for was not legally permitted. As you say, its not as if a flashcart would need to emulate the Lynx hardware in any way. Cheers.

I have a lynx, and if a flashcart shows up, I am pretty certain that it will give the scene a boost. Also, being a handheld with limited capabilities, it means that it is fairly easy to get going with developing software for it, it is actually possible for a single guy to make something in a reasonable amount of time, and with a simple distribution method, I think we will see a lot more productions for it. All in all, a flashcart will benefit the community more than it will hurt it. I agree - it sounds encouraging to hear from other coders that the proposed flashcart will encourage development of new games. I guess the only thing I'd add concerning any potential negatives of a flashcart would be that it would be interesting to hear from any coders out there who do have any concerns as the only opinions expressed so far have been positive. I don't say this to troll - honestly! I simply think that in the interests of having a balanced debate on this issue it would be interesting to hear any contrary opinions. Then people can make their own mind up whether to purchase the flashcart or not. I guess my current view, which has changed greatly over the past couple of days, is that I'd definitely be interested in buying one to play legally distributed homebrew. If I own the original game cartridge, e.g. California Games, would it then be legal to download the ROM in order to save it on the flashcart? I only ask because it would save having to carry around all my Lynx game carts (nearly 50) when on the move. I remember having read somewhere that it supposedly OK to own a "back-up" as long as you own the original game. Could someone please clarrify this?

Looks excellent! I'll buy one. -> Dreamcastrip, please crawl back under the stone you came from. "let the innocent one cast the first stone..." or how does the saying go now... If you actually took the trouble to READ my most recent post then you would perhaps understand the irrational nature of your above quoted response. If anonymous name calling of this nature helps you reassert some form of self-worth then that's your call...

No! Its supposed to mean "Dreamcast RIP", not "Dreamcast rip"! OK, to summarise my rant from several hours ago it has been a genuine delight to read of all the current developers who will be more than happy to see their output openly available to download and play on the proposed Lynx flashcart. I guess having got in from a Friday night out on the beer last night perhaps led to the tone of some of my posts being a little over zealous and I apologise sincerely for that. This is especially in light of the apparent fact that developers could release games which would be unplayable on a flashcart if they so decided. I guess I'm still a little unconfortable with the idea of any issues of legality but if the flashcart does in actual fact lead to reinvigorating the Lynx scene in any way then perhaps its a price worth paying. Regarding the various insults to the Jag scene that were posted by others . Well, perhaps my views on piracy are influenced somewhat by elements of the Jag scene as I know for certain that some coders would be less than happy is such a device ever becomes available on the Jag. The thought of buying a Lynx flashcart to play legally distributed homebrew is something that may interest me as I've never been keen on the idea of playing stuff on emulators due to it not "feeling" the same as the real thing. If I achieved one thing with the rant I guess it was getting a clear picture of how keen some coders/developers are to release their works to be played via the flashcart. Reading the details of some of these posts proved to be very encouraging for all members of the Lynx community. Finally, just for the record, I am indeed a passionate Lynx owner who owns two Lynx IIs and nearly 50 boxed games including Alpine Games, Remnant, Lemmings, Lynx Reloadad and the Alien vs Predator demo cart.

You might want to spend some time reading what has actually happened on the long commercially dead beloved systems of this board that have had flash or other digital storage devices designed and sold for them, and see how they've had positive effects and people still buy up homebrews when they're released and respect the authors. Or you could just ignore all the reality of history here, it would probably support your argument better. Please go save another system and/or community. We really don't need your help. Or at least confine it to the Jag forums where people expect nonsense. This sounds like the kind of nonsense propogated by any such pirate trying hard to convince themselves that stealing software is somehow a good thing for all concerned. I'm sure all homebrew developers, AKA game developers such as Songbird et al, will be rejoicing at the news their intellectual property will be downloaded illegally without them earning a penny from it... Regarding your claim, "We really don't need your help", well if you're so self-centred and short sighted enough to believe Lynx owners, and by that I mean the law abiding ones, don't need their beloved console protecting from piracy then that's your opinion and although I may not necessarily agree with you on it we are at least entitled to hold our respective opinions. What of course won't be a matter of opinion, if the proposed flashcart ever sees the light of day, is that anyone downloading existing Lynx games will be breaking the law...

Do you honestly think that developers will still be keen to invest their own valuable time and money into coding new Lynx games in the belief that they'll supposedly see a decent enough financial return when the game could be potentially pirated so easily? Yes. For example the next big project I am working on is Hero Quest. It is a total conversion of a Gamers Worshop title released by Gremlin a long time ago. The small print in their legal pages gives the right for enthusiasts to make new total conversions of their old games. But it does not give the right to take money for it. So how can I release it? Only as a free lnx file on the net like Yastuna 2. It may come as a surprise but money is not the driving force for Lynx development. Some people just like playing games or coding games. Perhaps it is some kind of insanity. -- Karri Fair points one and all and respect for the Hero Quest project and your rational response. My point was never to criticise this kind of activity, i.e. new game development - far from it! All I'm trying to argue is that surely the few developers that are involved in Lynx may not potentially make sufficient money back on their investment to even recoup their development costs. I'm aware that Lynx coders nowadays would never reallistically expect to make a fortune from releasing Lynx games but a device such as the proposed Lynx flashcard would lower any such hopes, however unlikely, even further. This may well put them off altogether as I have previously stated. If your passion for the Lynx community is such then have you considered releasing Hero Quest on cart like Songbird manage to with their current games therefore making the "need" for a flashcart redundant?

You're either a very clever satirist, or have simply created an account to come here and troll. I'm guessing the latter, so back to 'the other forum' with you, thanks! Yes sir, I'll immediately go back to "the other forum" thank you. I'm guessing you're referring to a forum where its members, en masse, don't actively encourage piracy then?

Do you honestly think that developers will still be keen to invest their own valuable time and money into coding new Lynx games in the belief that they'll supposedly see a decent enough financial return when the game could be potentially pirated so easily? I for one am not convinced that that their returns on investing in game development will be the same or close to as they would be if a Lynx flashcard didn't exist. Yes, many Lynx (and Jaguar) owners these days may well be "collectors" who would ideally prefer games on the real cart but are you seriously suggesting that many Lynx owners won't be tempted into downloading games for free to a flashcart instead when/if that opportunity is created? Get real! So, all those people in this thread who've so far rejoiced in the knowledge they'll be potentially able to illegally own/steal all Lynx games made to date will have their short-term jollies. It would be too much to hope that such self-centred individuals would actually stop to consider the consequences of their actions, i.e. they'll actually kill off the Lynx for good leaving it as a truly dead system with no realistic prospect of any new games ever appearing on it ever again. Rejoice in your theft.....

And how on earth does this admittedly cool piece of tech in any way seek to encourage the still existing small community of Lynx developers to continue making games today when they know people will find a way of simply PIRATING their games via internet downloads much like the Nintendo DS? If you don't follow the logic then simply do a little research into what much of the Atari Jaguar coding community think of the proposed Jag CF (Compact Flash) device.

The above pic is as close to "Lynx porn" my eyes have ever witnessed!

Saw that. After they review the bulk of the Lynx games, they'll wonder how teh Gameboy won.

Awesome scans! Now I have a Jag screensaver!